{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T23:17:05Z","timestamp":1782861425338,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776124800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"\n Introduction<\/jats:title>\n \n Short stature in children causes physical and psychological issues. Human growth hormone (hGH) is clinically recommended but has side effects. Probiotics and functional foods are promising alternatives.\n Astragali Radix<\/jats:italic>\n , has growth-promoting potential, and fermentation may enhance its bioactivity.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n Astragali Radix<\/jats:italic>\n , was fermented with\n Bifidobacterium animalis<\/jats:italic>\n subsp.\n lactis<\/jats:italic>\n BL-16 to prepare postbiotic W16. Juvenile rats were treated with W16, hGH, or unfermented\n Astragali Radix<\/jats:italic>\n . UPLC-Q-TOF\/MS metabolomic profiling, bone growth-related gene (\n igf-1<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n trap<\/jats:italic>\n ) expression, IGF-1 levels, glucose\/insulin concentrations, and gut microbiota were analyzed.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n W16 enhanced rat body\/bone length similarly to hGH, upregulated igf-1\/trap, and increased plasma\/liver IGF-1\u2014more effectively than unfermented\n Astragali Radix<\/jats:italic>\n . Unlike hGH, W16 did not induce insulin resistance. While hGH and\n Astragali Radix<\/jats:italic>\n enriched\n Lactobacillus<\/jats:italic>\n , W16 uniquely promoted\n Acetivibrio cellulolyticus<\/jats:italic>\n (beneficial for bone mineral density). Metabolomic profiling revealed pre- and post-fermentation differences in\n Astragali Radix<\/jats:italic>\n .\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Discussion<\/jats:title>\n Postbiotic W16 promotes bone growth via regulating growth-related genes, IGF-1 signaling, and gut microbiota. Safer than hGH (no insulin resistance), W16 is a promising functional food candidate for improving short stature in children.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1753788","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T05:36:45Z","timestamp":1776145005000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BL-16 fermented Astragali Radix (W16) promotes the bone growth of juvenile rats via modulation of IGF-1 and gut microbiota"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Ziyi","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Tianjin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ying","family":"Cao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Tianjin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanan","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Tianjin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiale","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Tianjin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiacheng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Tianjin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tianjiao","family":"Cong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Tianjin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qinghang","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Tianjin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Cui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PKUMed-Wisbiom Joint Laboratory for Human Microbiome Research","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Feng","family":"Cai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PKUMed-Wisbiom Joint Laboratory for Human Microbiome Research","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yunfeng","family":"Duan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PKUMed-Wisbiom Joint Laboratory for Human Microbiome Research","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chongming","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Tianjin, China"]},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Modernization","place":["Tianjin, China"]},{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Therapeutic Substance of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Tianjin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100","DOI":"10.1016\/j.archoralbio.2017.01.019","article-title":"Baicalein enhances the osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament cells by activating the Wnt\/\u03b2-catenin signaling pathway","volume":"78","author":"Chen","year":"2017","journal-title":"Arch. 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