Untargeted metabolomics analysis on Cicer arietinium L.-Induced Amelioration in T2D rats by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Cicer arietinium L., which belongs to Cicer genus, was not only a kind of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) recorded in Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China (version 2015), but also a kind of Uighur antidiabetic medicines. It has been used as an adjuvant drug or functional food for thousand years in Xinjiang province, China. However, the mechanisms of C. arietinium treatment in T2D have not been fully understood especially on the perspective of metabolomics.

Aim of the study: To clarify the potential mechanisms of C. arietinium treatment in T2D from the perspective of metabolomics since T2D is indeed a kind of metabolic syndromes.

Materials and methods: T2D rat model was built by HFD for 4 weeks, combining with STZ administration. T2D rats were administrated C. arietinium extraction or metformin (positive control) for 4 weeks. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was applied to screen and identify differential metabolites among groups.

Results: After 4 weeks of treatments, IR and inflammation were greatly ameliorated in C. arietinium group. And the therapeutic efficiency of C. arietinium treatment was comparable to metformin treatment. Differential metabolites related to C. arietinium treatment, including acylcarnitines, amino acid related metabolites and organic acids, were further used to indicate relevant pathways in T2D rats, including glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle, vitamin B6 metabolism and energy metabolism.

Conclusions: In summary, C. arietinium treatment could effectively alleviate diabetic symptoms and regulate metabolic disorders in T2D rats.

Keywords: Acylcarnitines; Cicer arietinum L.; Glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism; Type 2 diabetes; UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS.