Chemical Analysis of Astragali Complanati Semen and Its Hypocholesterolemic Effect Using Serum Metabolomics Based on Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

The hypocholesterolemic protective effect of the dried seed of Astragalus complanatus (ACS) was investigated in rats fed with normal diet, high cholesterol diet (HCD), and HCD plus 70% ethanol extract of ACS (600 mg/kg/day) by oral gavage for four weeks. ACS extract was tested to be rich in antioxidants, which may be contributed to its high content of phenolic compounds. Consumption of ACS remarkably suppressed the elevated total cholesterol (p < 0.01) and LDL-C (p < 0.001) induced by HCD. Chemical constituents of ACS extract were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization orbitrap mass spectrometry and the results showed that the ACS extract mainly consisted of phenolic compounds including flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides. In addition, based on the serum fatty acid profiles, elucidated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, free and esterified fatty acids including docosapentaenoic acid, adrenic acid, dihomo-γ-linolenic acid and arachidonic acid were regulated in ACS treatment group. Western blot results further indicated the protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) (p < 0.05) in liver was upregulated in ACS treatment group. To conclude, our results clearly demonstrated that ACS provides beneficial effect on lowering HCD associated detrimental change.