• Germacrone ameliorates diabetic nephropathy in mice by modulating gut microbiota composition, notably reducing pathogenic Serratia_marcescens and Lactobacillus_iners.
• Untargeted fecal metabolomics reveals that Germacrone reverses metabolic dysregulation, increasing beneficial metabolites like oleic acid and lithocholic acid while decreasing stearic acid.
• The study provides novel evidence linking gut microbiota and metabolites to the renoprotective effects of Germacrone, offering a potential therapeutic strategy for DN.
• Integrated 16S rRNA sequencing and metabolomics approach highlights the complex interplay between gut flora and host metabolism in diabetic kidney disease.