Landscapes of the main components, metabolic and microbial signatures, and their correlations during stack “sweating” of Eucommiae Cortex

Introduction“Sweating,” a key step in the processing and production of Eucommiae Cortex (EC), which plays a vital role in the formation of the medicinal quality of EC. However, the mechanism of the effect of this traditional treatment of herbs on the quality of herbs is still unclear.MethodsIn this...

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Main Authors: Linfeng Wang, Mengxian Wu, Bingnan Gu, Erfeng Wang, Faliang Wu, Jiapeng Yang, Bing Guo, Xingke Li, Pengpai Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1550337/full
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author Linfeng Wang
Linfeng Wang
Mengxian Wu
Mengxian Wu
Bingnan Gu
Bingnan Gu
Erfeng Wang
Erfeng Wang
Faliang Wu
Faliang Wu
Jiapeng Yang
Bing Guo
Xingke Li
Xingke Li
Pengpai Zhang
Pengpai Zhang
author_facet Linfeng Wang
Linfeng Wang
Mengxian Wu
Mengxian Wu
Bingnan Gu
Bingnan Gu
Erfeng Wang
Erfeng Wang
Faliang Wu
Faliang Wu
Jiapeng Yang
Bing Guo
Xingke Li
Xingke Li
Pengpai Zhang
Pengpai Zhang
author_sort Linfeng Wang
collection DOAJ
description Introduction“Sweating,” a key step in the processing and production of Eucommiae Cortex (EC), which plays a vital role in the formation of the medicinal quality of EC. However, the mechanism of the effect of this traditional treatment of herbs on the quality of herbs is still unclear.MethodsIn this study, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), UPLC/MS-based untargeted metabolomics and high-throughput sequencing were applied to investigate the dynamic changes of the main active ingredients, differential metabolites and bacterial communities in the process of “sweating” in EC. The samples were prepared by the traditional stacking “sweating” method, and the samples were collected once a day for five consecutive days.ResultsThe results showed that the contents of the main active constituents, geniposidic acid (GPA), chlorogenic acid (CA), rutin (AU), pinoresinol diglucoside (PD) and total flavonoids (TFS), increased significantly after steaming, followed by a slight decrease. Furthermore, 807 metabolites were identified as crucial factors contributing to the metabolic alterations induced by the “sweating” process. Microbial diversity analysis showed considerable changes in microbiota characteristics, and the main functional microorganisms before and after “sweating” of EC were Gluconobacter, unclassified_c_Gammaproteobacteria, Pseudomonas, Pantoea, Pedobacter, and Parecoccus, which were involved in the five metabolic pathways of other secondary metabolites leading to significant changes in alkaloids, amino acid related compounds, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids and terpenoids.DiscussionThe correlation network established between core bacterial communities, active ingredients, and metabolic pathways elucidates the microbial regulation of EC quality during sweating. These findings provide a scientific foundation for optimizing processing duration and advancing quality control strategies through targeted microbial community management.
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spelling doaj-art-b0f2674f46aa4f5f9de9bcc84dbadc802025-08-20T02:45:53ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2025-02-011610.3389/fmicb.2025.15503371550337Landscapes of the main components, metabolic and microbial signatures, and their correlations during stack “sweating” of Eucommiae CortexLinfeng Wang0Linfeng Wang1Mengxian Wu2Mengxian Wu3Bingnan Gu4Bingnan Gu5Erfeng Wang6Erfeng Wang7Faliang Wu8Faliang Wu9Jiapeng Yang10Bing Guo11Xingke Li12Xingke Li13Pengpai Zhang14Pengpai Zhang15School of Life Sciences, Institute of Microbial Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Institute of Microbial Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Institute of Microbial Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Institute of Microbial Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Institute of Microbial Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng, ChinaHenan Yangchen Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sanmenxia, ChinaHenan Sanweiqi Food Limited Liability Company, Sanmenxia, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Institute of Microbial Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Institute of Microbial Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, ChinaEngineering Research Center for Applied Microbiology of Henan Province, Kaifeng, ChinaIntroduction“Sweating,” a key step in the processing and production of Eucommiae Cortex (EC), which plays a vital role in the formation of the medicinal quality of EC. However, the mechanism of the effect of this traditional treatment of herbs on the quality of herbs is still unclear.MethodsIn this study, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), UPLC/MS-based untargeted metabolomics and high-throughput sequencing were applied to investigate the dynamic changes of the main active ingredients, differential metabolites and bacterial communities in the process of “sweating” in EC. The samples were prepared by the traditional stacking “sweating” method, and the samples were collected once a day for five consecutive days.ResultsThe results showed that the contents of the main active constituents, geniposidic acid (GPA), chlorogenic acid (CA), rutin (AU), pinoresinol diglucoside (PD) and total flavonoids (TFS), increased significantly after steaming, followed by a slight decrease. Furthermore, 807 metabolites were identified as crucial factors contributing to the metabolic alterations induced by the “sweating” process. Microbial diversity analysis showed considerable changes in microbiota characteristics, and the main functional microorganisms before and after “sweating” of EC were Gluconobacter, unclassified_c_Gammaproteobacteria, Pseudomonas, Pantoea, Pedobacter, and Parecoccus, which were involved in the five metabolic pathways of other secondary metabolites leading to significant changes in alkaloids, amino acid related compounds, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids and terpenoids.DiscussionThe correlation network established between core bacterial communities, active ingredients, and metabolic pathways elucidates the microbial regulation of EC quality during sweating. These findings provide a scientific foundation for optimizing processing duration and advancing quality control strategies through targeted microbial community management.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1550337/fullEucommiae Cortexmechanism of “sweating”high-throughput sequencinghigh performance liquid chromatographyuntargeted metabolomics
spellingShingle Linfeng Wang
Linfeng Wang
Mengxian Wu
Mengxian Wu
Bingnan Gu
Bingnan Gu
Erfeng Wang
Erfeng Wang
Faliang Wu
Faliang Wu
Jiapeng Yang
Bing Guo
Xingke Li
Xingke Li
Pengpai Zhang
Pengpai Zhang
Landscapes of the main components, metabolic and microbial signatures, and their correlations during stack “sweating” of Eucommiae Cortex
Frontiers in Microbiology
Eucommiae Cortex
mechanism of “sweating”
high-throughput sequencing
high performance liquid chromatography
untargeted metabolomics
title Landscapes of the main components, metabolic and microbial signatures, and their correlations during stack “sweating” of Eucommiae Cortex
title_full Landscapes of the main components, metabolic and microbial signatures, and their correlations during stack “sweating” of Eucommiae Cortex
title_fullStr Landscapes of the main components, metabolic and microbial signatures, and their correlations during stack “sweating” of Eucommiae Cortex
title_full_unstemmed Landscapes of the main components, metabolic and microbial signatures, and their correlations during stack “sweating” of Eucommiae Cortex
title_short Landscapes of the main components, metabolic and microbial signatures, and their correlations during stack “sweating” of Eucommiae Cortex
title_sort landscapes of the main components metabolic and microbial signatures and their correlations during stack sweating of eucommiae cortex
topic Eucommiae Cortex
mechanism of “sweating”
high-throughput sequencing
high performance liquid chromatography
untargeted metabolomics
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1550337/full
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