The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of berberine (BBR) on chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) and its potential mechanism. The effects of BBR on gastric histopathology, serum biochemical indexes and inflammatory factors in CAG rats were assessed. Moreover, plasma and urine metabolomics based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometer (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS) were used to identify potential metabolic markers and possible pathways of BBR in the treatment of CAG. The results showed that BBR could significantly improve the pathological characteristics of gastric tissue, alleviate the serum biochemical indexes and reduce the mRNA expression of nuclear factor-κB, tumor necrosis factor-α, Cyclooxygenase-2, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, Interleukin-17A and I interferon-γ. The results of metabolomic analysis show that the therapeutic effect of BBR on CAG may be related to the regulation of 15 metabolic markers and 12 metabolic pathways, which may be the potential mechanism for the treatment of CAG. This study provides new insights for elucidating the mechanism of BBR improving CAG.
Keywords: Berberine; Chronic atrophic gastritis; Metabolomics; Molecular mechanisms.
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