Integrated pharmacokinetics and pharmacometabolomics to reveal the synergistic mechanism of a multicomponent Chinese patent medicine, Mailuo Shutong pills against thromboangiitis obliterans

Background: Mailuo Shutong Pills (MLST) have displayed pharmacological activity against thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO). However, the active ingredients and therapeutic mechanism of MLST against TAO remained to be further clarified. Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the active components of MLST and their synergistic mechanism against TAO by integrating pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacometabolomics (PM). Methods: TAO model rats were established by sodium laurate solution. Firstly, the efficacy of MLST was evaluated by gangrene score, blood flow velocity, and hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining. Secondly, PK research was conducted on bioavailable components to characterize their dynamic behaviors under TAO. Thirdly, multiple plasma and urine metabolic biomarkers for sodium laurate-induced TAO rats were found by untargeted metabolomics, and then variations in TAO-altered metabolites following MLST treatment were analyzed utilizing multivariate and bioinformatic analysis. Additionally, metabolic pathway analysis was performed using MetaboAnalyst. Finally, the dynamic link between absorbed MLST-compounds and TAO-associated endogenous metabolites was established by correlation analysis. Results: MLST significantly alleviated gangrene symptoms by improving the infiltration of inflammatory cells and blood supply in TAO rats. Significant differences in metabolic profiles were found in 17 differential metabolites in plasma and 24 in urine between Sham and TAO rats. The 10 bioavailable MLST-compounds, such as chlorogenic acid and paeoniflorin, showed positive or negative correlations with various TAO-altered metabolites related to glutamate metabolism, histidine metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism and so on. Conclusion: This study originally investigated the dynamic interaction between MLST and the biosystem, providing unique insight for disclosing the active components of MLST and their synergistic mechanisms against TAO, which also shed light on new therapeutic targets for TAO and treatment.

Automated summary

This study integrated pharmacokinetics and pharmacometabolomics to explore the active components and therapeutic mechanisms of Mailuo Shutong Pills (MLST) against thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO). The results showed that MLST significantly alleviated TAO symptoms by improving inflammatory cell infiltration and blood supply, and the bioavailable MLST-compounds exhibited positive or negative correlations with TAO-altered metabolites related to glutamate metabolism, histidine metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, etc., revealing the synergistic mechanisms of MLST against TAO.