REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Neuropharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1667694
Research Progress on Natural Products in Regulating the Gut Microbiota in Parkinson's Disease
Provisionally accepted
- 1National Chinmedomics Research Center, Metabolomics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Heping Road 24, Harbin 150040, China., Harbin, China
- 2The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
- 3The Second Hospital of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, China
- 4Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with α-synuclein deposition and dopaminergic neuron degeneration. Recent studies have revealed a close correlation between gut microbiota dysbiosis and the pathogenesis and progression of PD. Gut microbiota may influence the disease through multiple pathways, including promoting α-synuclein pathology, disrupting the gut-brain barrier, and triggering inflammation and neuronal damage. Currently, drug treatments for PD primarily focus on compensating for dopaminergic neurotransmission deficits, delaying neuronal degeneration, and clearing abnormal protein aggregates. However, these drugs can only slow disease progression and are associated with significant adverse effects. In contrast, natural products exhibit distinct advantages in modulating PD pathological features by targeting the "gut microbiota-metabolite axis," owing to their multi-target synergistic regulation and favorable safety profiles, making them an ideal strategy for PD intervention. Based on this, we provide a comprehensive review of natural products that regulate the gut microbiota, analyze their specific mechanisms, and offer novel insights into this approach and provide a theoretical foundation for developing safe and effective PD therapeutics.
Keywords: Parkinson's disease, natural product, Gut Microbiota, mechanisms, Research progress
Received: 17 Jul 2025; Accepted: 21 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jia, Zhang, Tai, Zhao, Zhang and Zhou. 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: Haichun Zhou, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.