Metabolic syndrome (MS), which includes metabolic disorders such as protein disorder, glucose disorder, lipid disorder, and carbohydrate disorder, has been growing rapidly around the world. Glycolipid disorders are a main type of metabolic syndrome and are characterized by abdominal obesity and abnormal metabolic disorders of lipid, glucose, and carbohydrate utilization, which can cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Glycolipid disorders are closely related to intestinal flora and its metabolites. However, studies about the biological mechanisms of the intestinal flora and its metabolites with glycolipid disorders have not been clear. When glycolipid disorders are treated with drugs, a challenging problem is side effects. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and dietary supplements have fewer side effects to treat it. Numerous basic and clinical studies have confirmed that TCM decoctions, Chinese medicine monomers, or compounds can treat glycolipid disorders and reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease. In this study, we reviewed the relationship between the intestinal flora and its metabolites in glycolipid metabolic disorders and the effect of TCM in treating glycolipid metabolic disorders through the intestinal flora and its metabolites. This review provides new perspectives and strategies for future glycolipid disorders research and treatment.

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a serious microvascular complication of diabetes and remains the leading cause of blindness in adults. Retinal inflammation is playing a crucial role in the development of DR, and targeting inflammatory mediators is a promising strategy for controlling DR. Here, we investigated compound Chinese medicine Luo Tong formula (LTF) alleviated retinal inflammatory responses in a STZ-induced diabetic rat model. Methods: Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into four groups: control, streptozotocin-induced diabetic, LTF-treated diabetic, and calcium dobesilate (CaD)-treated diabetic rats. Blood samples were collected for blood glucose examination. Hematoxylin–eosin and periodic acid-Schiff staining were conducted for light microscopy observations. Retinal cell apoptosis was detected using the TUNEL assay. Proteins expression was quantified by Western blotting and/or immunohistochemistry, and gene expression was assessed by real-time PCR. Results: Diabetic rats showed significant increases in the expression of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and the phospho-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p-p38-MAPK)/p38 MAPK ratio compared to control rats. LTF treatment significantly improved both retinal and pancreatic pathological injury, LTF treatment also inhibited inducible the p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK ratio and NF-κB activation and decreased the subsequent induction of the retinal expression of proinflammatory mediators TNF-α, IL-1β, MCP-1 and ICAM-1 compared to diabetic rats. LTF also exhibited a protective effect on islet function. Conclusions: LTF before the onset of DR can alleviate retinal pathological injury, LTF may play an anti-inflammatory role by inhibiting p38-MAPK and then inhibiting NF-κB pathway. But further studies are needed to confirm this conclusion. Trial registration This is an animal experiment, trial registration is not necessary.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has long been used to treat diabetes mellitus and angina. It has also gained widespread clinical applications in China as a common adjuvant treatment. Although there is high-quality evidence that TCM is effective in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism, the cardiovascular protective effect of TCM in the treatment of diabetes mellitus has not been fully elucidated, especially in patients with both diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease (CHD). We systematically assessed the efficacy and safety of TCM for the adjuvant treatment of patients with CHD and diabetes mellitus and examined the pharmacological effects and potential mechanisms of TCM medication/herbs on diabetes mellitus with CHD. We found that TCM could improve the control effect of conventional treatment on cardiac function, hemorheology, blood glucose, blood lipid, and inflammation, thus reducing the frequency of angina and the incidence of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. These findings indicate that TCM may be used as a complementary approach for patients with diabetes mellitus and CHD. Nevertheless, more rigorously designed randomized controlled trials and long-term evaluations are needed to support these findings.

Shen‐Qi‐Di‐Huang decoction (SQDHD), a well‐known herbal formula from China, has been widely used in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy (DN). However, the pharmacological mechanisms of SQDHD have not been entirely elucidated. At first, we conducted a comprehensive literature search to identify the active constituents of SQDHD, determined their corresponding targets, and obtained known DN targets from several databases. A protein‐protein interaction network was then built to explore the complex relations between SQDHD targets and those known to treat DN. Following the topological feature screening of each node in the network, 400 major targets of SQDHD were obtained. The pathway enrichment analysis results acquired from DAVID showed that the significant bioprocesses and pathways include oxidative stress, response to glucose, regulation of blood pressure, regulation of cell proliferation, cytokine‐mediated signaling pathway, and the apoptotic signaling pathway. More interestingly, five key targets of SQDHD, named AKT1, AR, CTNNB1, EGFR, and ESR1, were significant in the regulation of the above bioprocesses and pathways. This study partially verified and predicted the pharmacological and molecular mechanisms of SQDHD on DN from a holistic perspective. This has laid the foundation for further experimental research and has expanded the rational application of SQDHD in clinical practice.

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes. Luo Tong formula (LTF), a classical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, consists of four plants that have been widely and effectively used to treat DR. Previous work in our laboratory has confirmed that LTF can effectively ameliorate DR. However, the potential mechanism underlying the therapeutic effect of LTF on DR has not been fully elucidated. To explore the potential mechanism of action through which LTF prevents and alleviates DR from an inflammation and gut microbiota perspective. Materials and methods: Metabolite profiling of LTF was performed using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Type 1 diabetes was induced in male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats via tail vein injection of 45 mg/kg streptozotocin. Next, 100 SD rats were randomly divided into four groups, normal control; diabetic control; diabetic + insulin + calcium dobesilate; and diabetic + insulin + LTF. After 12 weeks of treatment, glucose metabolism, fundus oculi, blood-retinal barrier permeability, retinal thickness, microvascular damage, as well as cell junction expression in retinas were measured and the changes observed in different groups were compared. Finally, the alteration in gut microbiota and inflammatory cytokine expression in serum and tissues were monitored, and their correlation was analyzed. Results: A total of 1024 valid peaks were obtained for LTF using GC–MS. The HbA1c and fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels in the LTF group were slightly decreased. LTF exerted protective effects on fundus oculi and the retina structure to different degrees. LTF attenuated systemic and local retinal inflammation by significantly decreasing the levels of seven pro-inflammatory cytokines, including ICAM-1, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, VCAM-1, VEGF, and IL-1β. LTF restored the intestinal microbiota of diabetic rats to levels that were similar to those of normal rats. Further analysis revealed that Enterobacteriales, Prevotellaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Bacteroides, and Klebsiella were significantly and positively correlated with the inflammatory factors in DR after LTF treatment. Conclusions: Our results revealed the mechanisms underlying the preventive effects of LTF on DR development and progression. LTF inhibited pathological changes in retinal histopathology, cell composition, and cell junction proteins while effectively ameliorating systemic and local retinal inflammation via regulating pivotal gut microbiota.

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a novel family of innate immune cells that act as key coordinators of intestinal mucosal surface immune defense and are essential for maintaining intestinal homeostasis and barrier integrity by responding to locally produced effector cytokines or direct recognition of exogenous or endogenous danger patterns. ILCs are also involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Many studies have demonstrated the occurrence of crosstalk between ILCs and intestinal microbiota, and ILCs have recently been shown to be connected to the enteric nervous system (ENS). Thus, ILCs may act as a key link between the nervous system and microbiota in intestinal networks. In this review, we briefly summarize the role of the ILCs in the intestinal tract (particularly in the context of IBD) and discuss the relationship between ILCs and the microbiota/ENS.