Clinical study on the modulating effects of Jiaotaiwan on the microbiota–SCFAs–neurotransmitter/immune axis in patients with depression

作者：Tong Yang, Yuanyuan He, Mengnan Huang, Yijia Liu, Fengmin Liu, Yuting Li, Shan Gao, Li Shen, Qiang Xu, Chunquan Yu · 发表于：Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1097/hm9.0000000000000174 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Gut microbiota and health、Tryptophan and brain disorders、Treatment of Major Depression

Objective: To investigate the antidepressant mechanism of Jiaotaiwan (JTW), a classic Traditional Chinese Medicine formula, by examining its effects on the gut microbiota short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) neurotransmitter/immune axis in patients with depression. Methods: In this 8-week multicenter randomized controlled trial, 120 patients with depression were randomized to receive JTW, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), or JTW+SSRIs, and 30 healthy volunteers were enrolled as controls without intervention (healthy controls, n = 30). Gut microbiota profiling (16S ribosomal RNA [16S rDNA] gene sequencing), fecal SCFA quantification (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry), and plasma levels of neurotransmitters (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT], norepinephrine [NE], dopamine [DA]) and gut barrier/inflammatory markers (lipopolysaccharide [LPS], soluble zonula occludens-1 [sZO-1], high mobility group box 1 [HMGB1]) were assessed pre- and post-treatment. Correlations between brain gut peptides, gut flora, SCFAs, and gut barrier/inflammatory markers were analyzed using Spearman correlation analysis. Results: Treatment with JTW, particularly in combination with SSRIs, significantly modulated gut microbiota composition by reducing Bacteroidetes abundance and increasing Firmicutes. It selectively ameliorated SCFA metabolic disturbances, notably elevating fecal levels of branched-chain fatty acids, including isobutyric and isovaleric acids. These changes were accompanied by increased...