A comparative metabolomics study on dried and processed Rehmannia Radix.

The efficacy of Rehmannia Radix changes after processing. However, the precise effect of processing on the properties of Rehmannia Radix is an intricate topic, as this effect cannot be explained by traditional methods. The purpose of this study was to investigate how processing methods influence the properties of Rehmannia Radix, as well as the changes in body function after administering dried Rehmannia Radix (RR) and processed Rehmannia Radix (PR) using a metabolomics approach. In addition, principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis models were generated using SIMCA-P 14.0 to evaluate the properties of RR and PR. Potential biomarkers were identified, and associated metabolic networks were established to clarify differences in the properties and efficacies of RR and PR. The results showed that RR and PR have cold and hot properties, respectively. RR can exert a hypolipidaemic effect by regulating nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism. PR exerts a tonic effect and regulates the body's reproductive function through the regulation of alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, arachidonic acid, pentose and glucuronate metabolism, respectively. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry-based metabolomics is a promising approach to determine the cold/hot properties of traditional Chinese medicine formulations.

A UPLC-Q-TOF/MS-Based Metabolomics Study on the Effect of Corallodiscus flabellatus (Craib) B. L. Burtt Extract on Alzheimer's Disease.

A UPLC-Q-TOF/MS-based metabolomics study was carried out to explore the intervening mechanism of Corallodiscus flabellatus (Craib) B. L. Burtt (CF) extract on Alzheimer's disease (AD). The AD model group consisted of senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice, and the control group consisted of senescence-accelerated mouse resistant 1 (SAMR1) mice. UPLC-Q-TOF/MS detection, multivariate statistical analysis, and pathway enrichment were jointly performed to research the change in metabolite profiling in the urine of AD mice. The result suggested that the metabolite profiling of SAMP8 mice significantly changed at the sixth month compared with SAMR1 mice of the same age, and the principal component analysis (PCA) score scatter plots of the CF group closely resembled those of the control and positive drug (huperzine A, HA) group. A total of 28 metabolites were considered potential biomarkers associated with the metabolism of beta-alanine, glycine, serine, threonine, cysteine, methionine, arginine, proline, and purines in AD mice. Furthermore, the CF group was clustered with the control and positive group and was clearly separated from the model group in the heat map. In conclusion, significant anti-AD effects were firstly observed in mice after treatment with the CF extract, and the urinary metabolomics approach assisted with dissecting the underlying mechanism.

Effects of bariatric surgery on serum uric acid in people with obesity with or without hyperuricaemia and gout: a retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Weight reduction may reduce serum uric acid (SUA). This study aimed to examine the changes of SUA before and after bariatric surgery in patients with obesity with or without hyperuricaemia and gout. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of 147 routinely collected data on hospital patients with obesity who underwent bariatric surgery. The body weight and SUA were measured at baseline and after surgery at 1-7 days, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. RESULTS: The mean (95% CI) weight reduction of 147 patients was 30.7 (28.7, 32.7) kg 1 year after surgery (P < 0.001). SUA decreased rapidly from 419.0 (400.1, 437.8) µmol/l at baseline to 308.4 (289.6, 327.2) µmol/l at 1-7 days, flared up to 444.8 (423.9, 465.6) µmol/l at 1 month, then decreased again to 383.8 (361.5, 406.1) µmol/l at 3 months, 348.9 (326.3, 371.5) µmol/l at 6 months and 327.9 (305.3, 350.5) µmol/l at 12 months (P < 0.001). Similar trends but more rapid reductions were observed in 55 hyperuricaemia patients and 25 gout patients. All 25 gout patients had an elevated SUA above the therapeutic target (≥360µmmol/l) at baseline, but in 10 patients it was reduced below this target at 12 months. The mean reduction (95% CI) of SUA in all patients and gout patients was 84.3 (63.1-105.4) and 163.6 (103.9, 223.3) µmmol/l, respectively. CONCLUSION: Bariatric surgery significantly reduces body weight and SUA for obese patients with hyperuricaemia and gout. Gout may be considered as an indicator for this surgical treatment in people with severe obesity.

The total flavonoids from Selaginella tamariscina (beauv.) Spring improve glucose and lipid metabolism in db/db mice.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the glucose and lipid metabolism improving effect of the total flavonoids from Selaginella tamariscina (Beauv.) Spring (TFST) on db/db mice, and to study its mechanism of action. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The db/db mice were divided into 5 groups: the normal group (NC), the diabetic group (DM), the gliclazide group (GZ), the DM+TFST (110 mg/kg), and the DM+TFST (220 mg/kg). The body weight, blood glucose, INS, GC, TC, TG, LDL, and HDL were detected. HE staining was used to observe the liver and pancreas. Urine was tested by UPLC-QTOF-MS to study the metabolic differences of each group, coupled with SIMCA-P13.0 for PCA and OPLS-DA analysis, to identify potential biomarkers, find the metabolic pathway. Western blot was used to examine liver tissue of mice for studying effect of TFST on the PPAR-γ/PI3K/GLU4 pathway. RESULTS: TFST can reduce the weight and levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C, increase the level of GC in blood, and reduce the fat accumulation and inflammation in the liver, and repair the islet cell. 13 biomarkers were identified, they are mainly involved in amino acid metabolism, and purine and pyrimidine metabolism. The results of Western blot show TFST can improve the utilization rate of GLU4 by regulating PPAR-γ and PI3K expression in the liver of db/db mice. CONCLUSION: TFST can improve glucose and lipid metabolism of DM, which relates to regulation of the PPAR-γ/PI3K/GLU4 signaling pathway, and affect the amino acid metabolism, purine, and pyrimidine metabolism.

Plasma cell leukemia characterized by EDTA-dependent plasma cell agglutination: a case report.

Primary plasma cell leukemia (PPCL) is one of the most challenging diseases for hematologists. A 65-year-old Chinese male with a history of chronic kidney disease and anemic appearance was admitted. He was diagnosed with plasma cell leukemia. Peripheral blood cells smearing showed piles of plasma cells with cloud-like agglutination. EDTA-dependent plasma cells agglutination is a rare phenomenon in vitro. We reported a case of plasma cell leukemia characterized by plasma cell agglutination, which has never been reported. This case reminded the laboratory physicians who master the blood cell analyzer should have the ability to comprehensively diagnose hematological diseases, and at the same time strictly implement the "Re-examination Rules for Blood Cells".

Integrating strategies of chemistry, biochemistry and metabolomics for characterization of the medication principle of "treating cold/heat syndrome with hot/cold herbs".

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: "Treating cold syndrome with hot herbs & treating heat syndrome with cold herbs" is a fundamental medication principle of Chinese medicine. Scientists have been working hard to explore the scientific essence of this medication principle. However, researchers only focused on the herbs or syndrome individually, the intrinsic relationship between the cold/hot herbs and cold/heat syndrome received little attention. Consequently, the medication principle still lacked a scientific explanation. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of present study was to explore the scientific essence involved in the medication principle. MATERIALS AND METHODS: First, extracts of cold and hot herb1-7 were analyzed using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS to research the chemical composition. Second, expression of enzymes relating glucose aerobic oxidation and respiratory chain were detected to assess the metabolic state of rats in cold herb, hot herb, cold syndrome and heat syndrome groups. Lastly, metabolomic approach was utilized to screen out biomarkers and related pathways shared between the cold and hot herb groups, the cold and heat syndrome groups, as well as the herb and syndrome groups. RESULTS: The integrated results of chemistry, biochemistry and metabolomics study indicated that the cold (hot) herbs could remedy heat (cold) syndrome through inhibiting (promoting) arginine and proline metabolism and tryptophan metabolism, and the associated excessive (sluggish) material metabolism, ATP storage and generation in heat (cold) syndrome. The fundamental reason behind the differential efficacies of cold and hot herbs was the chemical composition and different contents of shared components. CONCLUSIONS: The medication principle was scientifically elucidated from perspective of material and energy metabolism. Moreover, this integrated novel strategy provides a feasible approach for future research of Chinese medicinal herb.

An integrated metabolomic strategy for the characterization of the effects of Chinese yam and its three active components on septic cardiomyopathy.

Chinese yam (CY), used as both a traditional Chinese medicine and a nutritious food, is an excellent candidate for treating septic cardiomyopathy (SCM). Adenosine, arbutin and allantoin are the major active components in the aqueous extract of CY. The aim of the present study was to interpret the roles of CY, adenosine, arbutin and allantoin in SCM treatment. Firstly, significant physiological indexes were examined to assess the model and treatment effects of CY, adenosine, arbutin and allantoin. Then, a metabolomic approach was utilized to reveal the metabolic disorders in SCM concerning the intervention of CY/adenosine/arbutin/allantoin. The integrated results demonstrated that adenosine, arbutin and allantoin are responsible for the efficacy of CY on SCM treatment by regulating amino acid, arachidonic acid, sphingolipid, glycerophospholipid and glycol metabolism. Moreover, adenosine and/or arbutin could be used as a substitute for CY in treating SCM, and allantoin efficacy was slightly weaker. This integrated metabolomic approach performed excellently in understanding the herbal function and the roles of its components.

A Metabolomics-Based Strategy for the Mechanism Exploration of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Descurainia sophia Seeds Extract and Fractions as a Case Study.

A UPLC-QTOF-MS based metabolomics research was conducted to explore potential biomarkers which would increase our understanding of the model and to assess the integral efficacy of Descurainia sophia seeds extract (DS-A). Additionally, DS-A was split into five fractions in descending order of polarity, which were utilized to illustrate the mechanism together. The 26 identified biomarkers were mainly related to disturbances in phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, purine, arginine, and proline metabolism. Furthermore, heat map, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and correlation network diagram of biomarkers perturbed by modeling were all conducted. The results of heat map and HCA suggested that fat oil fraction could reverse the abnormal metabolism in the model to some extent; meanwhile the metabolic inhibitory effect produced by the other four fractions helped to relieve cardiac load and compensate the insufficient energy supplement induced by the existing heart and lung injury in model rats. Briefly, the split fractions interfered with the model from different aspects and ultimately constituted the overall effects of extract. In conclusion, the metabolomics method, combined with split fractions of extract, is a powerful approach for illustrating pathologic changes of Chinese medicine syndrome and action mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine.