Metabolomics analysis of herb-partitioned moxibustion treatment on rats with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome

Abstract

Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder, which is commonly treated with antidiarrhoeal, antispasmodics, serotonergic agents or laxative agents. These treatments provide relief for IBS symptoms but may also lead to undesired side effects. Previously, herb-partitioned moxibustion (HPM) treatment has been demonstrated to be effective in ameliorating symptoms of IBS. However, the underlying mechanism of this beneficial treatment is yet to be established. The aim of the current study was to systematically assess the metabolic alterations in response to diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) and therapeutic effect of HPM. Methods Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H NMR)-based metabolomics approach was used to investigate fecal and serum metabolome of rat model of IBS-D with and without HPM treatment. Results The current results showed that IBS-induced metabolic alterations in fecal and serum sample include higher level of threonine and UDP-glucose together with lower levels of aspartate, ornithine, leucine, isoleucine, proline, 2-hydroxy butyrate, valine, lactate, ethanol, arginine, 2-oxoisovalerate and bile acids. These altered metabolites potentially involve in impaired gut secretory immune system and intestinal inflammation, malabsorption of nutrients, and disordered metabolism of bile acids. Notably, the HPM treatment was found able to normalize the Bristol stool forms scale scores, fecal water content, plasma endotoxin level, and a number of IBS-induced metabolic changes. Conclusions These findings may provide useful insight into the molecular basis of IBS and mechanism of the HPM intervention. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13020-019-0240-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Protective Mechanism of Acacia saligna Butanol Extract and Its Nano-Formulations against Ulcerative Colitis in Rats as Revealed via Biochemical and Metabolomic Assays

“…High levels of glucose have been reported in extracts of macroscopically uninvolved colonic mucosa of IBD patients [ 72 ], and also in other biological specimens including fecal extracts in patients with ulcerative colitis [ 73 ]. In support of such a hypothesis, energy-related metabolites in colon appear to be crucial for homeostasis of the gut microbiome and intestinal cells [ 74 , 75 ], and to suggest that increased glucose level in serum samples of the UC rats may be resulting from the disturbance in the host-microbiome system [ 76 ].…”

Metabolomic analysis of biochemical changes in the tissue and urine of proteoglycan-induced spondylitis in mice after treatment with moxibustion

“…Metabolomics strategies are fully complied with the holistic and multi-target characteristics of TCM 12 and have been successfully applied to explore the biochemical mechanisms of moxibustion therapy in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) 13 , gastric mucosal lesions (GML) 14 , and chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). 15 Nevertheless, there have been no studies specifically focusing on the metabolic alterations corresponding to moxibustion interventions for AS.…”

Mild Moxibustion for Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea (IBS-D): A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Our previous studies indicate that moxibustion could affect intestinal microbes [30,31], visceral hypersensitivity [31,32], the brain-gut axis [14,16], gastrointestinal function [33]. Other studies showed the moxibustion or acupuncture have bene t effect for IBS-D by regulating the neuroendocrine system [34], the immune system [35], and other factors.…”