Brain metabolomics study for the protective effects of Rhodiola crenulata extract on Alzheimer's disease by HPLC coupled with Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

In order to investigate the protective effects of Rhodiola crenulata extract on Alzheimer's disease, a brain metabolomics study in rats was conducted by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Rat model was constructed by bilateral hippocampal injection of amyloid-β peptide and immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the pharmacological effect of Rhodiola crenulata extract. Multivariate statistical analysis was used to discover potential biomarkers in rat brain and related metabolic pathways analysis was conducted to elucidate the action mechanism of Rhodiola crenulata extract. As a result, a total of 19 metabolites contributing to Alzheimer's disease progress were identified and nine of them were restored to the normal levels after drug administration. Pathway analysis revealed that the protective effects of Rhodiola crenulata extract are related to the regulation of glutathione metabolism and arachidonic acid metabolism in rat brain. In conclusion, this work demonstrates that the developed metabolomics method is useful to investigate the protective effects of Rhodiola crenulata extract against Alzheimer's disease. These outcomes may further provide reliable evidence to illuminate the intervention mechanism of other traditional Chinese medicines on Alzheimer's disease.