Table 2.

TCM formula or extract exerts anti-CRC effect based on gut microbiota.

TCM formula or extract	Bacterial species	Mechanism
Isoliquiritigenin	Escherichia, Enterococcus, and some probiotics (Butyricicoccus, Clostridium, and Ruminococcus)	It reduced the abundance of opportunistic pathogens and increased the levels of probiotics [54]
Ginsenosides Rb3 and rd	Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides acidifaciens, Bacteroides xylanisolvens, Dysgonomonas, and Helicobacter	It exerted anticancer effects by holistically reinstating mucosal architecture, improving mucosal immunity, promoting beneficial bacteria, and downregulating cancer-cachexia-associated bacteria [55]
Black raspberry anthocyanins	Eubacterium rectale, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Lactobacillus Desulfovibrio, and Enterococcus	It modulated the composition of gut commensal microbiota and changed in inflammation, and the methylation status of the SFRP2 gene may play a central role in the chemoprevention of CRC [56]
Epigallocatechin gallate	Bacteroides, Clostridiaceae, Ruminococcus, Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillu	It maintained a relatively stable structure of the gut microbiota and enriched probiotics [57]
Hydrolysed inulin	Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella enterica serovar typhi	It altered selected intestinal microbiota to alleviate the azoxymethane-induced preneoplastic aberrant crypt foci in Sprague Dawley rats [58]
Glycyrrhiza polysaccharide	Enterorhabdus, Odoribacter, Ruminococcaceae_UCG_014, enterococcus, Ruminococcaceae_UCG_010, Ruminiclostridium, Parasutterella, and Clostridium sensu stricto	It exerted anticancer effects by reducing opportunistic pathogens and enriching probiotics [59]
Gegen qinlian decoction	Bacteroides acidifaciens, Anaeroplasma, and Bacteroidales	Gegen qinlian decoction enhanced the effect of PD-1 blockade in colorectal cancer with microsatellite stability by remodelling the gut microbiota and the tumour microenvironment [60]