Synergism and rules of the new combination drug Yiqijiedu formulae (YQJD) on ischemic stroke based on amino acids (AAs) metabolism

Sci Rep. 2014 Jun 3:4:5149. doi: 10.1038/srep05149.

Abstract

The use of combination drugs is considered to be a promising strategy to control complex diseases such as ischemic stroke. The detection of metabolites has been used as a versatile tool to reveal the potential mechanism of diverse diseases. In this study, the levels of 12 endogenous AAs were simultaneously determined quantitatively in the MCAO rat brain using RRLC-QQQ method. Seven AAs were chosen as the potential biomarkers, and using PLS-DA analysis, the effects of the new combination drug YQJD, which is composed of ginsenosides, berberine, and jasminoidin, on those 7 AAs were evaluated. Four AAs, glutamic acid, homocysteine, methionine, and tryptophan, which changed significantly in the YQJD-treated groups compared to the vehicle groups (P < 0.05), were identified and designated as the AAs to use to further explore the synergism of YQJD. The result of a PCA showed that the combination of these three drugs exhibits the strongest synergistic effect compared to other combination groups and that ginsenosides might play a pivotal role, especially when combined with jasminoidin. We successfully explored the synergetic mechanism of multi-component and provided a new method for evaluating the integrated effects of combination drugs in the treatment of complex diseases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acids / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Biomarkers / metabolism
  • Brain / drug effects
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Brain Ischemia / drug therapy*
  • Brain Ischemia / metabolism*
  • Brain Ischemia / pathology
  • Drug Combinations
  • Drug Synergism
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / therapeutic use*
  • Male
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Stroke / drug therapy*
  • Stroke / metabolism*
  • Stroke / pathology
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Biomarkers
  • Drug Combinations
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal