Gu-Ben-Fang-Xiao decoction modulates lipid metabolism by activating the AMPK pathway in asthma remission

Gu-Ben-Fang-Xiao decoction (GBFXD), derived from the traditional Chinese medicine Yu-Ping-Feng-San, is widely used in clinical settings and has obvious curative effects in respiratory diseases. GBFXD regulates cholesterol transport and lipid metabolism in chronic persistent asthma. There is evidence for its beneficial effects in the remission stage of asthma; however, its metabolic regulatory effects and underlying mechanisms during asthma remission are unclear. In the present study, we used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to analyse the metabolic profile of mouse serum during asthma remission. The acquired LC-MS data were subjected to a multivariate analysis for identification of significantly altered metabolites. In total, 42 metabolites were significantly differentially expressed among the control, model, and GBFXD groups. In particular, levels of fatty acids, acylcarnitines, phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylethanolamines, phosphatidylinositols, triglycerides, and diacylglycerols were altered during asthma remission. GBFXD may maintain lipid homeostasis on the lung surface by modulating lipid metabolism and may thereby alleviate asthma. We further quantified hypogeic acid (FA 16:1) based on targeted metabolomics and found that GBFXD may regulate fatty acid metabolism by activating the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway. These results support the use of GBFXD in patients with asthma remission.