Untargeted lipidomics-based study reveals the treatment mechanism of Qingxue Bawei tablets on atherosclerotic in ApoE−/− mice

Qingxue Bawei (QXBW) tablets, a Mongolian medicine prescription, have proved to possess good lipid-lowering and antihypertensive effects in previous studies. However, the therapeutic effects and potential mechanisms of QXBW tablets on atherosclerosis (AS) have not been well studied yet. This study aimed to investigate the potential liver-protective mechanism of QXBW tablets on AS mice by hepatic lipidomics analysis. After 10 weeks of administration, serum and liver were collected for biochemical, histopathological, and lipid metabolomics analysis to evaluate the efficacy of the QXBW tablets on high-fat diet (HFD) induced mice. The experimental results indicated that QXBW tablets could ameliorate liver injury and inflammatory response in AS mice. Liver lipid data from different groups of mice were collected by UPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS, and a total of 22 potential biomarkers with significant differences between the model and control groups were identified finally, of which 16 potential biomarkers were back-regulated after the QXBW tablets intervention. These 22 potential differential metabolic markers were mainly involved in glycerolipid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and cholesterol ester metabolism pathways. The results of this study showed that serum inflammatory factors, liver function indices, and lipid metabolism disorders were positively alleviated in AS mice after QXBW tablets treatment.