A prolonged diet laden with purine-rich foods represents a significant contributor to renal fibrosis (RF). Eucommia ulmoides Oliver, a plant homologous to food and medicinal materials, has long been employed to recover kidney function. This investigation presents a strategy integrating chemistry, biochemistry, and metabolomics to evaluate bioactive components and efficiency mechanism of crude and salt-stir fried Eucommiae Cortex (EC) extracts against RF. Firstly, 155 chemical components were identified in the EC extracts and the contents of 19 and 27 compounds decreased and increased respectively after salt-stir frying. Secondly, various biochemical indicators displayed that salt-stir fried EC (SEC) extracts had the optimal anti-RF effects in adenine-induced RF model rats, which were associated with the attenuation of TGF-β signaling pathway. Finally, untargeted metabolomics analysis demonstrated that after treatments with EC and SEC extracts, 30 and 32 efficacy biomarkers were significantly restored in the RF + EC and RF + SEC groups respectively, involving five metabolic pathways.
Keywords: Bioactive components; Eucommiae Cortex; Plasma metabolomics; Renal fibrosis; Salt-stir frying.
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