16S rRNA sequencing of tongue coating microbiota in H. pylori-positive patients (baseline, week 2, week 6) and healthy controls
This study aimed to investigate the impact of vonoprazan-amoxicillin (VA) dual therapy, alone or combined with Banxiaxiexin decoction (BXXXD), on the tongue coating microbiota during Helicobacter pylori eradication. We collected tongue coating samples from 60 H. pylori-positive dyspeptic patients at three time points: baseline (W0), two weeks after treatment initiation (W2), and four weeks post-treatment (W6, follow-up). Additionally, samples from 20 H. pylori-negative healthy individuals were included as controls. The V3-V4 hypervariable regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene were amplified and sequenced on the Illumina Novaseq 6000 platform. This dataset enables characterization of changes in microbial diversity, community composition, and functional pathways associated with H. pylori infection, antibiotic-based eradication therapy, and adjunctive herbal intervention. Understanding these microbiota dynamics may inform strategies to reduce antibiotic-induced dysbiosis and improve therapeutic outcomes in H. pylori-positive patients with dyspepsia.