State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, National Center of Mass Spectrometry in Changchun, Jilin Province Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Chemistry and Mass Spectrometry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, P. R. China.
School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P. R. China.
J Sep Sci. 2021 Aug;44(16):3158-3166. doi: 10.1002/jssc.202100061. Epub 2021 Jul 16.
Herb pairs are the unique combinations of two relatively fixed herbs, intrinsically convey the basic idea of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. The compatibility of Radix ginseng and Schisandra chinensis has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating Alzheimer's disease for many years. However, there are few studies on Radix ginseng-Schisandra chinensis herb pair, and the underlying action mechanism is still unclear. In this study, the mechanism of Radix ginseng-Schisandra chinensis herb pair on Alzheimer's disease was investigated by using the mass spectrometry-based urinary metabolomics method. Sixteen urinary endogenous metabolites were identified as potential biomarkers. Meanwhile, 10 biomarkers were quantified with tandem mass spectrometry. The study result showed that the brain pathologic symptoms of model rats were improved and the potential biomarkers were adjusted backward significantly after the herb pair administration. The metabolic pathways linked to the herb pair-regulated endogenous biomarkers included phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, purine metabolism, and so on. The above metabolic pathways reflected that Radix ginseng-Schisandra chinensis herb pair mainly regulates abnormal energy metabolism, reduces inflammation, and regulates gut microbiota and neurotransmitters in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
药对是两味相对固定的药物组合，内在地传达了中医方剂的基本思想。人参和五味子的配伍在中医治疗阿尔茨海默病方面已经使用了多年。然而，对于人参-五味子药对的研究较少，其潜在的作用机制仍不清楚。在这项研究中，采用基于质谱的尿代谢组学方法研究了人参-五味子药对治疗阿尔茨海默病的作用机制。鉴定出 16 种尿内源性代谢物作为潜在的生物标志物。同时，采用串联质谱法对 10 种生物标志物进行了定量。研究结果表明，药对给药后可显著改善模型大鼠的脑组织病理症状，并显著调整潜在的生物标志物。与药对调节内源性生物标志物相关的代谢途径包括苯丙氨酸和酪氨酸代谢、色氨酸代谢、嘌呤代谢等。上述代谢途径反映了人参-五味子药对主要通过调节异常能量代谢、减轻炎症以及调节肠道微生物群和神经递质来治疗阿尔茨海默病。
