Phytolacca americana is a medicinal plant with well-documented anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, whereas Phytolacca latbenia , a recently documented species from Yunnan, China, represents a promising sustainable alternative. To systematically evaluate its therapeutic potential, we conducted an integrated metabolomics- and transcriptomics-centric investigation, with a primary focus on metabolomic signatures. Root tissues from both species were subjected to comprehensive non-targeted UHPLC–MS metabolomics, incorporating rigorous peak detection, alignment, retention time correction, and high-confidence metabolite annotation using both in-house and public databases. Subsequent pathway contextualization revealed the enrichment of amino acid metabolism, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and redox-related pathways as central differentiators between the species. Concurrent transcriptomic profiling delineated differential gene expression landscapes, supporting the mechanistic interpretation of metabolic divergence. Integrated multi-omics analysis highlighted 426 differentially accumulated metabolites, with P. latbenia prominently enriched in amino acids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids, while P. americana exhibited elevated glycerolipids and glycerophospholipids. Network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations further demonstrated stable interactions between key up-regulated metabolites, including flavokavain C, and DKD-associated targets such as BTK, BCL2, CXCR4, and TGFBR2. Collectively, these results underscore the central role of metabolomic remodeling in defining the distinct chemical and therapeutic potential of P. latbenia , providing a robust multi-omics rationale for its use as a multi-target therapeutic alternative to P. americana in diabetic kidney disease. . .
Xie et al. (Wed,) studied this question.