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Table 3 Differential metabolites identified from MDD patients with TCM subtypes and healthy controls a

From: Blood and urinary metabolomic evidence validating traditional Chinese medicine diagnostic classification of major depressive disorder

Group samples Metabolites Formula r b p-valuec FC (MDD/HC)a Pathway
Serum: LQS vs. HC a
1d l-Valine C5H11NO2 0.236 0.009 0.930 Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis
2d l-Phenylalanine C9H11NO2 0.199 0.237 0.350 Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis
3d l-Lysine C6H14N2O2 0.150 0.761 0.459 Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis
4 l-Proline C5H9NO2 0.143 0.447 0.182 Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis
5d l-Leucine C6H13NO2 0.124 0.000 1.047 Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis
6e Isobutyric acid C4H8O2 0.103 0.565 0.702 Protein digestion and absorption
7 l-Lactic acid C3H6O3 − 0.147 0.370 0.013 Propanoate metabolism
8 Glycine C2H5NO2 − 0.151 0.279 − 0.954 Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis
9 Threonic acid C4H8O5 − 0.175 0.250 − 1.080 Ascorbate and aldarate metabolism
Urine: LQS vs. HC a
1 l-Sorbose C6H12O6 0.149 0.624 0.661 Unknown
2 Diacetyl C4H6O2 0.147 0.120 0.825 Butanoate metabolism
3 N-Acetyl-d-glucosamine C8H15NO6 0.146 0.748 0.304 Amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism
4d l-Methionine C5H11NO2S 0.144 0.417 0.546 Cysteine and methionine metabolism
5d 3-Hydroxybutyric acid C4H8O3 0.139 0.088 0.819 Butanoate metabolism
6d Pyruvic acid C3H4O3 0.125 0.116 1.085 Citrate cycle (TCA cycle)
7d Stearic acid C18H36O2 0.117 0.327 0.490 Fatty acid biosynthesis
8 trans-Aconitic acid C6H6O6 0.115 0.648 0.444 C5-Branched dibasic acid metabolism
9d Glycine C2H5NO2 0.111 0.685 0.441 Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis
10d N-Acetyl-l-aspartic acid C6H9NO5 0.107 0.176 0.680 Alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism
11 Threonic acid C4H8O5 0.101 0.906 0.428 Ascorbate and aldarate metabolism
12d l-Tryptophan C11H12N2O2 − 0.108 0.054 0.186 Glycine, serine and threonine metabolism
13 α-Lactose C12H22O11 − 0.114 0.116 0.259 Galactose metabolism
14d l-Lactic acid C3H6O3 − 0.129 0.735 0.263 Propanoate metabolism
15d Palmitic acid C16H32O2 − 0.149 0.005 0.303 Fatty acid metabolism
16 Indoxyl sulfate C8H7NO4S − 0.164 0.673 0.583 Unknown
17d o-Tyrosine C9H11NO3 − 0.203 0.217 0.080 Unknown
18 p-Hydroxyphenylacetic acid C9H8O3 − 0.122 0.673 − 0.120 Tyrosine metabolism
19d Citric acid C6H8O7 − 0.156 0.015 − 0.265 Citrate cycle (TCA cycle)
Serum: HSD vs. HC a
1d l-Valine C5H11NO2 0.226 0.079 0.689 Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis
2d l-Leucine C6H13NO2 0.161 0.000 1.120 Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis
3d l-Lysine C6H14N2O2 0.148 0.337 0.722 Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis
4 l-Threonine C4H9NO3 − 0.105 0.000 − 0.191 Glycine, serine and threonine metabolism
5 d-chiro-Inositol C6H12O6 − 0.135 0.138 − 0.200 Inositol phosphate metabolism
6d l-Methionine C5H11NO2S − 0.140 0.009 − 0.299 Cysteine and methionine metabolism
7 l-Lactic acid C3H6O3 − 0.170 0.253 − 0.183 Propanoate metabolism
Urine: HSD vs. HC a
1d l-Isoleucine C6H13NO2 0.161 0.007 0.681 Valine, leucine and isoleucine degradation
2 Threonic acid C4H8O5 0.113 0.349 0.687 Ascorbate and aldarate metabolism
3 N-Acetyl-d-glucosamine C8H15NO6 0.109 0.283 0.432 Amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism
4d Stearic acid C18H36O2 − 0.104 0.002 0.019 Fatty acid biosynthesis
5 α-Lactose C12H22O11 − 0.116 0.000 − 0.126 Galactose metabolism
Urine: LQS vs. HSD a
1 Isobutyric acid C4H8O2 0.127 0.304 1.114e Protein digestion and absorption
  1. a FC fold change, MDD major depressive disorder, HC healthy controls, LQS Liver Qi Stagnation, HSD Heart and Spleen Deficiency
  2. b Correlation coefficients (r) were obtained from OPLC-DA with a threshold of 3.010. Positive and negative coefficients respectively indicate higher and lower levels of metabolites compared to healthy controls
  3. c p-values were obtained from Wilcoxon-Mann–Whitney test between TCM subtypes and healthy controls
  4. d Metabolites were determined using standard samples
  5. e FC value represents LQS/HSD
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Chinese Medicine

ISSN: 1749-8546

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