The Metabolomic Rationale for Treating Perimenopausal Syndrome as Kidney Deficiency

Xueqin Chen; Caiming Wu; Wen'na Liang; Jianying Shen; Zewei Zhuo; Liu Hu; Luwei Ruan; Pengheng Zhang; Leqin Xu; Chengfu Li; Shengyuan Lin; Junjie Lan; Haixia Ren; Hongwei Yao; Tongjin Zhao; Bizhen Gao; Tianwei Lin; Huiying Huang; Candong Li

doi:10.1155/2020/8568353

The Metabolomic Rationale for Treating Perimenopausal Syndrome as Kidney Deficiency

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 Dec 9:2020:8568353. doi: 10.1155/2020/8568353. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Xueqin Chen^{1

2}, Caiming Wu^{3

4}, Wen'na Liang⁵, Jianying Shen⁵, Zewei Zhuo⁵, Liu Hu⁵, Luwei Ruan⁵, Pengheng Zhang⁵, Leqin Xu², Chengfu Li², Shengyuan Lin⁶, Junjie Lan^{3

4}, Haixia Ren^{3

4}, Hongwei Yao⁷, Tongjin Zhao^{3

4}, Bizhen Gao⁵, Tianwei Lin^{3

4}, Huiying Huang^{3

4}, Candong Li⁵

Affiliations

¹ The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361026, China.
² Xiamen Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xiamen, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, State-province Joint Engineering Laboratory of Targeted Drugs from Natural Products, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
⁴ Cancer Research Center of Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
⁵ Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China.
⁶ First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian University of Medicine, Fuzhou, China.
⁷ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen, Fujian, China.

Abstract

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) typically attributes the etiopathogenesis of perimenopausal syndrome (PMS) to kidney deficiency in the TCM stratification system for diagnosis. However, the molecular basis of this classical attribution remains to be investigated. Aim of the Study. By unraveling the responses to TCM treatment for kidney deficiency, the metabolomic link between PMS and kidney deficiency can be evaluated for in-depth understanding of the mechanism of TCM treatment and development of better treatment protocols.

Materials and methods: With naturally aged rats as a model for PMS, the metabolomic response to TCM treatment for kidney deficiency was investigated by ¹H NMR.

Results: ¹H NMR metabolomic evidence of plasma samples demonstrates that treatments with two classical TCM prescriptions for kidney deficiency, decoctions of Yougui and Zuogui, result in modulating the metabolic state of the disease model towards that of rats of younger age.

Conclusion: The data support the notion that kidney deficiency is responsible, in part at least, for PMS, and the relevant prescriptions are helpful in dampening the changes in the body's metabolic states to alleviate symptoms of the disorder.