A new method involving gut microbiota biotransformation, spectrum-effect relationship analysis and metabolomics analysis was developed to study the antitussive and expectorant microbial metabolites of platycosides fraction (MPFs) of Platycodonis Radix. Furthermore, their possible metabolic mechanisms were studied for the first time. The findings showed that the antitussive and expectorant effects of the platycosides fraction (PF) were significantly enhanced by the gut microbiota biotransformation. 11 active antitussive microbial metabolites and 12 active expectorant microbial metabolites, which shared 8 components, were successfully screened out via spectrum-effect relationship analysis. The prototypes of the active microbial metabolites could be reversely traced according to the gut microbiota biotransformation pathways. It was found out that one platycoside could produce several active microbial metabolites and several different platycosides could produce the same active microbial metabolite. In addition, the metabolomics analysis showed that both the PF and its active microbial metabolites could regulate the same metabolomic pathways of Linoleic acid metabolism, Arachidonic acid metabolism and Glycerophospholipid metabolism to exert antitussive activity, and regulate the same metabolomic pathway of Arachidonic acid metabolism to exert expectorant activity. These findings suggested the microbial metabolites may be the active forms of the platycosides. Overall, the proposed approach was useful in screening the active microbial metabolites; this work explained the in vivo antitussive and expectorant metabolic mechanisms of multi-constituents, multi-targets and synergistic effects of PF of Platycodonis Radix.
Keywords: Antitussive and expectorant effects; Gut microbiota biotransformation, Spectrum-effect relationship analysis; Metabolomics analysis; Platycodonis Radix.
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