Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To explore the main chemical components of total glycosides in Scrophulariae Radix and the mechanism of their intervention in the model of syndrome of hyperactivity of fire due to Yin deficiency in rats.
METHODS SD rats were randomly divided into control group, model group, and total glycosides of Scrophulariae Radix group. 3,5,3'-Triiodothyronine(T3) solution was injected intraperitoneally100 μg·(100 g)−1 to establish hyperactivity of fire due to Yin deficiency model, and cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate(cGMP) levels were detected. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) technology was used to analyze the chemical components of total glycosides of Scrophulariae Radix and endogenous serum metabolites from different groups. Principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) multivariate statistical analysis were applied to screen differential metabolites and construct its metabolic pathway.
RESULTS A total of 31 chemical constituents were identified from the total glycosides of Scrophulariae Radix, which significantly reduced the levels of cAMP and cAMP/cGMP in rats with Yin deficiency. Additionally, in the Yin deficiency-induced fire hyperactivity model, 25 endogenous metabolites showed significantly changes, including increased levels of sphingolipids, steroids, lipids, linoleic acid, and arachidonic acid. Pathway analysis indicated that total glycosides of Scrophulariae Radix might improve hyperactivity of fire due to Yin deficiency disease by regulating metabolic pathways such as sphingolipids, glycerophospholipids, and arachidonic acid.
CONCLUSION In this study, serum metabolomics method is used to reveal the mechanism of total glycosides of Scrophulariae Radix in the intervention of syndrome of hyperactivity of fire due to Yin deficiency, which provide a theoretical basis for the material basis and clinical application of Scrophulariae Radix’s nourishing yin for lowering fire effect.