Effect of Golden Wanhong Ointment on wound microbiota in patients with diabetic foot ulcer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the regulatory effect of the hospital preparation Golden Wanhong Ointment on wound microbiota structure in patients with diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), to provide microbiological evidence for its traditional functions of "clearing heat and detoxifying, removing necrotic tissue and promoting granulation." METHODS: A total of 31 DFU patients were enrolled, and 62 wound secretion samples were collected before and after treatment. 16S rRNA gene V3-V4 region amplicon sequencing was performed to analyze changes in microbiota composition and diversity. Wound area, pain score (VAS), and inflammatory factors (IL-6, TNF-α) were measured before and after treatment. RESULTS: Compared to pre-treatment, post-treatment assessments showed significantly reduced wound area, lower pain scores, and decreased levels of IL-6 and TNF-α (all P<0.001). Sequencing yielded 4,579,390 high-quality Clean Reads, with an average of 73,861 high-quality reads per sample. Microbiota analysis revealed a significant compositional remodeling. of wound microbiota structure after treatment: at the phylum level, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria decreased while Firmicutes increased; at the genus level, the abundances of Prevotella and Escherichia-Shigella, which are closely associated with infection, were significantly reduced. CONCLUSION: Golden Wanhong Ointment may promote wound healing by regulating DFU wound microbiota structure, inhibiting the abundance of key pathogenic bacteria, reducing local inflammatory response, and improving the wound microenvironment. This study provides a modern scientific interpretation of its traditional effects from a microbiological perspective.