{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T20:59:01Z","timestamp":1791406741488,"version":"4.3.3"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788912000000},"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. Nutr."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The prevention of colorectal cancer (CRC) and its possible relapse remains a daunting challenge due to the unclear mechanisms governing gut dysbiosis and its interaction with the gut\u2013immune axis. The present study aimed to investigate the preventive role of a polyherbal immunostimulatory formulation to restoring microbial diversity in gut and preventive management of colon cancer.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      We developed a novel polyherbal and probiotic-based immunostimulatory formulation with four variants (F3A, F3B, F3C, and F3D), incorporating botanical extracts and probiotics. Initially, plant-derived biological lead compounds were identified using LC\/MS\/MS. Next, the identified biological leads were subjected to\n                      <jats:italic>in-silico<\/jats:italic>\n                      molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations with apoptotic biomarker, oncogenic marker, and immunomodulatory biomarkers (i.e., BCL2\/BAX, KRAS, BRAF, IL-6, and IL-10), respectively. Followed by, the cellular cytotoxicity of the formulations were analyzed in murine colon cancer cell line (CT26), human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (HT29), and normal human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293). All four formulations were tested for their immunomodulatory potential by western blot analysis in in CT26 cell line. Furthermore,\n                      <jats:italic>E. coli<\/jats:italic>\n                      growth inhibition, and T-cell and B-cell proliferation were examined by\n                      <jats:italic>ex-vivo<\/jats:italic>\n                      conditions.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Formulation F3B showed maximal cytotoxicity in CT26 cell line however it considered for animal experiments. Thereafter,\n                      <jats:italic>in-vivo<\/jats:italic>\n                      experiments were conducted using adult female BALB\/c mice to investigate the modulation of gut dysbiosis. In the present study, animals were divided in three groups (normal control, diseases control, treatment control) while each group consisted of\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 6 animals.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our findings demonstrate that the proposed formulations exhibit anti-proliferative, mild pro-apoptotic, immunomodulatory, and antimicrobial effect. Based on 16S rRNA sequencing results, F3B demonstrated better outcomes toward managing gut dysbiosis in female BALB\/C mice. However, we can conclude that formula 3FB can be used as preventive approach to control gut dysbiosis and possible colon cancer relapse.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2026.1854998","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T15:28:12Z","timestamp":1788967692000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["A polyherbal and probiotic-based immunostimulatory formulation for managing gut dysbiosis in colorectal cancer"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Abhiram","family":"Kumar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Hyderabad Campus","place":["Hyderabad, India"]},{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Hyderabad Campus","place":["Hyderabad, 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