Gut microbiota: A new key of understanding for Panax notoginseng against multiple disorders and biotransformation

Yueting Mo; Xiyuan He; Hao Cui; Yifan Cheng; Mingmei Zhou; Xiuming Cui; Ting Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jep.2024.119306

Gut microbiota: A new key of understanding for Panax notoginseng against multiple disorders and biotransformation

J Ethnopharmacol. 2025 Jan 4:119306. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.119306. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yueting Mo¹, Xiyuan He¹, Hao Cui², Yifan Cheng², Mingmei Zhou¹, Xiuming Cui³, Ting Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.
² Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China; Laboratory of Sustainable Utilization of Panax Notoginseng Resources, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, 650500, China.
³ Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China; Laboratory of Sustainable Utilization of Panax Notoginseng Resources, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, 650500, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39761836
DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.119306

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F.H.Chen(P. notoginseng) has been widely used as an herbal medicine for reducing swelling, relieving pain, promoting blood circulation and stopping bleeding, with notable therapeutic effects on obesity, liver diseases, colitis, Alzheimer's disease, chronic kidney disease and other diseases.

Aim of the study: This review highlighted the close link and bidirectional effects between P. notoginseng and gut microbiota, with the ultimate aim of providing new insights into the potential mechanisms of pharmacological effects of P. notoginseng in the treatment of different diseases and PNS transformation.

Materials and methods: By means of some reputable databases (PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Google Scholar, etc.), we screened the published articles related to P. notoginseng from 1998 to 2024, including original research, clinical trials and review on raw materials and chemical constituents of P. notoginseng. Then, we employed the keywords "gut microbiota", "intestinal microbiota", "gut biotransformation" and "intestinal" to exclude the articles that do not in line with our topic. Plant information was obtained from www.worldfloraonline.org using "Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F.H.Chen" as the keyword.

Results: P. notoginseng elevated certain probiotics including Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia, while simultaneously reducing pathogenic bacteria such as Prevotellaceae, Enterococcus, Enterobacter and Helicobacter, to fight various diseases. Meanwhile, considering to the low oral bioavailability and degradable properties of Panax notoginseng saponin (PNS), gut microbiota converted it into protopanaxatriol(PPT) and protopanaxadiol(PPD) mainly through deglycosylation reactions to enhance the bioactivity.

Conclusion: Increasing evidences suggest that gut microbiota may play a vital role for P. notoginseng exerting on beneficial effects on the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders, liver diseases, neurological diseases, chronic kidney diseases, vascular diseases, colitis, and other diseases, as well as for biotransformation of P. notoginseng.

Keywords: Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F.H.Chen(P. notoginseng); Panax notoginseng saponin(PNS); biotransformation; gut microbiota; multiple disorders.

Publication types

Review