Advances in understanding of health-promoting benefits of medicine and food homology using analysis of gut microbiota and metabolomics
Review article, 2020

The health-promoting benefits of medicine and food homology (MFH) are known for thousands of years in China. However, active compounds and biological mechanisms are unclear, greatly limiting clinical practice of MFH. The advent of gut microbiota analysis and metabolomics emerge as key tools to discover functional compounds, therapeutic targets, and mechanisms of benefits of MFH. Such studies hold great promise to promote and optimize functional efficacy and development of MFH-based products, for example, foods for daily dietary supplements or for special medical purposes. In this review, we summarized pharmacological effects of 109 species of MFH approved by the Health and Fitness Commission in 2015. Recent studies applying genome sequencing of gut microbiota and metabolomics to explain the activity of MFH in prevention and management of health consequences were extensively reviewed. We discussed the potentiality in future to decipher functional activities of MFH by applying metabolomics-based polypharmacokinetic strategy and multiomics technologies. The needs for personalized MFH recommendations and comprehensive databases have also been highlighted. This review emphasizes current achievements and challenges of the analysis of gut microbiota and metabolomics as a new avenue to understand MFH.

medicine and food homology

metabolomics

multiomics technology

gut microbiota

Author

Minmin Yang

Shaanxi Normal University

Tao Yan

Shaanxi Normal University

Meng Yu

China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences

Jie Kang

Shaanxi Normal University

Ruoxi Gao

Shaanxi Normal University

Peng Wang

Shaanxi Normal University

Yuhuan Zhang

Shaanxi Normal University

Huafeng Zhang

Shaanxi Normal University

Lin Shi

Chalmers, Biology and Biological Engineering, Food and Nutrition Science

Shaanxi Normal University

Food Frontiers

26438429 (eISSN)

Vol. 1 4 398-419

Subject Categories

Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Other Engineering and Technologies not elsewhere specified

Reliability and Maintenance

DOI

10.1002/fft2.49

More information

Latest update

5/23/2024