Study on Hepatotoxicity Mechanism of Toosendan Fructus Based on 16S rDNA Sequencing

OBJECTIVE To preliminary study the mechanism of hepatotoxicity of Toosendan Fructus by observing the effect of Toosendan Fructus hepatotoxicity on intestinal flora of rats.METHODS Rats as the research objects,Toosendan Fructus group was given corresponding solution continuous administration for 21 d.The fecal samples were collected after the last dose of the drugs,extracted the fecal DNA.The sequencing analysis of 16S rDNA was conducted on the Illumina MiSeq platform.RESULTS The content of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in serum could be remarkably improved by Toosendan Fructus,the total cholesterol (CHO) and total protein (TP) were significantly decreased (P<0.05).The results of the analysis of microflora diversity and the differences showed that the diversity of intestinal flora in the Toosendan Fructus group was reduced,the abundance of Firmicutes,Actinobacteria,Bacilli,Erysipelotrichi,Lactobacillales were significantly increased,and Clostridia,Bacteroidia,Ruminococcaceae were obviously decreased.According to the correlation analysis,the content of ALT and AST in the serum were significantly correlated with the abundance of Bifidobacterium,Ruminococcus,Coprococcus,Desulfovibrio,Roseburia,Clostridia and Bacteroidia,while CHO and TP were significantly correlated with the Paraprevotella,Treponema,Aerococcus.CONCLUSION Toosendan Fructus can significantly reduce the diversity of intestinal flora,and its liver toxicity mechanism may be related to the increasing the number of Allobaculum and Erysipelotrichi.