Metabolomic Study on the Intervention Mechanism of the Mongolian Medicine Forsythia-4 in Rats with Liver Damage Induced by Pyloric Ligation

Abstract

Background: Forsythia-4 is an herbal formula commonly used in traditional Mongolian Medicinal clinics to treat peptic ulcers. However, the mechanism of its pharmacological components has not yet been fully characterized. Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the biological basis for the clinical prevention and preventive treatment of uncontrolled liver function caused by metabolomics from Forsythia-4 to investigate the intervention mechanism in rats with liver injury caused by pyloric ligation (PL). Methods: PL was performed to induce gastric and duodenal ulcers in rats, which were then treated with oral Forsythia-4 (Solongga-4) for 15 days. PL-induced Liver Damage. Therapeutic effects were characterized by pathological and histological evaluations, and inflammatory indicators were analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Microarray analyses were conducted to identify liver tissue gene expression profiles in PL rats with or without Forsythia-4 treatment and detected chemical composition by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS/MS. Results: Forsythia-4's effects on rat serum revealed that the levels of ALT and AST in the model group were significantly higher (p < 0.01) than in the control group and that they were significantly lower (p < <0.05) in the medication administration group than in the model group. The contents of BILD2 and SBIL3 in the model group were considerably higher (p < 0.01) compared with the control group and significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the medication administration group compared with the model group. These effects of Forsythia-4 in serum with pyloric ligation liver injury. In rats with liver damage brought on by pyloric ligation, Forsythia-4's serum metabolic profile study revealed 25 metabolic alterations from the model group and 39 metabolites from the drug administration group. IGFBP1, which was upregulated in the model group compared to the control group and downregulated in the administration group compared to the model group, was the regulator of the differential metabolite's pathway for arachidonic acid metabolism. Conclusion: Pyloric ligation can alter the regulation of the IGFBP1 factor in the pathway that produces adipose tissue, and after Forsythia-4 intervention, the regulation of the IGFBP1 factor in the route that produces adipose tissue returns to normal.