Abstract:

Objective: To observe the effects of vegetable juices with different antioxidant capacities on rat serum
metabolome. Methods: Forty male rats were divided randomly into four groups consisting of 10 animals each, including
control, lotus root juice (LRJ), rape juice (RJ), and cucumber juice (CJ) groups. The rats from the control and experimental
groups were respectively administered with distilled water and vegetable juices intragastrically at a dose of 5 mL/rat once
daily for 4 weeks. At the end of the experiment, all the rats were fasted overnight and blood samples were collected from
the orbital plexus. The serum was separated and stored at -20 ℃ until analysis. A metabolomic approach based on nuclear
magnetic resonance analysis was used to investigate the effects of different vegetable juices on the serum metabolome in rats.
Results: Scores Plot demonstrated that the control and vegetable juices groups were separated successfully, while there were
no distinctive lines among three vegetable juices groups. After being treated by vegetable juices, the serum metabonome
in rats changed significantly. In the vegetable juices groups, lactate (δ1.34, δ4.14), choline (δ3.22), β-hydroxybutyrate
(β-HB, δ1.22) and internal compensation inositol increased in comparison to control. After being gavaged with lotus root
juice, serum proline (δ3.38) and metabolites of sugar area (δ3.4, δ4.1) rose, while lipids declined (δ0.9, δ1.26, δ1.3). After being
intragastrically given rape juices, acetoacetic acid (δ2.14), proline (δ3.38) and threonine (δ3.58) was increased, while lipoprotein
(δ0.9, δ1.26, δ1.3) was decreased. In the cucumber juice group, threonine (δ3.58) was increased (δ3.58), while lipoproteins (δ0.9,
δ1.26, δ1.3) were decreased. Conclusion: Vegetable juices with different antioxidant capacities such as lotus root juice, rape juice
and cucumber juice could lead to changes in the metabolic patterns of serum sugar, lipids and protein in rats.

Key words: metabolomics, vegetable, antioxidant capacity