Research Article

The Metabolomic Rationale for Treating Perimenopausal Syndrome as Kidney Deficiency

Figure 4

Perimenopause accelerated the metabolic change. (a) PLS-DA analysis of metabolites in the plasma of rats that had not entered the perimenopausal period (red), rats that just entered the perimenopausal period (green), and rats that were treated with saline for 4 weeks (purple). As age progressed, the metabolic patterns drifted further away from that before entering the perimenopause. The metabolomic separation between the green state (perimenopause) and purple state (4 weeks after entering the perimenopause) is greater than the metabolomic separation between the red state (5–7 months before entering the perimenopause) and green state and is an indication that the metabolic change was accelerated after the rats entered the perimenopause phase. (b) As the aging continued, the major metabolites in the metabolic profile were predominantly energy metabolism-related, and at the top of the VIP list were glucose, lipid, and lactate. (c) Four weeks after entering perimenopause and treatment with saline, there were important changes in metabolite quantities, which included lipids, glucose, acetoacetate, and others. An important feature is that the metabolism of lipid was down, while that of glucose was up. ; ; .
(a)
(b)
(c)