Bitter taste receptors as therapeutic targets: a review of the role and recent advances of bitter traditional Chinese medicine in bronchial asthma

OBJECTIVE: This review explores recent advances in taste receptors type 2 (TAS2Rs) as potential therapeutic targets for bronchial asthma, focusing on the regulatory effects of bioactive compounds from bitter traditional Chinese medicines to provide new strategies for asthma prevention and treatment. METHODS: Relevant studies were identified through PubMed, including in vitro experiments, animal models, and clinical observations. Literature on the activation of TAS2Rs by bitter traditional Chinese medicine-derived compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, and terpenoids was analyzed, emphasizing mechanisms involving airway smooth muscle (ASM) relaxation, anti-inflammatory responses, and immune modulation. RESULTS: TAS2Rs are widely expressed in the respiratory tract. Their activation induces ASM relaxation, inhibits inflammatory factor release, and modulates immune responses. Bitter compounds like kudinoside A, baicalin, naringin, and artesunate act as TAS2R agonists, improving airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation. Some components, such as baicalin, can also regulate TAS2R expression at the gene transcription level. CONCLUSIONS: TAS2Rs regulate key respiratory processes, offering a new target for treating asthma and other respiratory diseases. Bitter traditional Chinese medicine bioactive compounds show anti-inflammatory and bronchodilatory effects by activating TAS2Rs, showing clinical promise. However, most of the related research is still in the basic research stage, and clinical evidence remains insufficient. Future efforts should focus on large-scale clinical trials and further mechanistic studies to promote the modernization of bitter traditional Chinese medicine in asthma treatment.