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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.

Sec. Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Pharmacology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1612852

Pretreatment with Astragalus polysaccharide alleviates heat stroke–induced intestinal injury in mice

Provisionally accepted
Niqi  ShanNiqi Shan1Linxiao  WangLinxiao Wang2Chujun  DuanChujun Duan1,3Yilin  WuYilin Wu1Yangmengjie  JingYangmengjie Jing1Hanyin  FanHanyin Fan1Shuai  WangShuai Wang4Yuling  WangYuling Wang1Shijia  WangShijia Wang1Hui  LiuHui Liu4Kun  ChengKun Cheng1Lin  LiuLin Liu2Shanshou  LiuShanshou Liu5Ran  ZhuangRan Zhuang1*
  • 1Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
  • 2Xi'an Honghui Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
  • 3Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
  • 4Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
  • 5Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Background: Heat stroke (HS) is a life-threatening illness. For HS, prevention is more important than treatment. Astragalus polysaccharides (APS), a major active ingredient of Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge, has multiple bioactivities, including anti-inflammatory and immunoregulation. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effects of APS on intestinal injury caused by HS. Methods: Mice were randomized to different groups. After 1 week of APS treatment, a mouse HS model was constructed and evaluated. Intestinal injury was assessed via histopathological examination, and the inflammation level was quantified via quantitative PCR. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence analyses were used to detect neutrophil infiltration. Gut microbiota was analyzed via 16S rRNA sequencing. Moreover, network pharmacology was employed to analyze the potential targets and functional enrichment of APS. The apoptosis levels were detected in mouse intestinal tissues and IEC-6 intestinal epithelial cells. Results: APS pretreatment (50 mg/kg BW) prolonged the survival time, delayed the increasing rate of core temperature, and markedly improved organ injuries of HS mice. APS pretreatment improved the pathological changes in the intestine, inhibited inflammation, and reduced neutrophil infiltration. APS enhances the richness of intestinal flora and may shift microbiota functions, thereby benefiting vitamin B metabolism. Network pharmacology analysis indicated the apoptosis pathway as a potential target of APS. In vivo experiments using mouse HS model and in vitro experiments using IEC-6 cells confirmed the inhibitory effect of APS on apoptosis. Conclusions: The preventive effects of APS on HS-induced intestinal injury included the alteration of intestinal microbiota composition and anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic capacity.

Keywords: Astragalus polysaccharides, Heat Stroke, intestinal immunity, microbiome, Pharmacological network, Apoptosis

Received: 16 Apr 2025; Accepted: 03 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Shan, Wang, Duan, Wu, Jing, Fan, Wang, Wang, Wang, Liu, Cheng, Liu, Liu and Zhuang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Ran Zhuang, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi Province, China

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