Metabolomic study on the faecal extracts of atherosclerosis mice and its application in a Traditional Chinese Medicine

•In this study, fecal extracts from AS mice model were analyzed using a well established metabolomic approach.•The established metabolomic platform was also used for clearing the effective mechanism of a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) named Sishen granule (SSKL).•Sixteen potential biomarkers in faeces of AS mice were identified and 5 of them could be reversed by SSKL.•A network of these identified biomarkers was established. Lipid metabolism, cholesterol metabolism, energy cycle, and inflammation reaction were considered as the most relevant pathological changes in gastrointestinal tract of AS mice.•This study also demonstrated that SSKL had the therapeutic effectiveness on AS through partly reversing the lipid metabolism, inflammation and energy metabolism. The intestinal microbiota and their metabolites are closely related to the formation of atherosclerosis (AS). In this study, a metabolomic approach based on the reversed-phase liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF-MS) platform was established to analyze the metabolic profiling of fecal extracts from AS mice model. The established metabolomic platform was also used for clearing the effective mechanism of a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) named Sishen granule (SSKL). Totally, sixteen potential biomarkers in faeces of AS mice were identified and 5 of them could be reversed by SSKL. Through functional analysis of these biomarkers and the established network, lipid metabolism, cholesterol metabolism, energy cycle, and inflammation reaction were considered as the most relevant pathological changes in gastrointestinal tract of AS mice. The metabolomic study not only revealed the potential biomarkers in AS mice’ faeces but also supplied a systematic view of the pathological changes in gastrointestinal metabolite in AS mice. This metabolomic study also demonstrated that SSKL had the therapeutic effectiveness on AS through partly reversing the lipid metabolism, inflammation and energy metabolism.