Using herbal medicine to target the "microbiota-metabolism-immunity" axis as possible therapy for cardiovascular...

The gut microbiota harvests nutrients from the host while making possible the digestion of complex nutrients and regulating and balancing the immune and metabolic functions. The microbiota itself, and the dysbiosis of the gut flora, are correlated to the onset and progress of diabetes, obesity, and atherosclerosis. Herbal medicine (HM) plays a role in modulating gut microbiota and is widely used in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its associated conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, and hyperlipidemia. In this review, we focus on the relationship between the microbiota-metabolism-immunity (MMI) axis and CVD (including its risk factors) and the beneficial effects of HM to regulate this crosstalk. The insights may redefine our understanding of how HM works and spark a revolution in HM-based drug discovery.