Mechanism of Saikosaponins from Radix bupleuri in the Treatment of Acetic Acid-Induced Gastric Ulcer in Rats

Xin-Xin Yang, Shuai Wang, Tian- Jiao Li, Yun-Kun Zhang, Hai- Bo Wang, Yong- Rui Bao and Xian- Sheng Meng

Background and Objective: Radix bupleuri (“Chaihu” in Chinese) is a classical Chinese herbal medicine that has a protective effect on the gastric lesion. The objective of this study was to explore the in-depth mechanisms that Radix bupleuri treating gastric ulcers. Materials and Methods: Gastric ulcer rat model was established via submucosal injection of acetic acid. Changes in food intake and weight of rats were observed as the physiological indexes and ulcer index as a pathological indicator to evaluate the efficacy of Saikosaponins (SSs) from “Chaihu”. Metabonomics based on HPLC-QTOF-MS was used to explore the mechanism and Mass Profiler Professional (MPP) statistic software was used to find the diverse endogenous metabolites and related pathways and verified by the real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) method. Results: The gastric tissue injury in SSs groups was alleviated compared with that of the model group. Eleven diverse endogenous metabolites were confirmed, including linoleic acid, taurocholic acid and Sphingosine-1-phosphate, etc. Pathway analysis indicated that the different metabolites were related to the bile acid secretion and sphingolipid metabolism. Compared with the model group, the mRNA expression levels of NF-κB and TNF-α were significantly down-regulated in SSs treatment groups (p<0.01). Conclusion: The mechanism of SSs in treating gastric ulcers is through regulating sphingolipid metabolism and bile acid secretion, which laid a foundation for the clinical rational application of SSs in the treatment of gastric ulcers.

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