Changes of Urine Metabolism and Gut Microbiome in Rats after Intragastric Administration of Quinoa Saponins
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Abstract:
The saponins from Chenopodium quinoa were used as the material for 90-day oral exposure to healthy adult Sprague Dawley rats to evaluate the effects of the saponins on rats’ kidneys in combination of gut microbiome with urine metabolomics studies. Rats (n = 48, half male and female) were divided into the high-dose (500 mg/kg saponin) treatment group, medium-dose (50 mg/kg saponin) treatment group, low-dose (5 mg/kg saponin) treatment group and blank control group. After oral gavage, the intestinal fluids were collected from the rats for examining the effects of saponins on intestinal flora by 16S rDNA, and analyzing rats’ urine metabolomics by UPLC-MS. Partial inflammatory changes were observed in the kidney slices of male and female rats in both the medium- and high-dose groups. The results of metabolomics showed that there was insignificant difference between the medium- and low-dose groups. 101 kinds of differential metabolites were found in the urine of female rats while 29 kinds of differential metabolites were found in the urine of male rats after administration of the high dose of quinoa saponins, with metabolic processes such as vitamin B6 metabolism, ammonia cycle and tryptophan metabolism being affected. The gut microbiome analysis revealed the significant differences in the diversity of gut microbiome between the treatment group and the control. In summary, quinoa saponins at a low dose had insignificant toxicity, but exhibited potential non-contact nephrotoxicity at medium-high doses.
