Characteristics of gut microbiota and its response to a Chinese Herbal Formula in elder patients with metabolic syndrome.

Characteristics of gut microbiota and its response to a Chinese Herbal Formula in elder patients with metabolic syndrome. Drug Discov Ther. 2018;12(3):161-169 Authors: Ni Y, Mu C, He X, Zheng K, Guo H, Zhu W Abstract Alterations in gut microbiota have been known to play a critical role in metabolic syndrome. However, the microbial features in elderly patients with metabolic syndrome remain unclear. A traditional Chinese Herbal Formula, Yangyin Tiluo Decoction (YTD), can alleviate metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. To characterize gut microbiota in elder patients and effects of YTD on gut microbiota during treatment of metabolic syndrome, 11 healthy elderly persons and 12 elderly persons (aged 60-90 years) with metabolic syndrome were enrolled. The patients were randomly assigned to receive YTD for 4 weeks (200 mL of the decoction two times daily). The microbial composition in healthy control, pre- and post- YTD treatment group were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing of fecal DNAs. Biochemical measurements were conducted for elderly patients. The results showed a high inter-individual variation of gut microbiota in elderly persons. The gut microbiota was dominated by phylum Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, which was distinct from the previously defined microbiota in Irish elderly persons. The elderly patients with metabolic syndrome had higher proportions of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, and lower proportions of Anaerostip...
Source: Drug Discoveries and Therapeutics - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Drug Discov Ther Source Type: research