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. 2022 May 17:2022:9157465.
doi: 10.1155/2022/9157465. eCollection 2022.

Metabolomic Mechanisms of Radix Fici Hirtae against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Acute Liver Damage in Mice

Fang-Yu Zhou  1 , Ting Quan  1 , Shi-Jian Xiang  2 , Hui Li  3 , Hui-Yuan Chen  1 , Yu-Xuan Yang  1 , Sha-Sha Li  1
Affiliations

Metabolomic Mechanisms of Radix Fici Hirtae against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Acute Liver Damage in Mice

Fang-Yu Zhou et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. .

Abstract

Background: Radix Fici Hirtae (RFH), known as Cantonese ginseng, is an alternative folk medicine that is widely used to treat various diseases in southern China. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and metabolic mechanisms of pretreatment with RFH on the serum metabolic profiles of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced acute liver injury in mice.

Methods: Mice fed with the water extract of RFH at a dose of 1.5 g/kg and 0.75 g/kg for consecutive 7 days, and then serum samples were taken for the metabolomic analysis. Furthermore, the bioinformatics and pathways analysis were measured.

Results: The UHPLC-Orbitrap/MS based-metabolomic analysis identified 20 differential metabolic markers in serum of CCl4-induced liver injury mice compared to that of the normal controls, which were mainly related to the metabolism of amino acids and fatty acids. Furthermore, most of these biomarkers contributing to CCl4 induction were ameliorated by RFH, and the bioinformatics and pathways analysis revealed that therapeutic actions of RFH were mainly involved in the regulation of the oxidative stress responses and energy homeostasis.

Conclusion: These findings provide potential metabolic mechanism for future study and allow for hypothesis generation about the hepatoprotective effects of Radix Fici Hirtae.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of RFH on serum AST and ALT. Values are expressed as mean ± SD. Compared with the NC group: ##p < 0.01; Compared with the CCl4 group: ∗∗p < 0.01.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Representative histopathological photographs of liver tissue sections (200x). (a) NC group; (b) CCl4 group; (c) LRFH group; (d) HRFH group. (e) The oil red O positive area was analyzed and quantified (n = 4). Compared with the NC group: ##p < 0.01; Compared with the CCl4 group: ∗p < 0.05 and ∗∗p < 0.01.
Figure 3
Figure 3
PCA score plot of serum sample from mice in different groups. (a) Positive model; (b) Negative model. The CCl4 group, NC group, and RFH group were marked in blue circle, red triangle, and green square, respectively.
Figure 4
Figure 4
OPLS-DA pattern analysis of serum samples from NC and CCl4 groups. (a) OPLS-DA score plot of positive data. (b) OPLS-DA score plot of negative data. (c) Permutation plot of positive data. (d) Permutation plot of negative data. (e) Volcano plot of positive data. (f) Volcano plot of negative data.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Heatmap of potential biomarker intensities in different groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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