Comparison of the effects of Amomum tsaoko and its adulterants on functional dyspepsia rats based on metabolomics analysis

Zhaoju Li; Tianmei Yang; Li Wang; Xiaoli Liu; Yuan Qu; Zongliang Xu; Jingyu Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jpba.2024.116208

Comparison of the effects of Amomum tsaoko and its adulterants on functional dyspepsia rats based on metabolomics analysis

J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2024 May 8:246:116208. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2024.116208. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zhaoju Li¹, Tianmei Yang², Li Wang², Xiaoli Liu³, Yuan Qu⁴, Zongliang Xu², Jingyu Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, China; Medicinal Plants Research Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650200, China.
² Medicinal Plants Research Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650200, China.
³ College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, China.
⁴ College of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, China.

PMID: 38735210
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2024.116208

Abstract

Amomum tsaoko (AT) is commonly used in clinical practice to treat abdominal distension and pain. It is also a seasoning for cooking, with the functions of appetizing, invigorating the spleen, and being digestive-promoting. Amomum tsaoko (AT) has three adulterants, Amomum paratsaoko (AP), Amomum koenigii (AK), and Alpinia katsumadai Hayata, because of the confusion in historical classics regarding recorded sources as well as the near geographic distribution and fruit morphological similarities. In this study, we established a functional dyspepsia (FD) rat model and then treated it with the corresponding medicinal solutions AT, AP, AK, and AKH. The gastric emptying rate, intestinal propulsion rate, serum biochemical indicators, histopathological changes, and fecal metabolism were measured. The efficacy and mechanism of AT, AP, AK, and AKH in the treatment of FD were compared. Fecal metabolomics revealed that 20 potential biomarkers were involved in seven significant metabolic pathways in FD rats. These pathways include ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, primary bile acid biosynthesis, purine metabolism, folate biosynthesis, and amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism. AP regulates 6 metabolic pathways, 5 metabolic pathways affected by AT, 4 metabolic pathways affected by AK, and 2 metabolic pathways affected by AKH.The above results suggest that the different effects of AT, AP, AK, and AKH on FD rats may be due to their different regulatory effects on the metabolome.

Keywords: Adulterants; Amomum tsaoko; Functional dyspepsia; Metabolomics.