Exploring the Active Constitutions of Peach Blossom for Amelioration of Loperamide-Induced Mice Constipation by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Combined with Network Pharmacology

Constipation is a multifactorial health problem resulting from systemic or neurologic disorders including medication. Peach blossom, an edible flower, could promote defecation, urination, and improve abdominal pain. However, the active components and mechanisms of action remain unclear. In the present study, we established a loperamide-induced mice constipation model to validate the anti-constipation activity of peach blossom. Some classical biomarkers for constipation, including fecal water content, gastrointestinal transit ratio, and fecal pellet weight were used to evaluate the efficacy of peach blossom. Then, the chemical compounds present in peach blossom were screened out by Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-Orbitrap fusion mass spectrometer combined with diagnostic ions and database searching. Finally, the potential mechanism of peach blossom for the treatment of constipation was explored by network pharmacology on a system level. Peach blossom significantly reduced the fecal water content, gastrointestinal transit ratio, and fecal pellet weight, which were increased in the model group. Histological analysis showed that peach blossom could alleviate histological changes of the colon in constipated mice. In UPLC-MS analysis, 40 compounds, mainly flavonoids and phenolic acids, were identified. Network pharmacology analysis results indicate that 27 compounds exhibited anti-constipation activity by neurotransmitter receptor activity, carboxylic acid binding, flavin adenine dinucleotide binding, adrenergic receptor, and nuclear receptor activity. In this study, we found that peach blossom might alleviate the pathological process of constipation by regulating multi-targets. Our study serves as a theoretical basis for the utilization and further development of peach blossom as a promising health food for ameliorating constipation.