Four amino acids as serum biomarkers for anti-asthma effects in the ovalbumin-induced asthma mouse model treated with extract of Asparagus cochinchinensis

Abstract

The butanol extract of Asparagus cochinchinensis roots fermented with Weissella cibaria (BAW) effectively prevents inflammation and remodeling of airway in the ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma model. To characterize biomarkers that can predict the anti-asthmatic effects induced by BAW treatment, we measured the alteration of endogenous metabolites in the serum of OVA-induced asthma mice after administration of low concentration BAW (BAWLo, 250 mg/kg) and high concentration BAW (BAWHi, 500 mg/kg) using 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (1 H-NMR) spectral data. The number of immune cells and serum concentration of IgE as well as thickness of the respiratory epithelium and infiltration of inflammatory cells in the airway significantly recovered in the OVA+BAW treated group as compared to the OVA+Vehicle treated group. In the metabolic profile analysis, the pattern recognition showed completely separate clustering of serum analysis parameters between the OVA+Vehicle and OVA+BAW treated groups. Of the total endogenous metabolites, 19 metabolites were upregulated or downregulated in the OVA+Vehicle treated group as compared to the Control treated group. However, only 4 amino acids (alanine, glycine, methionine and tryptophan) were significantly recovered after BAWLo and BAWHi treatment. This study provides the first results pertaining to metabolic changes in the asthma model mice treated with OVA+BAW. Additionally, these findings show that 4 metabolites can be used as one of biomarkers to predict the anti-asthmatic effects.

Asparagus cochinchinensis: A review of its botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and applications

“…Four kinds of amino acids were isolated from A. cochinchinensis 80–83 ( Choi et al, 2019 ), and their structures are shown in Figure 4 . Amino acids are compounds containing both amino and carboxyl groups.…”

“…Notably, when assessing the endogenous metabolites, only alanine, glycine, methionine, and tryptophan were significantly recovered after A. cochinchinensis extract treatment, compared with the control group. Therefore, these four metabolites can be used as biomarkers to predict the anti-asthmatic effects ( Choi et al, 2019 ). Moreover, the A. cochinchinensis fermentation extract was shown for the first time to accelerate the recovery from chronic asthma.…”

“…They mainly include steroidal saponins, C 21 -steroids, lignans, polysaccharides, and amino acids. At present, A. cochinchinensis has a variety of pharmacological effects and has curative effects in the treatment of asthma, tumor, Alzheimer’s disease, gut diseases, inflammatory diseases ( Lee et al, 2009 ; Lei et al, 2016 ; Choi et al, 2019 ; Zhang R. S. et al, 2021 ). Besides that, medicinal prescription research also has revealed that it functions synergistically in combination with various herbal medicines ( Weiying et al, 2006 ; Jung et al, 2014 ).…”

Oligosaccharides fromAsparagus cochinchinensisfor ameliorating LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice

“…3 However, the lung protective effect and active ingredients of Asparagi radix remain unknown. Modern pharmacological studies have demonstrated that Asparagi radix possesses anti-inflammatory, [4][5][6][7][8] anti-asthma, 9 anti-oxidant, 10 anti-ageing 11,12 and other pharmacological effects. [13][14][15][16] Asparagi radix also has mild toning effects on the body; therefore, it is widely used as herbal medicine and in health care products.…”

Developing EST-SSR Markers for Identifying and Evaluating Asparagus Germplasm Resources Based on Transcriptome Sequences

“…Asparagus contains a large number of chemical components, with more than 90 isolated and identified. These components mainly include carbohydrates, saponins, sterols, lignans, and various other chemical substances [2], which have significant therapeutic effects on asthma, tumors, Alzheimer's disease, gut diseases, inflammatory diseases, and others [3][4][5]. In addition, Asparagus has various applications in health products, food, and cosmetics [6].…”