Houkai Li

Gut microbiota: a potential new territory for drug targeting.

The significant involvement of the gut microbiota in human health and disease suggests that manipulation of commensal microbial composition through combinations of antibiotics, probiotics and prebiotics could be a novel therapeutic approach. A systems perspective is needed to help understand the complex host–bacteria interactions and their association with pathophysiological phenotypes so that alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota in disease states can be reversed. In this article, we describe the therapeutic rationale and potential for targeting the gut microbiota, and discuss strategies and systems-oriented technologies for achieving this goal.

Metabonomic evaluation of melamine-induced acute renal toxicity in rats

The recent outbreak of renal failure in infants in China has been determined to be caused by melamine (Mel) and derivatives adulterated in the food. A metabonomic study was performed to evaluate the global biochemical alteration triggered by Mel ingestion in parallel with the acute renal toxicity in rats. Mel at 600, 300, and 100 mg/kg, cyanuric acid (Cya) at 100 mg/kg, and mixture of Mel and Cya (50 mg/kg each) were administered in five groups of Wistar rats, respectively, via oral gavage for 15 days. Urinary metabonomic profiles indicated that Mel perturbed urinary metabolism in a dose-dependent manner, with high-dose group showing the most significant impact. Metabonomic variations also suggest that the toxicity of low-dose (50 mg/kg) Mel was greatly elevated by the presence of Cya (at 50 mg/kg), which was able to induce a significant metabolic alteration to a level equivalent to that of 600 mg/kg Mel. Histological examination and serum biochemical analysis also indicated that the low-dose Mel-Cya mixture and high-dose Mel group resulted in the greatest renal toxicity. The high-dose Mel and low-dose Mel-Cya resulted in disrupted amino acid metabolism including tryptophan, polyamine, and tyrosine metabolism, and altered TCA and gut microflora structure.

Traditional Chinese medicine: balancing the gut ecosystem

Gut microflora has become a topic of interest in life sciences in the context of global systems biology, in which human biological system is viewed as ‘superorganisms’ involving an internal ecosystem of diverse microbiome. We conceive that multi‐pathway modulations of the human gut microbial system exerted by traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) to restore the balance of the gut ecology may account for a large portion of their effectiveness in host during treatment. Such a concept is evidenced by series of studies which have revealed an interactive relationship between gut microflora and TCM, involving the two important aspects: gut microflora‐dependent drug metabolism in TCM and gut microflora‐targeted modulation of physiological conditions, both of which highlight the significance of gut microflora involvement in the future TCM investigation. Copyright

Multiparametric analysis of amino acids and organic acids in rat brain tissues using GC/MS

Using design of experiment (DOE) theory coupled with multivariate statistical analysis, we have developed a simple and reliable GC/MS-based analytical assay for simultaneous analysis of amino acids and organic acids in rat brain tissue samples. The process of water extraction (pH 10.0) was extensively evaluated using brain tissue samples and a set of 21 reference standards. Acceptable calibration curves were obtained over a wide concentration range, 0.2-35.0 microg/mL for standards and 15.0-2.4 mL/g (tissue) for brain tissue samples. The precision was mostly better than 10% for both the mixed standards and the brain tissue samples. The brain tissue samples exhibited good stability within 48 h with RSD generally less than 15%. Furthermore, the developed analytical method was successfully applied in distinguishing the subtle variation among different parts of the brain tissues, such as cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and thalamus.

Toward Personalized Nutrition: Comprehensive Phytoprofiling and Metabotyping

Nutrition research is increasingly concerned with the complex interactions between multicomponent dietary ingredients and the human metabolic regulatory system. The substantiation of nutritional health benefits is challenged by the intrinsic complexity of macro- and micronutrients and individualized human metabolic responses. Metabonomics, uniquely suited to assess metabolic responses to deficiencies or excesses of nutrients, is used to characterize the metabolic phenotype of individuals integrating genetic polymorphisms, metabolic interactions with commensal and symbiotic partners such as gut microbiota, as well as environmental and behavioral factors including dietary preferences. The two profiling strategies, metabolic phenotyping (metabotyping) and phytochemical profiling (phytoprofiling), greatly facilitate the measurement of these important health determinants and the discovery of new biomarkers associated with nutritional requirements and specific phytochemical interventions. This paper presents an overview of the applications of these two profiling approaches for personalized nutrition research, with a focus on recent advances in the study of the role of phytochemicals in regulating the human or animal metabolic regulatory system.

Management of hepatic encephalopathy by traditional chinese medicine.

In spite of the impressive progress in the investigation of hepatic encephalopathy (HE), the complex mechanisms underlying the onset and deterioration of HE are still not fully understood. Currently, none of the existing theories provide conclusive explanations on the symptoms that link liver dysfunction to nervous system disorders and clinical manifestations. This paper summarized the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches used for HE in modern medicine and traditional Chinese medicine and provided future perspective in HE therapies from the viewpoint of holistic and personalized Chinese medicine.