UHPLC-qTOF-MS-Based Nontargeted Metabolomics to Characterize the Effects of Capsaicin on Plasma and Skin Metabolic Profiles of C57BL/6 Mice-An In vivo Experimental Study

Abstract

Background

Capsaicin is the main compound found in chili pepper and has complex pharmacologic effects. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of the effect of capsaicin on physiological processes by analyzing changes in metabolites and metabolic pathways.

Methods

Female C57BL/6 mice were divided into two groups(n = 10/group) and fed with capsaicin-soybean oil solution(group T) or soybean oil(group C) for 6 weeks. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-qTOF-MS) based metabolomics was undertaken to assess plasma and skin metabolic profile changes and identify differential metabolites through multivariate analysis.

Results

According to the OPLS-DA score plots, the plasma and skin metabolic profiles in the group T and group C were significantly separated. In plasma, 38 significant differential metabolites were identified. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the most significant plasma metabolic pathways included pyruvate metabolism and ABC transporters. In skin, seven significant differential metabolites were found. Four metabolic pathways with p values < 0.05 were detected, including sphingolipid metabolism, sphingolipid signaling pathway, apoptosis, and necroptosis.

Conclusion

These findings will provide metabolomic insights to assess the physiological functions of capsaicin and contribute to a better understanding of the potential effects of a capsaicin-rich diet on health.

Keywords:

• capsaicin
• UHPLC-QTOF-MS
• metabolomics
• plasma
• skin

Abbreviations

UHPLC/Q-TOF MS, Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and Q-TOF mass spectrometry; NH4AC, Ammonium acetate; NH4OH, Ammonium hydroxide; QC, Quality control; PCA, Pareto-scaled principal component analysis; OPLS-DA, Orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis; VIP, Variable importance in the projection; KEGG, Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes; ROC, Receiver operating characteristic; FC, Fold Change.

Institutional Review Board Statement

All animal experiments were performed according to the regulation of institutional guidelines for the care and use of experimental animals and approved by the Animal Ethical Committee of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University.

Data Sharing Statement

The datasets during and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Xiuping Wang and Dr. Xiaoliang OU-Yang for their assistance in data analysis and verification.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (81960569) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (no.20232BAB206126).