Saccharum Granorum ameliorated mitochondrial dysfunction in chronic atrophic gastritis rats using organelle-specific metabolomics and network pharmacology approaches

Saccharum Granorum (YiTang) is a nutrient-rich food which could significantly treat chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). However, its mechanism remains unclear. In the present work, a mitochondria-specific metabolomics approach based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole - Exactive mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q exactive MS) was carried out to evaluate its protection against energy dysfunction induced by CAG. Sixteen endogenous metabolites were firstly screened out to characterize the mitochondria dysfunction associated with CAG. Pretreatment of YiTang could significantly regulate these targeted metabolites involved into fatty acid β-oxidation pathway and amino acid metabolism. Network pharmacology further showed the upstream proteins related to these targeted metabolites exerted good affinities with ingredients of YiTang. These findings provided a unique perspective on localized metabolic regulation of YiTang in rats with CAG, which gave us new insights into the pathogenesis of CAG, and its targets for clinical diagnosis and treatment.