Advanced Search

Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine >

2026 , Vol. 46 >Issue 4: 907 - 915

DOI: https://doi.org/10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2026.04.011

Original Articles

Antihypertensive effect of acupuncture involve reshaping gut microbiota and alleviating gut inflammation in spontaneously hypertensive rats

  • ZHENG Jie ,
  • DING Zhimin ,
  • CHEN Tingyu ,
  • Lü Zhuan ,
  • ZHANG Lihong ,
  • LIU Yongtao ,
  • ZHANG Yasu ,
  • JIN Xiaoqin ,
  • WANG Xinyu ,
  • LIU Bin ,
  • FENG Xiaodong
Expand
  • 1 School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450046, China
    2 College of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou 350122, China
    3 Department of Rehabilitation, the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450000, China
ZHENG Jie and DING Zhimin are co-first authors and contributed equally to this work

Received date: 2025-08-09

  Accepted date: 2026-04-13

  Online published: 2026-08-08

Supported by

Provincial Natural Science Foundation of Henan: Mechanism Underlying Antihypertensive Effect of Acupuncture at Renying (ST9) and Zusanli (ST36) in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Based on Gut-immune Axis(202300410260);Key Research Project Program of Higher Education Institutions in Henan Province: Investigation of the Neuroprotective Mechanism of Acupuncture at Renying (ST9) and Zusanli (ST36) in Hypertension via the Gut-Brain Axis(25B360011);Special Project for Scientific Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine of the "Double First-class" Founding Disciplines of Henan Province(HSRP-DFCTCM-T-9)

Fold

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the antihypertensive effect and mechanism of acupuncture at Renying (ST9) and Zusanli (ST36) from the perspective of gut microbiota.

METHODS: Eighteen male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were randomly divided into the SHR group, the acupuncture group (SHR + A), the sham acupuncture group (SHR + SA), and six Wistar-Kyoto rats were set up as the normotensive control group. 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene sequencing was performed to characterize changes in the gut microbiota. Blood samples were collected to measure inflammatory cytokines using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to assess the degree of colonic damage. Western blotting was performed to evaluate intestinal inflammation.

RESULTS: We observed that acupuncture at acupoints Renying (ST9) and Zusanli (ST36) reduced blood pressure in SHRs, modulated microbial beta diversity, increased the abundance of beneficial genera, and reshaped the composition of the intestinal microbiota. In addition, hypertension induced pathological changes in the intestine, along with inflammation and increased permeability. By contrast, acupuncture treatment decreased serum inflammatory cytokine levels and inhibited activation of the toll-like receptor 4/ nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathway in SHRs, thereby restoring intestinal barrier integrity.

CONCLUSIONS: Our experimental results indicate that acupuncture exerts a hypotensive effect that is associated with modulation of intestinal inflammation and microbiota, which may offer a new strategy for the prevention and treatment of hypertension.

Key words： hypertension; acupuncture; gut inflammation; gastrointestinal microbiome; toll-like receptor 4; NF-kappa B

Cite this article

ZHENG Jie , DING Zhimin , CHEN Tingyu , Lü Zhuan , ZHANG Lihong , LIU Yongtao , ZHANG Yasu , JIN Xiaoqin , WANG Xinyu , LIU Bin , FENG Xiaodong . Antihypertensive effect of acupuncture involve reshaping gut microbiota and alleviating gut inflammation in spontaneously hypertensive rats[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2026 , 46(4) : 907 -915 . DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2026.04.011

References

1. Fisher NDL, Curfman G. Hypertension-a public health challenge of global proportions. JAMA 2018; 320: 1757-9.
2. Liu X, Yang SN, Xu Y. Effect of Yang-deficiency constitution on cognitive impairment in cerebral small vessel disease and its neuroimaging mechanism. J Tradit Chin Med 2025; 45: 1144-51.
3. Zhang DS, Chen L, Mazhar M, Xue JY, Liu P, Liu MN. Application of promoting blood circulation and resolving blood stasis in intracerebral hemorrhage: a traditional method gradually being reconsidered. J Tradit Chin Med 2025; 45: 458-72.
4. Lu J, Lu Y, Wang X, et al. Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in China: data from 1·7 million adults in a population-based screening study (China PEACE Million Persons Project). Lancet 2017; 390: 2549-58.
5. Kusumawardani LA, Andrajati R, Nusaibah A. Drug-related problems in hypertensive patients: a cross-sectional study from indonesia. J Res Pharm Pract 2020; 9: 140-5.
6. Chen Y, Chen Z, Liang L, et al. Multi-kingdom gut microbiota dysbiosis is associated with the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension. EBioMedicine 2025; 115: 105686.
7. Kim S, Goel R, Kumar A, et al. Imbalance of gut microbiome and intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction in patients with high blood pressure. Clin Sci (Lond) 2018; 132: 701-18.
8. Xu X, Jin H, Li X, et al. Fecal microbiota transplantation regulates blood pressure by altering gut microbiota composition and intestinal mucosal barrier function in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins 2025; 17: 4066-79.
9. Li J, Zhao F, Wang Y, et al. Gut microbiota dysbiosis contributes to the development of hypertension. Microbiome 2017; 5: 14.
10. Dinakis E, O'Donnell JA, Marques FZ. The gut-immune axis during hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2024; 240: e14193.
11. Chen D, Jia P, Wang M, et al. Liensinine can improve vascular remodeling in hypertension through the ferroptosis-related TLR4 inflammatory pathway. J Mol Med (Berl) 2025; 104: 13.
12. Bomfim GF, Echem C, Martins CB, et al. Toll-like receptor 4 inhibition reduces vascular inflammation in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Life Sci 2015; 122: 1-7.
13. Yeom M, Ahn S, Hahm DH, et al. Acupuncture ameliorates atopic dermatitis by modulating gut barrier function in a gut microbiota-dependent manner in mice. J Integr Med 2024; 22: 600-13.
14. Yan H, Hua Y, Ni J, et al. Acupuncture ameliorates inflammation by regulating gut microbiota in acute ischemic stroke. IBRO Neurosci Rep 2025; 18: 443-52.
15. Ding Z, Chen T, Zhang L, et al. Effects of acupuncture on fecal short-chain fatty acids and TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Zhong Guo Zhen Jiu 2024; 44: 661-8.
16. Calderón-Zamora L, Canizalez-Román A, León-Sicairos N, et al. Changes in expression of orphan receptors GPR99 and GPR107 during the development and establishment of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats. J Recept Signal Transduct Res 2021; 41: 558-65.
17. Yan YX, Shao MJ, Qi Q, et al. Artemisinin analogue SM934 ameliorates DSS-induced mouse ulcerative colitis via suppressing neutrophils and macrophages. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2018; 39: 1633-44.
18. Edgar RC. UPARSE: highly accurate OTU sequences from microbial amplicon reads. Nat Methods 2013; 10: 996-8.
19. Wang Q, Garrity GM, Tiedje JM, Cole JR. Naive Bayesian classifier for rapid assignment of rRNA sequences into the new bacterial taxonomy. Appl Environ Microbiol 2007; 73: 5261-7.
20. Dong A, Cui Y, Wang W, et al. Effects of acupuncture on endothelial active factors and related autonomic neurotransmitters in spontaneous hypertension rats. Zhong Guo Zhen Jiu 2024; 44: 931-8.
21. Yang Z, Wang Q, Liu Y, et al. Gut microbiota and hypertension: association, mechanisms and treatment. Clin Exp Hypertens 2023; 45: 2195135.
22. Schloss PD, Westcott SL, Ryabin T, et al. Introducing mothur: open-source, platform-independent, community-supported software for describing and comparing microbial communities. Appl Environ Microbiol 2009; 75: 7537-41.
23. Cassol I, Iba?ez M, Bustamante JP. Key features and guidelines for the application of microbial alpha diversity metrics. Sci Rep 2025; 15: 622.
24. Santisteban MM, Qi Y, Zubcevic J, et al. Hypertension-linked pathophysiological alterations in the gut. Circ Res 2017; 120: 312-23.
25. Mostafavi Abdolmaleky H, Zhou JR. Gut microbiota dysbiosis, oxidative stress, inflammation, and epigenetic alterations in metabolic diseases. Antioxidants (Basel) 2024; 13: 985.
26. Aron-Wisnewsky J, Warmbrunn MV, Nieuwdorp M, Clément K. Metabolism and metabolic disorders and the microbiome: The intestinal microbiota associated with obesity, lipid Metabolism, and metabolic health-pathophysiology and therapeutic strategies. Gastroenterology 2021; 160: 573-99.
27. Wang B, Chen X, Chen Z, et al. Stable colonization of Akkermansia muciniphila educates host intestinal microecology and immunity to battle against inflammatory intestinal diseases. Exp Mol Med 2023; 55: 55-68.
28. Hsu CN, Hou CY, Chang CI, Tain YL. Resveratrol butyrate ester protects adenine-treated rats against hypertension and kidney disease by regulating the gut-kidney axis. Antioxidants (Basel) 2021; 11: 83.
29. Guzik TJ, Nosalski R, Maffia P, Drummond GR. Immune and inflammatory mechanisms in hypertension. Nat Rev Cardiol 2024; 21: 396-416.
30. Xiao L, Harrison DG. Inflammation in hypertension. Can J Cardiol 2020; 36: 635-47.
31. Si W, Zhao Y, Wu Y, et al. High-salt diets, intestinal barrier, and hypertension: a mechanistic review and the promise of dietary therapy. Nutrients 2025; 17: 3688.
Options
Outlines

/

〈 〉