Metabonomics analysis of Semen Euphorbiae and Semen Euphorbiae Pulveratum using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS

Semen Euphorbiae (SE), the dry and mature seed of Euphorbia lathyris L., has significant pharmacological activity, a common traditional Chinese medicine. However, its toxicity limits its clinical application, and less toxic Semen Euphorbiae Pulveratum (SEP) are often used clinically. To explore the possible mechanism of SE frost-making and attenuating, this study used ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) to perform comprehensive metabolomics analysis of serum and urine samples, which came from rats treated with SE and SEP, and performed histopathological evaluation of liver, kidney, and colon tissues. Meanwhile, the different metabolites were visualized through multivariate statistical analysis, and the HMDB and KEGG databases are used to distinguish the differential metabolites of SE and SEP to reveal related metabolic pathways and their significance. In total, 32 potential biomarkers, including 14 in serum and 18 in urine were identified. The metabolic pathway analysis revealed that arachidonic acid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and 7 other metabolic pathways were significantly altered. Importantly, compared with SE, SEP reduced the metabolic disorder related to endogenous components. The mechanism may be related to the regulation of lipid metabolism, intestinal flora metabolites, amino acid metabolism, and energy metabolism. This study provided new insights into the possible mechanism of SE frost-making and attenuating.