biostudies-literatureUnknown16He XHua-Feng-Dan is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat ischemic stroke, but little is known about its therapeutic mechanism. This study explored whether and how the mechanism involves readjustment of gut microbiota. Rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion as a model of ischemic stroke or to sham surgery, then treated or not with Hua-Feng-Dan. The different groups of animals were compared in terms of neurological score, cerebral infarct volume, brain edema, brain and gut histopathology to assess stroke severity. They were also compared in terms of indices of intestinal barrier permeability, inflammation and oxidative stress, brain metabolites as well as composition of the gut microbiota and their metabolites. Hua-Feng-Dan significantly reduced cerebral infarct volume aFrontiers in pharmacology1485340https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11808003biostudies-literatureTherapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine Hua-Feng-Dan in a rat model of ischemic stroke involve renormalization of gut microbiota.PMC11808003Liu YShu QCao GZhang YHe XGao YChen YYuan XXu JfalseTherapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine Hua-Feng-Dan in a rat model of ischemic stroke involve renormalization of gut microbiota.Hua-Feng-Dan is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat ischemic stroke, but little is known about its therapeutic mechanism. This study explored whether and how the mechanism involves readjustment of gut microbiota. Rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion as a model of ischemic stroke or to sham surgery, then treated or not with Hua-Feng-Dan. The different groups of animals were compared in terms of neurological score, cerebral infarct volume, brain edema, brain and gut histopathology to assess stroke severity. They were also compared in terms of indices of intestinal barrier permeability, inflammation and oxidative stress, brain metabolites as well as composition of the gut microbiota and their metabolites. Hua-Feng-Dan significantly reduced cerebral infarct volume a2025-01-01T00:00:00Z20252026-06-01T08:48:10.218Z2025-04-04T00:04:03.789ZS-EPMC118080033993168810.3389/fphar.2025.1485340