The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of spermine supplementation on weaned rat metabolism. A metabolomic strategy employing high-resolution (1)H NMR spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis was used to investigate rat biological responses to spermine ingestion. Rats received intragastric administration of either 0.2 or 0.4 μmol/g body weight of spermine or saline for 3 days. Plasma samples taken 48 h after the last spermine ingestion were analyzed. Spermine supplementation significantly increased the plasma levels of 1-methylhistidine, 3-hydroxybutyrate, alanine, glutamate, glycerolphosphocholine, phosphorylcholine, myo-inositol, phenylalanine, lysine, glutamine, trimethylanine, tyrosine, valine, formate, glucose, and lipids. These results suggest that spermine ingestion can alter common systemic metabolic processes, including cell membrane metabolism, lipid metabolism, glucose-alanine cycle metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and gut microbiota metabolism. This study also shows the important role of spermine administration in modulating the metabolism of weaned rats.
Keywords: metabolism; metabolomics; plasma; spermine; weaning stress.