RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the plasma metabolic profiles of patients with herpes labialis with healthy controls and identify the biomarkers of herpes labialis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We collected 18 patients with herpes labialis and 20 healthy individuals. Plasma samples from both groups were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). RESULTS: According to the principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), we found that metabolic profiles had changed in patients with herpes labialis compared to the controls. By further selecting the different metabolites according to the variable importance in the projection (VIP) and p valve of t-tests, we found that acetic acid, pyroglutamic acid, alanine, ethanedioic acid, cyclohexaneacetic acid, pyruvic acid, d-mannose, phosphoric acid, l-amphetamine, and citric acid were decreased in patients with herpes labialis, while sedoheptulose and ethylamine were increased. Pathway analysis showed that herpes labialis may affect the amino acid and energy metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings may contribute to elucidating the metabolic basis of herpes labialis and provide a new perspective for further research on the "Shang-Huo" state in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).