SynthesisFrontiers in immunology2026
Modulation of microbiota by traditional Chinese medicine in chronic inflammatory airway disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies.
Synthesis in Frontiers in immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: A growing number of studies have indicated that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can regulate microbiota in chronic inflammatory airway disease (CIAD). Nevertheless, no systematic review or integrated analysis has summarized relevant evidence to date, limiting the clinical application of TCM in this field. Methods: This study followed the PRISMA reporting guidelines. We systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and Web of Science for animal studies published from January 1, 2006 to January 5, 2026 exploring the effects of TCM on microbiota in CIAD. Microbial diversity indices and abundance data were extracted. Meta-analysis was performed using R version 4.5.0 with the meta for package (version 5.0.1), and risk of bias was assessed using the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) tool. Results: A total of 25 studies published from 2016 to 2025 were included, 20 of which were enrolled into the meta-analysis. No statistically significant overall effect of TCM on the examined gut or airway alpha-diversity indices was identified after re-analysis using REML random-effects models with Hartung-Knapp adjustment. Several pooled estimates showed substantial heterogeneity and sensitivity to individual-study omission. Most included studies reported differences in beta diversity between model and TCM groups. Changes in airway and gut microbial relative abundance were heterogeneous across studies. High or unclear risk of bias was identified in most SYRCLE domains for the included studies. Conclusion: Current preclinical evidence suggests that TCM may be associated with changes in airway and gut microbiota in CIAD animal models. However, the updated quantitative analyses did not demonstrate statistically significant overall effects on the alpha-diversity indices examined, and evidence concerning airway microbiota and microbial relative abundance remains heterogeneous. These findings should not be interpreted as evidence of microbiota restoration or therapeutic mechanisms. Well-designed studies with more standardized methodologies are warranted to clarify the impact of TCM on lung-gut axis microecology. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier PROSPERO CRD420261385384.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.