Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Astragali Radix (AR, Huangqi in Chinese) has been utilized generally as a bulk drug for the treatment of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) in China. The efficacy of wild-simulated AR (WAR) and transplanted AR (TAR) commercially available is unclear. This study aimed to further clarify the therapeutic action of WAR and TAR to treat CAG rats based on endogenous-xenobiotics metabolism. METHODS: Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometer (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS) based metabolomics had been used to analyze the cecal contents metabolic features and metabolic process differences of two ARs in the treatment of CAG. RESULTS: Apparent pharmacodynamic indicator examination revealed that the WAR group had a more substantial curative effect. Metabolomics studies revealed that seven endogenous metabolites were significant differences in two ARs. Furthermore, following treatment, 77 and 65 xenobiotics metabolites were identified in the WAR and TAR groups, respectively. Finally, the most critical riboflavin metabolic route in the formation of CAG was chosen for molecular docking with the relevant exogenous components, and WAR scored higher than TAR. CONCLUSION: In this work, we analyzed the efficacy differences of AR from diverse cultivation forms by combining metabolomics and medicinal chemistry technologies, and it gave a fresh perspective for TCM efficacy evaluation and quality control research.