Metabolic changes at the early stage of sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture in rats and the interventional effects of Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Tang

•HLJDT treatment elevated CLP survival rate & suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokines.•HLJDT could reverse serum metabolic changes of septic rats.•HLJDT regulated 10 identified serum biomarkers to control levels 2 h after CLP.•HLJDT is a potential medication for septic patients.

Sepsis is a disease with high mortality that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment. This study used a metabolomic approach to profile the metabolic changes at the early stage of sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in rats and investigated the interventional effects of Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Tang (HLJDT). Male SD rats were intragastrically administered 270 mg/kg HLJDT 2 h prior to CLP, serum extracts were profiled by liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (LC–Q-TOF-MS) and multivariate analytical (MVA) methods were employed to evaluate the metabolic changes of extracts. A Partial Least-Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) score plot indicated that septic rats undergo significant metabolic changes 2 h after CLP, and HLJDT administration could reverse the metabolic changes induced by CLP. Sixteen biomarkers involved in amino acid metabolism, unsaturated fatty acid metabolism, purine metabolism, and lipid metabolism were identified after Orthogonal Partial Least-Squares Analysis (OPLS). Among the 16 metabolites, 10 were regulated by HLJDT. This study established the foundation for further research of the early diagnosis biomarkers and therapeutic evaluation biomarkers discovery of sepsis.