Objective:To analyze any effect of combining hyperbaric oxygen with qingkailing on the metabolic biomarkers of consciousness disorder (CD) caused by brain trauma using metabolomics technology. Also, to screen out diagnostic markers for clinical treatment and prognosis.Methods:Thirty-six patients with a CD caused by brain trauma formed the observation group, while 40 healthy gender-, age- and ethnicity-matched individuals were the control group. Both groups were given routine supportive treatment, while the observation group additionally received hyperbaric oxygen and oral qingkailing medication. Before and after 14 days consciousness disturbance was evaluated using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). Venous blood was collected for metabolomic analysis using liquid chromatography linked to a mass spectrometer to screen out specific metabolic biomarkers. Metabolic markers associated with the disease and of diagnostic significance were thus identified.Results:After the treatment the average GCS score of the observation group had improved significantly and the degree of coma was significantly relieved. Twenty-one metabolic markers were found to be significant, with creatine, proline, uric acid, acetyl-L-carnitine, histidine, proline leucine, tryptophan and 9E-octagenoic acid potentially of high diagnostic value. After the treatment, all of those markers came close to the levels observed in the healthy control group.Conclusions:Proline, leucine, 9E-octagenoleic acid, uric acid and acetyl-L-carnitine could be used for diagnosis and evaluating efficacy with such patients. Hyperbaric oxygen supplemented with qingkailing can relieve coma, correct metabolic disorders and accelerate patients′ awakening. Metabolomics provides a new method for identifying endogenous metabolic abnormalities in patients with post-traumatic consciousness disorders. It can be useful in prognosis and clinical treatment.

OBJECTIVE To establish a quantitative analysis method for the quality control components in Tenghuang jiangu capsules， and predict the possible action mechanism of the quality control components. METHODS Seven key quality control components in Tenghuang jiangu capsules were quantitatively analyzed by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS. The “component-target” network was constructed based on network pharmacology， and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis and gene ontology （GO） function enrichment analysis were further conducted to find the key signaling pathways. RESULTS The average contents of succinic acid， hyperoside， gallic acid， kaempferol， naringin， naringenin and protocatechuic acid in 20 batches of Tenghuang jiangu capsules were 520.92， 67.67， 129.48， 4.74， 397.45， 5.66 and 376.62 μg/g， respectively. The results of network pharmacology showed that the 62 key target genes of the quality control components of the drug included AKT1， TNF， VEGFA， MMP9， PTGS2， etc. They were mainly enriched in cytokine receptor interaction， nuclear factor， tumor necrosis factor， interleukin 17， rheumatoid arthritis， Toll-like receptor and other signal pathways， involving inflammatory reaction， signal transduction， protein phosphorylation and other biological processes， kytoplasm， cell membrane and other cell components， as well as enzyme activity， energy activity and other molecular functions. CONCLUSIONS The established UHPLC- Q-Orbitrap HRMS method can be used for the quantitative analysis of the quality control components of Tenghuang jiangu capsule. Its quality control components may be mapped to inflammatory pathways related to bone diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Toll-like receptors through AKT1， TNF， VEGFA and other key targets， so as to play a therapeutic role.