1H-NMR-Based Metabonomics of the Protective Effect of Coptis chinensis and Berberine on Cinnabar-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Nephrotoxicity in Rats

Abstract

Coptis chinensis Franch has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for treating infectious and inflammatory diseases for over two thousand years. Berberine (BN), an isoquinoline alkaloid, is the main component of Coptis chinensis. The pharmacological basis for its therapeutic effects, which include hepatoprotective effects on liver injuries, has been studied intensively, yet the therapy of liver injuries and underlying mechanism remain unclear. We investigated the detoxification mechanism of Coptis chinensis and berberine using metabolomics of urine and serum in the present study. After the treatment with Coptis chinensis and berberine, compared with the cinnabar group, Coptis chinensis and berberine can regulate the concentration of the endogenous metabolites. PLS-DA score plots demonstrated that the urine and serum metabolic profiles in rats of the Coptis chinensis and berberine groups were similar those of the control group, yet remarkably apart from the cinnabar group. The mechanism may be related to the endogenous metabolites including energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism and metabolism of intestinal flora in rats. Meanwhile, liver and kidney histopathology examinations and serum clinical chemistry analysis verified the experimental results of metabonomics.

Toxicological Risks of Renqingchangjue in Rats Evaluated by 1H NMR-Based Serum and Urine Metabolomics Analysis

“…Representative 600 MHz 1 H NMR spectra of serum and urine samples from NC and HD groups on 15th day are displayed in Figure . Metabolites were identified based on the reported literature studies, ,− chenomx NMR Suite database (version 7.5, Chenomx, Canada) and the Human Metabolome Database database (HMDB, ). The identified metabolites were further confirmed by two-dimensional spectra such as 1 H– 1 H COSY (correlation spectroscopy), 1 H– 1 H TOCSY (total correlation spectroscopy), and 1 H– 13 C HSQC (heteronuclear single quantum correlation).…”

Coptidis Rhizoma: a comprehensive review of its traditional uses, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology

“…2010; Su et al. 2017). Berberine could ameliorate β-amyloid pathology, gliosis, and cognitive impairment in an Alzheimer’s disease transgenic mouse model through the PI3K/AKT/GSK3 signalling pathway and induced 6-hydroxydopamine-induced human dopaminergic neuronal cell death through the induction of heme-oxygenase-1 and exert antidepressant action through inhibition of organic cation transporter 2 and 3 (Durairajan et al.…”

Tetrahydroxy stilbene glycoside attenuates acetaminophen‐induced hepatotoxicity by UHPLC‐Q‐TOF/MS‐based metabolomics and multivariate data analysis

“…Metabonomics is a powerful technology that is able to assess global low‐molecular‐weight endogenous metabolites in a biological system (Su et al, 2019). The principal metabolites associated with the liver disease include trimethylamine oxide, taurine, betaine, glucose, creatine, creatinine, α‐ketoglutaric acid, citrate, succinate, lactate, leucine, choline, glycine, hippurate, acetate, pyruvate, and alanine (Su, Chen, et al, 2017a; Su, Wang, et al, 2017). Metabonomics can measure changes in metabolism relating to different stages of hepatic disease, so metabolic differences can provide a basis for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of various diseases.…”