Cordyceps sinensis protects against liver and heart injuries in a rat model of chronic kidney disease: a metabolomic analysis

Abstract

Aim: To test the hypothesis that the traditional Chinese medicine Cordyceps sinensis could improve the metabolic function of extrarenal organs to achieve its anti-chronic kidney disease (CKD) effects. Methods: Male SD rats were divided into CKD rats (with 5/6-nephrectomy), CKD rats treated with Cordyceps sinensis (4 mg·kg -1 ·d -1 , po), and sham-operated rats. After an 8-week treatment, metabolites were extracted from the hearts and livers of the rats, and then subjected to 1 H-NMR-based metabolomic analysis. Results: Oxidative stress, energy metabolism, amino acid and protein metabolism and choline metabolism were considered as links between CKD and extrarenal organ dysfunction. Within the experimental period of 8 weeks, the metabolic disorders in the liver were more pronounced than in the heart, suggesting that CKD-related extrarenal organ dysfunctions occurred sequentially rather than simultaneously. Oral administration of Cordyceps sinensis exerted statistically significant rescue effects on the liver and heart by reversely regulating levels of those metabolites that are typically perturbed in CKD. Conclusion: Oral administration of Cordyceps sinensis significantly attenuates the liver and heart injuries in CKD rats. The 1 H NMRbased metabolomic approach has provided a systematic view for understanding of CKD and the drug treatment, which can also be used to elucidate the mechanisms of action of other traditional Chinese medicines.

Metabolomic investigation of regional brain tissue dysfunctions induced by global cerebral ischemia

“…Genomic and proteomic studies can detect the changes that happened on gene and protein level, while metabolomics can reveal whole metabolic profile changes of living systems in response to external stimuli such as disease-induced damage and drug treatments by monitoring the endogenous low molecular weight metabolites [ 11 – 15 ]. Metabolomics has proven to be valuable in the investigation of molecular mechanisms underlying various human diseases [ 16 , 17 ].…”

The Intervention Effects of Acupuncture on Fatigue Induced by Exhaustive Physical Exercises: A Metabolomics Investigation

“…Although the therapeutic effects of acupuncture have been proved by a huge amount of clinical cases [ 25 , 26 ] and in our previous practices [ 27 , 28 ], its underlying molecular mechanisms at the metabolic level are still poorly understood. In recent decades of years, the emerging of systems biology techniques, which reveals whole genomic, proteomic, and metabolic profile changes of living systems in response to external stimuli such as drug treatments [ 29 , 30 ], opens new opportunities for the working mechanism elucidations of TCM [ 31 – 33 ] including acupuncture [ 34 ]. Here in this paper, we used a nuclear magnetic resonance- (NMR-) based metabolomics approach to investigate the antifatigue effects of traditional acupuncture on healthy young male athletes who had done exhaustive physical exercises.…”

Review of naturopathy of medical mushroom,Ophiocordyceps sinensis, in sexual dysfunction

“…O. sinensis is traditionally used[ 56 57 ] as antidiabetic,[ 58 59 60 61 62 ] antiinflammatory,[ 49 54 63 ] antimicrobial,[ 64 65 ] antioxidant,[ 66 67 68 ] and antitumor agent;[ 44 69 70 71 ] against hypocholesterolemia;[ 72 73 ] and for immunomodulatory properties. [ 74 75 ] It is also used for treatment in several diseases such as cardiovascular,[ 76 77 78 79 ] gastrointestinal,[ 80 ] hepatic,[ 81 82 83 ] neuromuscular,[ 84 85 ] renal,[ 59 85 86 ] and respiratory diseases. [ 87 ] Meena et al .…”