Microbiota, metabolites and mucosal immunity as potential targets of traditional Chinese medicine for respiratory diseases based on the lung-gut crosstalk

Abstract

Introduction: In recent years, with the advancement of life sciences, the theories of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have been scientifically elucidated, particularly the integration of the TCM theory of ''the lung and large intestine are interrelated'' and the modern scientific theory of the ''lung-gut axis''. The theory emphasizes the close relationship between the lung and gut, with the lung-gut microbiota, metabolites and mucosal immunity acting as bridges. Methods: Databases such as the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), ScienceDirect, Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were used for search of literature by keywords such as “Traditional Chinese medicine”, “Gut Microbiota”, ''Metabolites'', “Mucosal Immunity”, and “Respiratory Diseases” and so on, and articles were selected according to their credibility and impact and then reviewed. Results: TCM has made significant progress in the treatment of respiratory diseases based on the lung-gut axis theory. TCM can repair damaged intestinal mucosal barriers, maintain the stability of the lung-gut microbiota and related metabolites, improve mucosal immune function, and thereby reduce the incidence of respiratory system diseases. Discussion: TCM can maintain intestinal homeostasis through multi-target and multi-pathway, thereby improving the clinical symptoms of respiratory diseases. TCM therapy based on the lung-gut axis theory is a new direction for exploring new treatment methods.

Keywords

• Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
• Gut microbiota
• Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)
• Mucosal immunity
• Respiratory diseases