Jiawei Xiaoyao San, a Traditional Chinese Medicine, significantly influences intestinal microflora and plasma metabolites in liver cancer-ridden rats, potentially aiding in liver cancer treatment.
The researchers conducted an exploratory study by constructing a rat model with liver cancer, characterised by liver stagnation and spleen deficiency. They specifically wanted to identify the regulatory effects of Jiawei Xiaoyao San, a Traditional Chinese Medicine, on plasma metabolites and intestinal microflora. To collect requisite data, plasma and faecal samples were extracted from the liver cancer rats and were subsequently put through microbiome 16S rDNA sequencing and metabolic ESI-QTRAP-MS/MS analysis. The research group then analysed these sets of data, individually and in combination, using several bioinformatics approaches.
The comprehensive analysis of the plasma metabolism illustrated that the therapeutic effects of Jiawei Xiaoyao San on the liver cancer rats were related to eleven identified differential metabolites. These metabolites are involved in numerous significant signal pathways like primary bile acid biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, pantothenate, and COA biosynthesis, among others. Together with the faecal microbiological analysis results, the study revealed that Jiawei Xiaoyao San can remarkably alter the intestinal flora composition in liver cancer rats by promoting beneficial bacteria and reducing the ratio of harmful bacteria. The study hence, underscores the potential of Jiawei Xiaoyao San in the conjunctive treatment of liver cancer, possibly by means of metabolism regulation and intestinal flora manipulation.
