# Investigation into Antioxidant Mechanism of Lycium barbarum Extract in Carbendazim-Induced PC12 Cell Injury Model through Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Analyses

## TL;DR

This study explores how Lycium barbarum extract protects PC12 cells from damage using transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses.

## Contribution

The study reveals new insights into the antioxidant mechanism of Lycium barbarum extract using integrated omics approaches.

## Key findings

- LBE pretreatment reduced ROS levels by 14.6% and inhibited MMP decline by 12.0%.
- LBE activates OXPHOS, restores MMP, and stabilizes the TCA cycle and GSH pathway.
- The findings offer a global perspective on the antioxidant function of LBE.

## Abstract

Lycium barbarum L., an important functional food in China, has antioxidant and antiaging activity. However, the exact antioxidant activity mechanism of Lycium barbarum extracts (LBE) is not well understood. Therefore, a carbendazim (CBZ)-induced PC12 cell injury model was constructed and vitrificated to study the antioxidant activity of fresh LBE on the basis of extraction parameter optimization via the full factorial design of experiments (DOE) method. The results showed that the pretreatment of PC12 cells with LBE could reduce the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level by 14.6% and inhibited the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) decline by 12.0%. Furthermore, the integrated analysis revealed that LBE played an antioxidant role by activating oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and restoring MMP, maintaining the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle stability, and regulating the GSH metabolic pathway. The results of the present study provide new ideas for the understanding of the antioxidant function of LBE from a global perspective.