DOI: 10.1177/03601293261475415 ISSN: 0360-1293
Effects of
Rhodiola rosea
Combined With Auricular Vagus Nerve Electrical Stimulation on Gut Microbiota and Cognitive Function in Patients With Cognitive Impairment of Qi Deficiency and Blood Stasis Type
Jiani Yang, Yao Zheng, Xuemei Cheng
Objective
To investigate the effects of
Rhodiola rosea
combined with auricular vagus nerve electrical stimulation (aVNES) on gut microbiota and cognitive function in patients with cognitive impairment of qi deficiency and blood stasis type (CICDBS).
Methods
A total of 98 CICDBS patients were retrospectively divided into three groups:
Rhodiola rosea
group (
n
= 32), aVNES group (
n
= 31), and combined group (
n
= 35). Treatments lasted 8 weeks. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores, gut microbiota diversity indices, relative abundances of beneficial genera, and oxidative stress markers were compared before and after treatment.
Results
After 8 weeks, all three groups showed significant improvements in MoCA, MMSE, Chao1 index, Shannon index, relative abundances of
Bifidobacterium
,
Lactobacillus
, and
Faecalibacterium
, as well as serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels, alongside reductions in TCM syndrome scores and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. The combined group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in all indicators compared to the monotherapy groups (
P
< 0.05), while no significant differences were observed between the
Rhodiola rosea
and aVNES groups (
P
> 0.05).
Conclusion
The combination of
Rhodiola rosea
and aVNES was associated with greater improvements in cognitive function than either monotherapy in patients with CICDBS. The underlying mechanism may be associated with enhanced gut microbiota diversity, increased beneficial bacterial abundance, and strengthened antioxidant capacity.