Multi-omics insights into Shenling Baizhu Powder’s amelioration of murine asthma through gut microbiota and Glutamine-GLS1 pathway

Ancient remedy meets modern asthma

Asthma affects tens of millions of people worldwide and is often treated with inhalers and steroids that can have troubling side effects. This study looks at Shenling Baizhu Powder, a classic traditional Chinese herbal mixture used for lung problems for nearly a thousand years, and asks a very modern question: can we explain its benefits for asthma by tracking changes in gut bacteria, blood chemicals, and the immune system all at once? The researchers used advanced “multi-omics” tools in a mouse model of asthma to find out how this herbal formula might calm inflamed airways from the inside out.

What this herbal powder is and why it matters

Shenling Baizhu Powder is a blend of ten plant ingredients, including ginseng, licorice root, and yam. Doctors in China have long prescribed it for chronic lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, especially when patients are tired and short of breath. Earlier work showed that the formula can reduce certain inflammatory molecules in the lungs, but the bigger picture was missing. This study set out to connect three pieces: how the powder affects the gut’s resident microbes, how those microbes change small molecules circulating in the blood, and how those molecules ultimately influence immune cells that drive asthma.

Testing the formula in an asthma-like mouse model

To mimic human allergic asthma, the team exposed mice to ovalbumin, a protein that triggers strong airway reactions. These “model” mice developed swollen, mucus-filled airways, stiff breathing, and high levels of inflammatory messenger proteins such as IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and IL-17A. Mice treated with Shenling Baizhu Powder had far less airway damage under the microscope, less scarring, and lower airway sensitivity to a breathing challenge. Their levels of those key inflammatory messengers in lung fluid also dropped sharply, especially at higher herbal doses, suggesting real protection against asthma-like attacks without obvious liver or kidney toxicity.

Gut microbes as hidden partners in lung health

Because the gut and lungs are linked through the immune system, the researchers next examined the gut microbiota using metagenomic sequencing. Asthmatic mice without treatment showed a disrupted microbial community, including reduced levels of helpful groups like Lactobacillus, Ligilactobacillus, Eubacterium, and Enterococcus, and increases in potentially harmful groups such as Clostridium, Desulfovibrio, and Alistipes. Shenling Baizhu Powder shifted this pattern back toward a healthier balance: beneficial bacteria recovered, while inflammatory or toxin-producing species declined. Analyses of microbial functions suggested that pathways involved in transport, sugar use, and complex carbohydrate processing were strengthened, changes that are known to influence both gut barrier health and immune responses.

Key blood chemicals and a metabolic brake on inflammation

Beyond microbes, the team profiled hundreds of small molecules in the blood. They found that the herbal treatment modified many metabolites, but one cluster stood out: the pathway involving glutamine and glutamate, amino acids central to immune cell fuel use. In untreated asthmatic mice, glutamine was depleted and its downstream product α-ketoglutarate was elevated. Shenling Baizhu Powder reversed this pattern, raising glutamine and lowering α-ketoglutarate. In lung tissue, two enzymes that convert glutamine to α-ketoglutarate—GLS1 and GOT1—were strongly overactive in asthma, but were clearly reduced by the herbal formula.

What this means for people with asthma

Put simply, the study suggests that Shenling Baizhu Powder eases asthma in mice by working along a gut–blood–immune axis. It helps restore friendly gut bacteria, nudges key blood nutrients like glutamine back into balance, dials down enzymes that over-fuel aggressive immune cells, and steers the immune system away from allergy-promoting responses. While these results in animals do not yet prove benefit or safety in people, they offer a scientific framework for how a long-used traditional remedy might complement modern asthma care and point toward new drug targets that mimic its effects without the side effects of long-term steroids.

Citation: Zeng, Y., Qi, H., Guo, W. et al. Multi-omics insights into Shenling Baizhu Powder’s amelioration of murine asthma through gut microbiota and Glutamine-GLS1 pathway. Sci Rep 16, 7291 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38440-8

Keywords: asthma, gut microbiota, traditional Chinese medicine, glutamine metabolism, immune balance