Metabolomics study of graphene nuangong acupoint plaster for primary dysmenorrhea

Primary dysmenorrhea is a common gynecological disease with typical clinical symptoms and diverse treatment methods. Acupoint patch therapy is one of the traditional external treatments of traditional Chinese medicine, with a long history, and has been widely used in the treatment of many diseases in China. Graphene nuangong acupoint plaster (GNGAP) developed based on traditional acupoints and new materials have been used in the clinical treatment of primary dysmenorrhea, and satisfactory therapeutic effects have been achieved. However, the underlying mechanisms of GNGAP still need further investigation. In this study, we used estradiol benzoate combined with oxytocin intraperitoneally to establish dysmenorrhea model rats, and observed the torsion response, uterine organ coefficients, prostaglandin levels and metabolite changes of rats with dysmenorrhea model after the intervention of GNGAP, to elucidate the mechanism of the effect of GNGAP. Compared with normal rats, the dysmenorrhea model rats exhibited increased writhing response and latency time, increased uterine organ coefficient, and significant changes in 79 metabolites. Twenty-three significantly enriched pathways were discovered, including amino acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, and ovarian steroidogenesis, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of primary dysmenorrhea. Compared with the model group, the torsion response, latency time and uterine organ coefficient of rats in the acupoint patch group were significantly improved, and nine uterine metabolites were significantly altered, among which metabolites such as 4-pyridoxic acid, d-glucarate and Phenol were identified as potential biomarkers for the therapeutic effects of GNGAP. Vitamin B6 metabolism, Ascorbate and aldarate metabolism and Tyrosine metabolism were enriched in nine metabolic pathways. These findings contribute to the screening study of potential pathological metabolic pathways in primary dysmenorrhea. Additionally, they reveal the biological effects of GNGAP in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea at the metabolite level.