Investigation of chemical composition changes in Polygonatum odoratum during nine steaming and nine drying processes using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Polygonatum odoratum (YZ) is traditionally used to treat lung disorders, and its efficacy is enhanced through a specific processing method involving nine cycles of steaming and drying. However, the complex chemical transformations induced by this process make it difficult to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms. In this study, a UHPLC-MS-based metabolomics approach was applied to analyze compositional changes in YZ after processing. The statistical analysis was applied to explore the differential compounds caused by processing. Network pharmacology was further employed to explore the potential mechanisms of processed YZ in the treatment of lung yin deficiency (LYD). Results revealed that 55 and 54 compounds detected in positive and negative ion modes were significantly altered post-processing. Targets associated with these compounds and LYD were integrated to construct a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, from which 41 core targets were identified. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses suggested that processed YZ may alleviate LYD by modulating the JAK-STAT, NF-κB, and AMPK signaling pathways. These findings indicate that multiple compounds in YZ were transformed during repeated steaming and drying and may act synergistically through multi-target and multi-pathway mechanisms to exert lung-tonifying effects.