Associations Between Gut Microbiota and Tissue Exposure of Gastrodia elata-Derived Bioactive Components: Observations from Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in SHRs and Wistar Rats.

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to explore potential associations between gut microbiota and the in vivo tissue exposure profiles of bioactive constituents derived from Gastrodia elata in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Methods: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) tissue quantification, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were applied in the present work. Results: Distinct tissue exposure patterns of Gastrodia elata-derived gastrodin (GAS) and gastrodigenin (HBA) were observed following gut microbiota remodeling. Noticeable shifts in the relative abundance of specific intestinal bacterial taxa were detected between hypertensive SHRs and normotensive Wistar rats, and these taxonomic alterations showed correlation with tissue levels of the target herbal components. Conclusions: It should be noted that the FMT experimental design in this study cannot fully decouple microbiota-related effects from drug treatment confounders; hence, our findings represent preliminary correlative observations rather than definitive causal evidence. This work provides experimental clues for understanding host-microbe-herb interplay under hypertensive conditions and may offer reference information for optimizing administration strategies of natural hypotensive compounds.