Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Based Plasma Metabolomics Study of the Effects of Moxibustion with Seed-Sized Moxa Cone on Hyperlipidemia

Hyperlipidemia (HLP) is a disorder with disturbed lipid metabolism. HLP is a major risk factor in cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, and coronary heart disease. This study focuses on understanding the effects of moxibustion with a seed-sized moxa cone on HLP and the potential metabolic pathways associated with HLP. An automatic analyzer was used to measure the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in healthy controls (HCs), HLP patients, and in patients before moxibustion with seed-sized moxa cone treatment (BMT) and after moxibustion treatment (AMT). Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and pathway analyses were performed using differential plasma metabolites derived from the HC, HLP, BMT, and AMT groups. Higher levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C and lower levels of HDL-C were detected in HLP patients than in HCs. The levels of TC and TG were significantly decreased in the AMT group compared to those of the BMT group. A total of 87 differential metabolites were identified from the HLP vs HC samples and 51 for the AMT vs BMT samples. Of these, 21 terms were shared. The differential metabolites in both the HLP vs HC and AMT vs BMT groups were significantly enriched in the glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolism pathways. We suggest that moxibustion with seed-sized moxa cone treatment is effective against hyperlipidemia by altering the levels of TC and TG, which might be regulated by glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolism.