RESUMO
Objective To explore the changed trend of endogenous lipid metabolites in rats with rheumatoid arthritis during different disease periods and the regulation of Zushima Tablets on differential metabolites based on UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS. Methods The collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats were established using bovine type II collagen. The serum samples were collected before (0 d) and 14, 21, and 36 d after model construction from control, model, and Zushima Tablets groups [0.6 g/(kg•d)], respectively. The lipids were extracted and identified by bioinformatics analysis to find the lipid differential metabolites. Results It was obviously observed that lipid metabolism disordered in CIA rats compared with the control group. The content of three acylcarnitines was increased significantly while the level of TG showed a downward trend in the CIA model group when the TG carbon chain was shorter than 58 carbon atoms. To the opposite, the content of TG substances with atomic number greater than fifty-eight in the model group was significantly higher than that of the control group. Zushima tablet obviously regulated the metabolism levels of a phosphatidylserine, a ceramide, two acylcarnitines, four phosphatidylcholines, and four triglycerides. Conclusion This study demonstrated that rheumatoid arthritis caused the disorder of lipid metabolism while Zushima Tablets had regulatory effects on some lipid metabolites.