Metabolomics study on the therapeutic effect of the Chinese herb pair Fructus Aurantii Immaturus and Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae in constipated rats based on UPLC-Q/TOF-MS analysis

作者：Shuai Yan, Min Hao, Huiju Yang, Mingming Sun, Bensheng Wu, Yinzi Yue, Xiaopeng Wang · 发表于：Annals of Palliative Medicine · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.21037/apm-20-280 · 被引用次数：24 · 研究领域：Gastrointestinal motility and disorders、Traditional Chinese Medicine Analysis、Enhanced Recovery After Surgery

BACKGROUND: In China, Zhishi (Aurantii Fructus Immaturus) - Baizhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma) is a well-known herb pair used to treat gastrointestinal motility disorders for thousands of years, and it has especially shown a definite advantage in the treatment of slow transit constipation (STC). However, the mechanism of Zhishi-Baizhu (ZSBZ) in the treatment of STC remains unclear. In this study, plasma metabolomics research combined with metabolic pathway analysis has been used to illuminate the potential mechanism of its effects against STC. METHODS: Parameters of intestinal transit ratio, plasma motilin (MTL), substance P (SP), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), histological alteration of the colon and MLCK expression in the colon were detected to evaluate the effects with respect to STC. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate the global metabolite alterations, while orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and t-test were used to filter potential metabolite markers. Moreover, metabolic pathway analysis was employed. RESULTS: Oral administration of ZSBZ significantly prevented the development of STC. It increased the expression of MTL and SP in serum, as well as the expression of ATP and MLCK in the colon. ZSBZ administration alleviated symptoms in loperamide-induced constipated rats, evidenced by the increase of intestinal transit ratio. Futhermore, 9 potential biomarkers of STC were screened, and the levels were all reverse...