Liuwei Dihuang Formula ameliorates glycolipid metabolism in type 2 diabetic rats through an integrated analysis of gut microbiota and bile acids

📖 Top 30% JournalOct 15, 2025Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis

Liuwei Dihuang Formula improves sugar and fat metabolism in type 2 diabetic rats by affecting gut bacteria and bile acids

AI simplified

GLP-1 Therapies on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Liuwei Dihuang Formula (LD) significantly lowered fasting blood glucose levels in T2DM rats.

LD improved lipid profiles and enhanced glycolipid metabolism in T2DM rats.
Administration of LD restored gut microbiota balance, increasing Lactobacillus and decreasing Bifidobacterium, Allobaculum, Turicibacter, and Blautia.
Ten bile acids were quantified, indicating that LD significantly altered bile acid metabolism.
LD treatment up-regulated TGR5 and down-regulated FXR mRNA expression in the ileum.
Increased secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide tyrosine-tyrosine (PYY) was also observed following LD treatment.

AI simplified

Liuwei Dihuang Formula (LD), a classic prescription for kidney-yin deficiency in China, has shown promising therapeutic potential in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Given the critical roles of gut microbiota and bile acid metabolism in T2DM, the mechanisms of LD in regulating these pathways require further clarification. In this study, we investigated the effects of LD on gut microbiota and bile acid metabolism in T2DM rats. LD administration significantly lowered fasting blood glucose levels and improved lipid profiles, thereby ameliorating glycolipid metabolism. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that LD restored gut microbiota homeostasis by reversing T2DM-associated alterations, including increased Lactobacillus and decreased Bifidobacterium, Allobaculum, Turicibacter, and Blautia. Plasma concentrations of ten bile acids were simultaneously quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, demonstrating that LD significantly altered bile acid metabolism. Moreover, LD treatment up-regulated Takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5) and down-regulated farnesoid X receptor (FXR) mRNA expression in the ileum, accompanied by enhanced secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide tyrosine-tyrosine (PYY). Collectively, these findings suggest that LD ameliorates glycolipid metabolism in T2DM rats by regulating the gut microbiota-bile acid axis, thereby providing new mechanistic insights into its antidiabetic effects.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text (XML) ↗View full text ↗

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers