4. Discussion
DISEASE, DISORDERS
In this randomized, placebo-controlled study, we evaluated the potential effect of SAAT on fecal microbiota composition in healthy adults by 16S rDNA sequencing. Generally, our present investigation first revealed the relative abundance of the After the 2-year SAAT treatment, the relative abundance of According to the TCM theory, the health of a person depends on the dynamic balance between the physiological state and the surrounding environment. Recently, the gut microbiota has also been identified as an important link for balance.There are several limitations that should be acknowledged in this study. First, we had a limited number of participants, which might lead to subject selection bias. Second, the extended follow-up has not been assessed and the long-term effect of acupuncture on these indices could not be determined. Third, we only included healthy individuals without enrolling in disease groups, which limits our ability to infer the modulation effect of SAAT on gut microbiome disorders. Finally, we did not perform the metabolomics study of feces and the combination of fecal metabolomics and 16S rDNA gene sequencing would be the future direction of our research. Nonetheless, the present trial is the first randomized, controlled study to evaluate the impact of SAAT on the abundance and biological structure of gut microbiota in healthy Asian adults, which needs further validation in larger cohorts.