ABSTRACT Captive Chinese forest musk deer (FMD; Moschus berezovskii ) frequently experience diarrhea linked to gut microbiota dysbiosis. This study uses network pharmacology analysis to clarify kaempferol's therapeutic potential as a dietary supplement for FMD intestinal health, especially under antibiotic restrictions. To explore its mechanisms, we employed 16S rRNA gene sequencing to profile gut microbiota composition, untargeted metabolomics to identify key metabolites, biochemical assays (ELISA) to measure inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, and RT‐qPCR to quantify gene expression related to inflammatory pathways. Network pharmacology analysis suggested that kaempferol mitigates intestinal inflammation by targeting critical molecules, such as TNF. Kaempferol significantly reduced fecal scores and diarrhea frequencies compared to controls ( p 3.0), including the Christensenellaceae R7 group and Blautia . Metabolomic analysis showed significantly increased intestinal levels of indoleacetic acid and indolelactic acid. RT‐qPCR confirmed kaempferol's suppression of NF‐κB/NLRP3 inflammasome pathway genes. This study establishes an integrated “active ingredient–host target–intestinal microbiota–metabolic regulation–pathway network” framework through multi‐omics analysis and highlights that kaempferol promotes intestinal health in FMD by modulating the gut microbiota–metabolite axis to suppress NF‐κB/NLRP3 inflammasome activation. This work deepens research on natural plant extracts for FMD intestinal health and provides new perspectives to advance sustainable FMD breeding.
Liu et al. (Mon,) studied this question.