Aqueous Artemisia argyi extract mitigates acute lung injury by coordinating gut microbiota, metabolic homeostasis, and pulmonary inflammatory signaling

Background: Artemisia argyi is a traditional medicinal herb with established anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. Its aqueous extract (AEAA), enriched in water-soluble bioactive constituents, exhibits favorable safety and bioavailability; however, its potential protective effects against acute lung injury (ALI) and its associations with systemic immunometabolic regulation remain incompletely understood. Methods: An LPS-induced ALI mouse model was established following 28 days of AEAA pretreatment. Lung histopathology, pulmonary edema, and inflammatory cytokines were evaluated. Integrated multi-omics analyses—including gut microbiota profiling, untargeted metabolomics of colonic contents and serum, and lung transcriptomics—were performed to characterize treatment-associated microbial, metabolic, and transcriptional alterations.Results: Lung transcriptomic profiling suggested attenuation of LPS-associated transcriptional signatures related to NF-κB, MAPK, Toll-like receptor, and PI3K–AKT signaling pathways. Cross-omics integration further revealed coordinated associations among microbial shifts, metabolic remodeling, and pulmonary inflammatory gene expression.Conclusion: These findings suggest that aqueous Artemisia argyi extract is associated with mitigation of LPS-induced acute lung injury, accompanied by coordinated alterations in gut microbiota composition, host metabolic profiles, and pulmonary inflammatory gene expression. Although causal relationships were not established, this integrated multi-omics analysis provides a systems-level, hypothesis-generating framework supporting the potential of AEAA as a multi-target botanical candidate for ALI.