Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an important treatment for male infertility, and its application to therapy is dependent\non differentiation of TCM syndromes. This study aims to investigate the changes in metabolites and metabolic pathways in\ninfertile males with Kidney-Yang Deficiency syndrome (KYDS) via metabolomics approaches. Seminal plasma samples were\ncollected from 18 infertile males with KYDS and 18 fertile males. Liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry were used to\ncharacterize metabolomics profiles. Principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares-discriminate analysis (PLS-DA),\nand pathway analysis were used for pattern recognition and metabolite identification. PCA and PLS-DA results differentiated the\ntwo groups of patients. Forty-one discriminating metabolites (18 in positive mode and 23 in negative mode) were identified. Seven\nmetabolites were related to five potential metabolic pathways associated with biosynthesis and metabolism of aromatic amino acids,\ntricarboxylic acid cycle, and sphingolipidmetabolism. The changes inmetabolic pathways may play an important role in the origin\nof KYDS-associated male infertility. Metabolomics analysis of seminal plasma may be used to differentiate TCM syndromes of\ninfertile males, but further research must be conducted.
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