Study on the plasma metabolomics of Schisandra chinensis polysaccharide against ulcerative colitis and its correlation with gut microbes metabolism

Abstract

In our previous study, the efficacy of Schisandra chinensis polysaccharide (SCP) against ulcerative colitis (UC) has been evaluated. At the same time, the mechanism of action was studied from the structure and composition of intestinal flora and the metabolism of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Metabolomics method was used to study the mechanism of SCP against UC which needed further analysis, and research results were carried out to conduct correlation analysis in order to further and systematically reveal the mechanism of SCP in the intervention of UC based on previous studies. In the study of metabolomics, 32 potential biomarkers including Sphinganine, PG (18:0/16:0), PE (P-16:0/16:0), LysoPC (18:1(9Z)/0:0), LysoPE (0:0/18:4(6Z,9Z,12Z,15Z)), Vitamin D2 3-glucuronide, etc. were identified in plasma, which were assigned to glycerol phospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, ether lipid metabolism, and linoleic acid metabolism. These pathways are associated with diseases such as intestinal dysfunction, inflammatory syndromes, and neurological dysfunction. In addition, SCP was able to significantly improve the imbalance of gut microbiota, which was closely related to SCFAs. Based on the above research, we can draw a conclusion that SCP has pharmacological effects on UC, and its mechanism may be related to the gut microbes, plasma biomarkers and short-chain fatty acids.