Metabolomics study on the effects of salvianolic acid B and borneol for treating cerebral ischemia in rats by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS.

Salviae miltiorrliza-borneol Jun-Shi coupled-herbs have been widely used for treatment of ischemia stroke. Salvianolic acid B was the most abundant and bioactive compound of Salviae miltiorrliza and used for prevention and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases. However, the scientific intension and compatible mechanism of Salvianolic acid B - borneol combination were still unknown. A metabolomics study approach based on UPLC-Q/TOF-MS combined with a pathological study has been applied to study the metabolic disturbances of cerebral ischemia and evaluate the efficacies of Sal B and Sal B/ borneol against cerebral ischemia in MCAO rats. The neuroprotection of Sal B and Sal B/ borneol was reversed through the evaluation of neurological deficits, infarct volume, and neuronal apoptosis in MCAO model. The metabonomic analysis revealed the MCAO-induced cerebral ischemia could be ameliorated by Sal B through improving the energy metabolism, lipids metabolism, inflammatory responses and oxidant stress. Borneol could enhance the neuroprotective effects was associated with the increased concentration of Sal B and attenuated the function of sphingolipid metabolism pathway in cerebral ischemia rats. These findings perhaps clarify the mechanism of neuroprotective effects of treating ischemia stroke by Sal B or Sal B/ borneol preliminarily through metabolomics, and push the quality promotion and the composition of borneol- Sal B in secondary development of prescription.