An immunologically stressed rat model was used in a metabolomics study on the ability of Paeoniae Rubra Radix to reduce the liver toxicity of Psoraleae Fructus. Different groups of rats were given the extracts of Psoraleae Fructus and Psoraleae Fructus together with Paeoniae Rubra Radix or combined with a non-toxic dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The biochemical indices of liver function and pathological changes in liver tissue were used to evaluate histopathological changes. UHPLC-QTOF/MS was used to analyze the metabolic profile of serum samples, combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) methods. The HMDB database and Metabo Analyst online tool were used for biomarker identification and metabolic pathway-enrichment analysis. The results show that the co-treatment Psoraleae Fructus and LPS resulted in significant liver injury, indicated by the elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities, as well as obvious pathological changes. Liver injury was significantly decreased by treatment with Paeoniae Rubra Radix. Metabolomic analysis showed that the addition of Paeoniae Rubra Radix ameliorated the abnormal serum metabolism in rats mainly through regulation of arachidonic acid metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism pathways.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |