Therapeutic potential of Cordyceps sinensis targeting oxidative stress and inflammatory response in the treatment of COPD rats: insights from metabolomics analysis

This study aimed to investigate the effects of wild Cordyceps sinensis on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rats through metabolomics approach, combined with biochemical parameters evaluations. Consequently, C. sinensis exhibited regulatory effects on the lung’s metabolic profiles in COPD rats. Treatment with C. sinensis potentially modulated glycerophospholipid metabolism, glutathione metabolism, and tryptophan metabolism, thereby alleviating oxidative stress (by decreasing MDA and GSSG, while increasing SOD and GSH) and inflammatory response (by inhibiting TNF-α, IL-8, and MMP-9) in COPD rats while improving lung tissue damage.