Zhang HJ, Jin SQ, Cai DJ, He ZP. Herbal medicine beyond probiotics: Yiyi Fuzi Baijiang powder and the holistic regulation of gut microbiota in ulcerative colitis. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(1): 115543 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i1.115543]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zhi-Peng He, MD, Professor, Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), No. 54 Youdian Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China. hezhipeng0901@163.com
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Letter to the Editor
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Jan 7, 2026 (publication date) through Jan 13, 2026
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World Journal of Gastroenterology
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1007-9327
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Zhang HJ, Jin SQ, Cai DJ, He ZP. Herbal medicine beyond probiotics: Yiyi Fuzi Baijiang powder and the holistic regulation of gut microbiota in ulcerative colitis. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(1): 115543 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i1.115543]
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2026; 32(1): 115543 Published online Jan 7, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i1.115543
Herbal medicine beyond probiotics: Yiyi Fuzi Baijiang powder and the holistic regulation of gut microbiota in ulcerative colitis
Hua-Jun Zhang, Shui-Quan Jin, Ding-Jun Cai, Zhi-Peng He
Hua-Jun Zhang, Shui-Quan Jin, Ding-Jun Cai, Yuyao Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ningbo 315400, Zhejiang Province, China
Zhi-Peng He, Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang HJ conceptualized the commentary, provided critical insights on the traditional Chinese medicine mechanistic interpretation, and reviewed the final manuscript; Jin SQ drafted the initial manuscript, with a focus on the microbiological and pharmacological perspectives; Cai DJ performed the literature review and provided critical revisions for intellectual content; He ZP supervised the project, provided expertise on the clinical integration of traditional Chinese medicine and modern gastroenterology, and finalized the manuscript for submission; all the authors critically revised and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zhi-Peng He, MD, Professor, Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), No. 54 Youdian Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China. hezhipeng0901@163.com
Received: October 20, 2025 Revised: November 8, 2025 Accepted: November 18, 2025 Published online: January 7, 2026 Processing time: 77 Days and 23.8 Hours
Abstract
We read with great interest the study by Zhang et al on Yiyi Fuzi Baijiang powder (YFB), which exemplifies the power of modern methods to validate traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The key insight is that YFB doesn’t merely alter “good” or “bad” bacteria but restores the gut microbiota’s holistic equilibrium. This is powerfully shown by its paradoxical reduction of anaerobic probiotics like Bifidobacterium, rectifying the diseased, hypoxic environment, causing their aberrant overgrowth. This challenges the conventional probiotic paradigm and underscores a core TCM principle: Herbal formulas treat disease by restoring the body’s overall functional balance. Future research should focus on the interplay between herbal components, intestinal oxygen, and microbial metabolites to further unravel this sophisticated dialogue.
Core Tip: Yiyi Fuzi Baijiang powder (YFB) represents a paradigm shift in treating ulcerative colitis. Unlike conventional probiotics, YFB restores gut ecosystem equilibrium via a dual pathway: Its compounds directly mitigate inflammation while normalizing the intestinal oxygen landscape. This rectifies the hypoxic environment, explaining the paradoxical reduction of overgrown anaerobes like Bifidobacterium as a sign of ecosystem recovery, not a drawback. Integrating multi-omics techniques reveals YFB’s holistic, synergistic mechanism. Future work should employ molecular dynamics and metabolite assays to further decipher this sophisticated system-rebalancing approach.
