Stachyose alleviates coronary heart disease by modulating the metabolic pathways influenced by gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids

Salvia miltiorrhiza polysaccharide (SMP), primarily composed of stachyose, plays a significant role in treating coronary heart disease (CHD). This study aimed to investigate the effects of stachyose on alleviating CHD through physiological, microbiomic, and metabolomic analyses. Both stachyose and SMP reduced blood viscosity, mitigated cardiac injury, and improved intestinal barrier function in CHD rats. Stachyose supplementation significantly remodeled the gut microbiota, leading to an increased abundance of beneficial bacteria. The results demonstrated that stachyose effectively enhanced butyric acid levels, elevated the concentration of short-chain fatty acids, and modulated five metabolic pathways. In particular, stachyose significantly restored the levels of indole derivatives by promoting tryptophan metabolism, which positively correlated with beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium and Ruminococcus . Collectively, these results suggested that stachyose could serve as a functional food for alleviating CHD. • Stachyose reduced blood viscosity and mitigated cardiac injury in a rat model of CHD. • Stachyose effectively modulated the composition of the gut microbiota. • Stachyose restored indole derivative levels by promoting gut microbiota–mediated tryptophan metabolism. • Integrated microbiomic and metabolomic analysis to elucidate the mechanisms of stachyose-mediated CHD alleviation.