Different concentrations of Qingyu Hejiang Decoction regulate intestinal flora in rats with reflux esophagitis

Abstract:

[Objective] To observe the effects of different concentrations of Qingyu Hejiang Decoction on reflux esophagitis (RE) and intestinal flora.[Methods] Thirty-six healthy male SD rats were randomly assigned into six groups. Except the sham operation group, the remaining five groups received anterior gastric ligation+external partial pyloric ligation for the modeling of RE. Two weeks after modeling, all the 30 surviving rats were randomly assigned into a sham operation group, a control group, a western medicine (pantoprazole sodium enteric-coated capsules+mosapride citrate dispersible tablets+compound lactobacillus acidophilus tablets) group, and high-, medium-, and low-dose Qingyu Hejiang Decoction groups (n=6). The rats in the sham operation group, the control group, and other groups were administrated with distilled water, distilled water, and corresponding drugs, respectively, by gavage. After 14 days of intervention, all the rats were sacrificed for the collection of tissue samples. The pathological changes of the esophageal tissue were observed via hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing was employed to determine the bacterial composition in the intestinal mucosa. [Results] The RE rats showed significant changes and low diversity of intestinal flora. The control group showed decreased relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, increased relative abundance of Proteobacteria, and increased Pseudomonas and Ralstonia. Low-, medium-, and high-dose Qingyu Hejiang Decoction increased the diversity of intestinal flora in RE rats. Specifically, they increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes and reduced that of Proteobacteria. At the genus level, Qingyu Hejiang Decoction increased the relative abundance of probiotics such as Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, Ruminococcus,Oscillospira, Bifidobacterium, and Parabacteroides in the intestinal tract of RE rats. Moreover, the medium-dose group demonstrated the best performance, with the intestinal microflora diversity close to that of the sham operation group. Proteobacteria was the characteristic microorganisms in the control group, while Actinomycetes and Bacteroidetes were the characteristic microorganisms in the medium- and high-dose Qingyu Hejiang Decoction groups, which were the same as those in the western medicine group. [Conclusion] Qingyu Hejiang Decoction can effectively treat RE by reshaping the intestinal flora structure (reducing harmful bacteria, increasing probiotics, and increasing the diversity of intestinal flora).