The herbal preparation STW 5 is effective in functional dyspepsia at least partly by beneficially affecting changes in the microbiome

Introduction Functional dyspepsia (FD) and Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are clinically proven to be improved by the herbal medicine STW 5, therefore the mode of action is of interest.

Method To study FD, this condition was induced in female Wistar rats by subjecting them first to neonatal maternal separation (NMS) followed by restraint stress (RS).

Pups were removed from their mother cage starting 2 days after birth daily for 30 min for 21 days, then weaned. After reaching adulthood, they were subjected to RS daily for 90 min for 1 week. Orally administered STW 5 was given daily (5 ml/kg) for 1 week during the period when rats were subjected to RS. Animals were sacrificed 24 h after last drug administration, and fecal samples were taken from the cecum. Genomic DNA was isolated, and changes in selected bacterial phyla and genera were assessed using quantitative Real Time-PCR (qPCR).

Results Predominant phyla studied under the influence of stress in the model were Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Fusibacterium and Actinobacteria. These were affected to variable extents under the effect of NMS and RS, but the most prominent changes were observed in the Lactobacilli population. STW 5 tended to prevent the induced changes in Proteobacteria abundance, but did not affect changes in Bacteroidetes and tended to prevent the rise in the Firmicutes phylum. STW 5 tended to improve the changes induced by the stress model.

Conclusion The results lend further support to the use of STW 5 in FD [1] and IBS [2] by providing evidence that it acts at least in part through influencing beneficially the intestinal microbiota which was deranged by stress.

Publication History

Article published online:
13 June 2022

• References

• 1 Schmulson MJ. Nature Clin Pract Gastroenterol Hepatol 2008; 5: 136-137
• 2 Madisch A. et al. Aliment Ther 2004; 19: 271-279