•35 metabolites were detected in rat serum from AMI and AMB-pretreated AMI group.•AMI led to some metabolic disorders.•AMB pretreatment recovered the AMI damages to a certain extent.•OPLS-DA showed significant difference between AMI and AMB-pretreated AMI group.Myocardial ischemia (MI) refers to a pathological state of the heart caused by reduced cardiac blood perfusion, which leads to a decreased oxygen supply in the heart and an abnormal myocardial energy metabolism. Acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) has posed a significant health risk for humans. Allium macrostemon Bunge (AMB), a popular traditional Chinese medicine, is used for MI treatment. The therapeutic effects of AMB were assessed and the detailed mechanisms of AMB for AMI treatment were investigated. We characterized the metabonomic variations in rats from the sham surgery, AMI, and AMB-pretreated AMI groups through a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and multivariate statistical analysis. Thirty-five metabolites including carbohydrates, a range of amino acids, and organic acids were detected. The 1H NMR spectra of the rat serum were analyzed using the principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA). Results showed that AMI induced some physiological changes in rats and also led to metabolic disorders related to glycolysis promotion, amino acid metabolism disruption, and other metabolite metabolism perturbation. AMB pretreatment reduced the AMI injury and maintained metabolic balance, possibly by limiting the change in energy metabolism and regulating amino acid metabolism. These findings provide a comprehensive insight on the metabolic response of AMI rats to AMB pretreatment and are important for the use of AMB for AMI therapy.

Phytomedicines are mostly dried, in different ways, before they are processed and used, which may induce metabolic changes and even lead to some changes in drug efficiency. In this study, we used NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate statistical analysis to investigate the metabolic consequences of Allium macrostemon Bunge (AMB) extracts induced by different drying methods, including freeze drying, shade drying, and sun drying. More than 30 metabolites have been detected in AMB extracts, among which two compounds have not been assigned yet. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that different drying methods gave rise to metabolite variations. As a plant osmoprotectant, the proline content was higher in three drying extracts than in the fresh extract. As plant-regulating agents, sugars and amino acids changed differently in each drying extract. Membrane degradation, putrescine formation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, gluconeogenesis and metabolisms mediated by shikimate were also influenced by drying processes. The result indicated that freeze drying may be the appropriate drying method for AMB because of the higher N-trans-feruloyltyramine content, which was a potential effective component of AMB.

Phytomedicines are mostly dried, in different ways, before they are processed and used, which may induce metabolic changes and even lead to some changes in drug efficiency. In this study, we used NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate statistical analysis to investigate the metabolic consequences of Allium macrostemon Bunge (AMB) extracts induced by different drying methods, including freeze drying, shade drying, and sun drying. More than 30 metabolites have been detected in AMB extracts, among which two compounds have not been assigned yet. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that different drying methods gave rise to metabolite variations. As a plant osmoprotectant, the proline content was higher in three drying extracts than in the fresh extract. As plant-regulating agents, sugars and amino acids changed differently in each drying extract. Membrane degradation, putrescine formation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, gluconeogenesis and metabolisms mediated by shikimate were also influenced by drying processes. The result indicated that freeze drying may be the appropriate drying method for AMB because of the higher N-trans-feruloyltyramine content, which was a potential effective component of AMB.