16Metformin is widely used to surmount insulin resistance (IR) and diabetes. 17 Evidence indicates that metformin remodels gut microbiota but the underlying 18 mechanism remain unclear. Present results showed that metformin effectively 19 improved insulin sensitivity and alleviated liver inflammation and oxidative stress in 20 30 improves metabolism. 31 NRF2 33 34 35The prevalence of obesity and overweight have been on the rise worldwide 1,2 . 36 Current predictions indicate that more than 1 billion people will be obese by 2030 3 . 37 Visceral obesity precedes the development of metabolic complications and chronic 38 diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) 4 , hepatic steatosis 5 and cardiovascular 39 diseases 6 . Metformin has been the first-line anti-diabetic drug for more than 60 years 40 because of its excellent hypoglycemic effect and safety profile 1,7 . Although several 41 studies have explored the mechanisms by which metformin maintains glucose 42 homeostasis, findings from such studies are inconsistent. The prevailing view is that 43 metformin activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in the liver, similar to the 44 principle of caloric restriction that relieves symptoms of diabetes 8,9 . However, 45 metformin is an orally administered drug that reaches high concentrations in the 46 intestine with much lower serum concentrations 10 , thus, the possibility that its 47 metabolic therapeutic mechanism might be due in part to actions in the intestine 48 cannot be ignored. Accumulated evidence shows that a high-fat diet (HFD) reduces 49 the abundance of Lactobacilli in the small intestine. However, this can be 50 counteracted by metformin, which increases the proportion of probiotics, thus, 51 relieving the symptoms of HFD-induced diabetes 11 . Although metformin may play a 52 hypoglycemic effect by improving the gut microbiota, oral administration of 53 antibiotics to diabetic mice impairs the hypoglycemic ability of metformin 12 . In 54 addition, while metformin can increase the abundance of Escherichia coli, it can as 55 well reduce the abundance of Intestinibacter. This can further influence diverse 56 biological processes such as the synthesis of branched-chain amino acid and the 57 secretion of GPL-1, thereby improving glucose tolerance and alleviating insulin 58 resistance (IR) 13,14 . These findings suggest that modulation of gut microbiota is 59 involved in the hypoglycemic mechanism of metformin. 60 Bile acids (BAs), which are produced in the liver and serve as important 61 ingredients of the digestive fluid in the intestine, enter the small intestine through the 62 biliary system and participate in fat digestion and absorption 15,16 . Gathered evidence 63 demonstrates that BAs could improve the intestinal homeostasis by modulating the 64 gut microbiota, thus relieving metabolic syndrome 17 . Recent studies also suggest that 65 BAs can participate in the liver-gut axis circulation and the improvement of 66 HFD-initiated metabolic disorders by inhibiting the proliferation of path...