Herbal medicine WangShiBaoChiWan improves gastrointestinal health in mice via modulation of intestinal tight junctions and gut microbiota and inhibition of inflammation

WangShiBoChiWan (WSBCW) is a commonly used Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders. However, its preclinical efficacy and the mechanisms of action have not been adequately studied. The goals of this study were to evaluate the effects of WSBCW on gastrointestinal health and modulation of related biomarkers. Female C57BL mice were randomly assigned into one of the experimental groups consisting of the control, drug controls, and WSBCW at 40, 120, and 360 mg/kg BW. Whole gut transit, small intestinal motility, and intestinal barrier permeability were determined. The castor oil-induced diarrhea mouse model was used to determine the effect of WSBCW on the diarrhea type of irritable bowel syndrome (IBSD). WSBCW increased whole gut transit and intestinal motility, improved intestinal permeability in healthy animals and alleviated diarrhea symptoms in IBS-D mice. WSBCW upregulated intestinal junction proteins, increased the abundance of Bifidobacterium genus, Desulfovibrio genus and inhibited Bacteroides fragillis group in the gut microbiota, increased intestinal villi lengths, and decreased blood levels of inflammatory cytokines. Our study provided preclinical evidence to verify the effectiveness of WSBCW in gastrointestinal health and elucidate mechanistic insights. The results warrant further investigations to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of WSBCW on gastrointestinal disorders, such as IBS and IBD.