1H NMR-based metabonomic analysis of the effect of optimized rhubarb aglycone on the plasma and urine metabolic fingerprints of focal cerebral ischemia–reperfusion rats

Ethnopharmacological relevanceThe ischemia cerebrovascular disease is one of leading causes of death and long-term disability in modern society. Rhubarb is one of the common traditional Chinese medicine with many effects, and the main pharmacodynamic ingredients are aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol and physcion. The five components are also known as rhubarb aglycone. Rhubarb aglycone has been confirmed to play a remarkable curative effect on cerebral ischemia, but the mechanism is not clear. In this study, 1H NMR-based metabonomics approach has been used to investigate the protective effect of the optimized rhubarb aglycone on rats of cerebral ischemia–reperfusion.Materials and methodsMale Wistar rats were divided into four groups: sham operation group, model group, Nimodipine group and the optimized rhubarb aglycone group. Based on 1H-NMR spectra of plasma and urine, principal component analyses were performed to identify different metabolic markers and explore the changes of associated biochemical pathways. Behavior research and brain histopathology examinations were also performed.ResultsIt was showed that the optimized rhubarb aglycone treatment improved neurological deficits, cerebral infarction and neuronal apoptosis. Principal component analysis scores plots demonstrated that the cluster of model rats was separated from those of sham operation group; rats of the optimized rhubarb aglycone group were classified from model group, but the optimized rhubarb aglycone group closed to the sham operation group. Optimized rhubarb aglycone regulated the associated amino acid, energy and lipid metabolisms disturbed in model rats.ConclusionOur results suggested that the optimized rhubarb aglycone had protective effect on rats of cerebral ischemia–reperfusion and explored the metabolic regulation mechanism. This work showed that the NMR-based metabonomics approach might be a promising approach to study mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicines.

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