Gut microbiota and metabonomics used to explore the mechanism of Qing'e Pills in alleviating osteoporosis

Context The traditional Chinese medicine Qing'e Pills (QEP) has been used to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO). Objective We evaluated the regulatory effects of QEP on gut microbiota in osteoporosis. Materials and methods Eighteen female SD rats were divided into three groups: sham surgery (SHAM), ovariectomized (OVX) and ovariectomized treated with QEP (OVX + QEP). Six weeks after ovariectomy, QEP was administered to OVX + QEP rats for eight weeks (4.5 g/kg/day, i.g.). After 14 weeks, the bone microstructure was evaluated. Differences in gut microbiota were analysed via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Changes in endogenous metabolites were studied using UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS technology. GC-MS was used to detect short-chain fatty acids. Furthermore, we measured serum inflammatory factors, such as IL-6, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma, which may be related to gut microbiota. Results OVX + QEP exhibited increased bone mineral density (0.11 +/- 0.03 vs. 0.21 +/- 0.02, p< 0.001) compared to that of OVX. QEP altered the composition of gut microbiota. We identified 19 potential biomarkers related to osteoporosis. QEP inhibited the elevation of TNF-alpha (38.86 +/- 3.19 vs. 29.43 +/- 3.65, p< 0.05) and IL-6 (83.38 +/- 16.92 vs. 45.26 +/- 3.94, p< 0.05) levels, while it increased the concentrations of acetic acid (271.95 +/- 52.41 vs. 447.73 +/- 46.54, p< 0.001), propionic acid (28.96 +/- 5.73 vs. 53.41 +/- 14.26, p< 0.01) and butyric acid (24.92 +/- 18.97 vs. 67.78 +/- 35.68, p< 0.05). Conclusions These results indicate that QEP has potential of regulating intestinal flora and improving osteoporosis. The combination of anti-osteoporosis drugs and intestinal flora could become a new treatment for osteoporosis.