Wang Dandan, Guo Mingkun, Li Xiangyan, Zhao Daqing, Wang Mingxing
Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China.
Jilin Ginseng Academy, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China.
J Ginseng Res. 2023 Jan;47(1):54-64. doi: 10.1016/j.jgr.2022.04.001. Epub 2022 Apr 18.
Panax ginseng Meyer (P. ginseng) is a traditional natural/herbal medicine. The amelioration on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) activity rely mainly on its main active ingredients that are referred to as ginsenosides. However, the current literature on gut microbiota, gut microbiota-host co-metabolites, and systems pharmacology has no studies investigating the effects of ginsenoside on IBD.
The present study was aimed to investigate the role of ginsenosides and the possible underlying mechanisms in the treatment of IBD in an acetic acid-induced rat model by integrating metagenomics, metabolomics, and complex biological networks analysis. In the study ten ginsenosides in the ginsenoside fraction (GS) were identified using Q-Orbitrap LC-MS.
The results demonstrated the improvement effect of GS on IBD and the regulation effect of ginsenosides on gut microbiota and its co-metabolites. It was revealed that 7 endogenous metabolites, including acetic acid, butyric acid, citric acid, tryptophan, histidine, alanine, and glutathione, could be utilized as significant biomarkers of GS in the treatment of IBD. Furthermore, the biological network studies revealed EGFR, STAT3, and AKT1, which belong mainly to the glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathways, as the potential targets for GS for intervening in IBD.
These findings indicated that the combination of genomics, metabolomics, and biological network analysis could assist in elucidating the possible mechanism underlying the role of ginsenosides in alleviating inflammatory bowel disease and thereby reveal the pathological process of ginsenosides in IBD treatment through the regulation of the disordered host-flora co-metabolism pathway.
人参是一种传统天然草药。其对炎症性肠病（IBD）活动的改善主要依赖于其主要活性成分人参皂苷。然而，目前关于肠道微生物群、肠道微生物群 - 宿主共代谢物以及系统药理学的文献中，尚无研究探讨人参皂苷对IBD的影响。
本研究旨在通过整合宏基因组学、代谢组学和复杂生物网络分析，研究人参皂苷在醋酸诱导的大鼠IBD模型治疗中的作用及潜在机制。在该研究中，使用Q-轨道阱液相色谱 - 质谱法鉴定了人参皂苷组分（GS）中的十种人参皂苷。
结果表明GS对IBD有改善作用，人参皂苷对肠道微生物群及其共代谢物有调节作用。研究发现，包括乙酸、丁酸、柠檬酸、色氨酸、组氨酸、丙氨酸和谷胱甘肽在内的7种内源性代谢物可作为GS治疗IBD的重要生物标志物。此外，生物网络研究揭示主要属于糖酵解和磷酸戊糖途径的表皮生长因子受体（EGFR）、信号转导和转录激活因子3（STAT3）和蛋白激酶B1（AKT1）是GS干预IBD的潜在靶点。
这些发现表明，基因组学、代谢组学和生物网络分析相结合有助于阐明人参皂苷在缓解炎症性肠病中作用的潜在机制，从而通过调节紊乱的宿主 - 菌群共代谢途径揭示人参皂苷在IBD治疗中的病理过程。
