Aqueous extracts of Aconite promote thermogenesis in rats with hypothermia via regulating gut microbiota and bile acid metabolism.BACKGROUND
 Intermittent or prolonged exposure to severe cold stress disturbs energy homeostasis and can lead to hypothermia, heart failure, Alzheimer's disease, and so on.  As the typical "hot" traditional Chinese medicine, Aconite has been widely used to treat cold-associated diseases for thousands of years, but its critical mechanisms for the promotion of thermogenesis are not fully resolved.  Here, we investigated whether the aqueous extracts of Aconite (AA) can enhance thermogenesis through modulation of the composition and metabolism of gut microbiota in hypothermic rats.


 The therapeutic effects of AA on body temperature, energy intake, and the histopathology of white adipose tissue and brown adipose tissue of hypothermic rats were assessed.  The antibiotic cocktail treatment was adopted to further confirm the relationship between the gut microbiota and the thermogenesis-promoting effects of AA.


 Our results showed a sharp drop in rectal temperature and body surface temperature in hypothermic rats.  Administration of AA can significantly increase core body temperature, surface body temperature, energy intake, browning of white adipose tissue, and thermogenesis of brown adipose tissue.  In addition, the depletion of gut microbiota and the reduction of BAs caused by antibiotic cocktails reduced the thermogenesis-promoting effect of AA.


 Our results demonstrated that AA promoted thermogenesis in rats with hypothermia via regulating gut microbiota and BAs metabolism.  Our findings can also provide a novel solution for the treatment of thermogenesis-associated diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
THERM