ABSTRACT
We combined untargeted and targeted metabolomics to explore the mechanism of blood circulation and blood stasis activation in the traditional Chinese herb pair Panax notoginseng-Salvia miltiorrhiza (PS). In this study, the right hind limb of SD rats was struck by a 1 kg weight, causing traumatic blood stasis (TBS) model, then the rats were gavaged with PS (at ratios of 1:0, 0:1, 3:1, 1:1, and 1:3) for 5 consecutive days. At the end of treatment, blood samples were collected for blood rheology and metabolomics analysis, and muscle tissues of injured limbs were used for HE staining and q-PCR analysis. The results showed that different ratios of PS reduced swelling and improved stasis and blood viscosity in the injured limbs of rats, and intervened in metabolism by modulating 11, 11, 17, 15, and 13 differential metabolites, respectively. The PS (3:1) shows the best treatment effect and the most differential metabolites regression. Targeted metabolomics shows that PS (3:1) can increase the content of AA, and reduce the content of PGF2-α by down-regulating the expression of enzymes Ptgs1 and Cbrl12 and up-regulating the expression of enzyme Hpgd. These results suggested that the PS herb pair exerts its blood stasis activating effects by blocking the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins.