Lipidomic investigation of the protective effects of Polygonum perfoliatum against chemical liver injury in mice

Lei Peng; Hua-Guo Chen; Xin Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.joim.2023.03.002

Lipidomic investigation of the protective effects of Polygonum perfoliatum against chemical liver injury in mice

J Integr Med. 2023 May;21(3):289-301. doi: 10.1016/j.joim.2023.03.002. Epub 2023 Mar 9.

Authors

Lei Peng¹, Hua-Guo Chen¹, Xin Zhou²

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Information System of Mountainous Areas and Protection of Ecological Environment, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001, Guizhou Province, China; Guizhou Engineering Laboratory for Quality Control & Evaluation Technology of Medicine, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001, Guizhou Province, China; Research Center for Quality Control of Natural Medicine, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001, Guizhou Province, China.
² Key Laboratory for Information System of Mountainous Areas and Protection of Ecological Environment, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001, Guizhou Province, China; Guizhou Engineering Laboratory for Quality Control & Evaluation Technology of Medicine, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001, Guizhou Province, China; Research Center for Quality Control of Natural Medicine, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001, Guizhou Province, China. Electronic address: alice9800@sina.com.

PMID: 36990846
DOI: 10.1016/j.joim.2023.03.002

Abstract

Objective: Recent investigations have demonstrated that Polygonum perfoliatum L. can protect against chemical liver injury, but the mechanism behind its efficacy is still unclear. Therefore, we studied the pharmacological mechanism at work in P. perfoliatum protection against chemical liver injury.

Methods: To evaluate the activity of P. perfoliatum against chemical liver injury, levels of alanine transaminase, lactic dehydrogenase, aspartate transaminase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and malondialdehyde were measured, alongside histological assessments of the liver, heart and kidney tissue. A nontargeted lipidomics strategy based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry method was used to obtain the lipid profiles of mice with chemical liver injury and following treatment with P. perfoliatum; these profiles were used to understand the possible mechanisms behind P. perfoliatum's protective activity.

Results: Lipidomic studies indicated that P. perfoliatum protected against chemical liver injury, and the results were consistent between histological and physiological analyses. By comparing the profiles of liver lipids in model and control mice, we found that the levels of 89 lipids were significantly changed. In animals receiving P. perfoliatum treatment, the levels of 8 lipids were significantly improved, relative to the model animals. The results showed that P. perfoliatum extract could effectively reverse the chemical liver injury and significantly improve the abnormal liver lipid metabolism of mice with chemical liver injury, especially glycerophospholipid metabolism.

Conclusion: Regulation of enzyme activity related to the glycerophospholipid metabolism pathway may be involved in the mechanism of P. perfoliatum's protection against liver injury. Please cite this article as: Peng L, Chen HG, Zhou X. Lipidomic investigation of the protective effects of Polygonum perfoliatum against chemical liver injury in mice. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(3): 289-301.

Keywords: Herbal medicine; Lipidomics; Liver injury; Mice; Polygonum perfoliatum L..

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury* / drug therapy
Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury* / metabolism
Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury* / prevention & control
Glycerophospholipids / metabolism
Glycerophospholipids / pharmacology
Lipidomics
Lipids / pharmacology
Liver
Mice
Polygonum* / chemistry

Substances

Lipids
Glycerophospholipids