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REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.

Sec. Renal Pharmacology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1628294

A review of advances in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy by modulating intestinal flora with natural products of traditional Chinese medicine

Provisionally accepted
Tao  WangTao Wang1,2Ming  ChenMing Chen1,2Jiwen  XuJiwen Xu1Yuhang  QiaoYuhang Qiao2Xinhui  HuangXinhui Huang2Xiaoming  YanXiaoming Yan2Fuli  ZhangFuli Zhang1*
  • 1Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
  • 2Heilongjiang Academy of Chinese Medicine Sciences, Harbin, China

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

Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) is one of the most serious complications of diabetes mellitus (DM). Hemodynamic irregularities, metabolic problems, and hormone production are only a few of the many mediators and routes that contribute to the intricate and varied genesis of DN. DN is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease, which is characterised by persistently low glomerular filtration capacity and hyperglycaemia. Numerous studies have been conducted recently on the function of gut flora in DN. According to current research, the formation and progression of DN have been linked to imbalances in the gut microbiota and abnormal microbial metabolite production. Therefore, intestinal flora modulation may be an entry point for the treatment of DN. As an increasing number of studies are using natural products of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a therapeutic tool, this article reviews the progress of TCM natural products in treating DN by modulating gut microbiota.

Keywords: diabetic nephropathy, intestinal flora, Natural Products, TCM, metabolite

Received: 14 May 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Chen, Xu, Qiao, Huang, Yan and Zhang. 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: Fuli Zhang, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China

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