Qingyi granules ameliorate severe acute pancreatitis in rats by modulating the gut microbiota and serum metabolic aberrations

AbstractContext Qingyi granules can be used to effectively treat patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP).Objective To elucidate the role of gut microbiota-mediated metabolism in the therapeutic effects of Qingyi granules.Materials and methods Sprague–Dawley rats were grouped into the sham operation, SAP model, Qingyi granule intervention (Q, 1.8 g/kg) and emodin intervention (E, 50 mg/kg) groups and observed for 24 h. H&E staining and ELISA were used for histopathological analysis and serum enzyme and cytokine assays. 16S rDNA sequencing and UHPLC-HRMS were used for gut microbiota analysis and untargeted metabolomics.Results In SAP rats, Qingyi granules decreased the pancreatic pathological score (Q, 7.4 ± 1.14; SAP, 11.6 ± 1.14, p