Metabolite Profile Changes in Different Regions of Rat Brain Affected by Ephedra sinica

Ephedra sinica Stapf (EP) has a long medication history dating back centuries in the world. There were some reports of adverse effects in the central nervous system (CNS) resulting from administration of a drug containing EP or ephedrine. Compared with alkaloid monomer compounds, the effects of EP on the CNS are usually neglected. It is necessary to explore CNS affection which is helpful to use EP rationally. However, the affection and the changes of substances by EP in the brain are still unknown because the effects of drug on the brain also exhibit different tendency and distribution and usually lead to diversity of metabolite alteration in different regions. In this study, metabolomics based on different brain regions was used to investigate the affection mechanism of EP in the CNS. The metabolites in 6 brain regions from a rat that underwent oral administration with EP for 14 days were determined by UPLC/Q-TOF-MS. Brain histological examinations showed that there were no obvious lesions in EP administration groups. Partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) displayed that there were significant separations between control and EP administration groups. 7 CNS biomarkers were found and identified in different regions. 3 metabolic pathways were disturbed by EP, including amino acid metabolism, phospholipid metabolism, and amino sugar metabolism. Furthermore, all biomarkers were significantly changed in the cortex after administration. This study may be helpful to understand the affection mechanism of EP in the CNS and improve cognition of brain regional characteristics.