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Review
. 2025 Apr 25;17(3):464-472.
doi: 10.1016/j.chmed.2025.04.007. eCollection 2025 Jul.

Research progress of regulating intestinal flora by traditional Chinese medicine in treating coronary heart disease

Qiwen Lu  1 , Sang Luo  1 , Chengyan Guan  1 , Hao Zhang  1 , Haoyue Jia  1 , Qiang Wan  2
Affiliations
Review

Research progress of regulating intestinal flora by traditional Chinese medicine in treating coronary heart disease

Qiwen Lu et al. Chin Herb Med. .

Abstract

Coronary atherosclerotic heart disease is a major cardiovascular condition driven by atherosclerosis, distinguished by chronic inflammation and dysregulated lipid metabolism. The gut microbiota plays an essential role in human health and disease, with research indicating a strong association between gut microbial metabolism and the development and progression of coronary heart disease. This article provides a review of the relationship between gut microbiota and coronary heart disease, as well as the mechanisms by which traditional Chinese medicine regulates digestive tract microbiota to treat coronary heart disease, which systematically explains how the gut microbiota, through metabolic products and immune regulation, contributes to the occurrence and progression of coronary heart disease, and summarizes recent advances in research on traditional Chinese medicine's regulation of gut microbiota for treating coronary heart disease. It aims to provide further reference and insights for exploring the relationship between gut microbiota and coronary heart disease, as well as traditional Chinese medicine approaches for treating coronary heart disease.

Keywords: coronary heart disease; intestinal flora; mechanism of action; therapeutic effect; traditional Chinese medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing finacial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig.1
Fig.1
Pathways of action of metabolites of intestinal flora.
Fig.2
Fig.2
TMAO, SCFA regulate immune cells and promote inflammatory response.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Effects of natural medicinal extracts on gut microbiota.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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