{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]],"date-time":"2026-01-29T14:43:27Z","timestamp":1769697807165,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,16]],"date-time":"2024-02-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1708041600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Public Welfare Research Institutes","award":["JJPY2022024"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JJPY2022024"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Sanhua decoction (SHD), a traditional prescription, has long been used in treating ischemic stroke (IS). However, the therapeutic effect of SHD and the associated changes in gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are uncertain. In this study, a rat model of IS was established by the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). By evaluating the cerebral infarct area and brain tissue pathology, it was found that SHD ameliorated IS-related symptoms in MCAO rats. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we found that SHD reduced abnormally elevated<jats:italic>Lactobacillus<\/jats:italic>and opportunistic pathogens such as<jats:italic>Desulfovibrio<\/jats:italic>, but increased some beneficial bacteria that produce SCFAs, including<jats:italic>Clostridia<\/jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Lachnospiraceae<\/jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Ruminococcaceae<\/jats:italic>, and<jats:italic>Coprococcus<\/jats:italic>. KEGG analysis revealed that SHD regulates several pathways, including D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism, polyketide sugar unit biosynthesis, and cyanoamino acid metabolism, which are significantly altered in MCAO rats. By gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detection of SCFAs, we found that fecal acetic acid, valeric acid, and caproic acid were significantly increased in MCAO rats, whereas propionic acid and isobutyric acid were decreased. SHD reversed the changes in acetic acid and propionic acid in the model rats and significantly increased fecal butyric acid. In addition, MCAO rats had significantly higher serum levels of acetic acid, butyric acid, isovaleric acid, and valeric acid, and lower levels of caproic acid. Altered serum levels of butyric acid, isovaleric acid, valeric acid, and caproic acid were restored, and the level of isobutyric acid was reduced after SHD administration. Spearman analysis revealed that cerebral infarct area had a strong correlation with<jats:italic>Bifidobacterium<\/jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Desulfovibrio<\/jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Lachnospiraceae<\/jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Lactobacillus<\/jats:italic>, acetic acid, valeric acid, and caproic acid. Overall, this study demonstrates for the first time that the effect of SHD on IS may be related to gut microbiota and SCFAs, providing a potential scientific explanation for the ameliorative effect of SHD on IS.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0298148","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,16]],"date-time":"2024-02-16T18:26:03Z","timestamp":1708107963000},"page":"e0298148","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Therapeutic effect of Sanhua decoction on rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion and the associated changes in gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Yiming","family":"Ni","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Liangyin","family":"Cai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xiaojun","family":"Gou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wenjie","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2552-4754","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Mingmei","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ying","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0298148.ref001","article-title":"Rapid gut dysbiosis induced by stroke exacerbates brain infarction in turn","author":"K Xu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Gut"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0298148.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1457","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amjmed.2021.07.027","article-title":"Ischemic Stroke.","volume":"134","author":"SK Feske","year":"2021","journal-title":"The American journal of medicine"},{"key":"pone.0298148.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8868941","DOI":"10.1155\/2021\/8868941","article-title":"Classical Active Ingredients and Extracts of Chinese Herbal Medicines: Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Molecular Mechanisms for Ischemic Stroke.","volume":"2021","author":"T Zhu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity"},{"key":"pone.0298148.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113382","DOI":"10.1016\/j.expneurol.2020.113382","article-title":"Emerging role of microRNAs in ischemic stroke with comorbidities","volume":"331","author":"Y Qian","year":"2020","journal-title":"Experimental neurology"},{"key":"pone.0298148.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113541","DOI":"10.1016\/j.expneurol.2020.113541","article-title":"Hyperhomocysteinemia is an emerging comorbidity in ischemic stroke","volume":"336","author":"R. 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