Biosynthesis, Metabolism, and Physiological Functions of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbiology and Ecological Metabolomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 1494

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, China
2. Sino-German Joint Research Institute, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, China
Interests: microbiology; metabolites; gamma-aminobutyric acid; biosynthesis; molecular biology
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Guest Editor
1. College of Life Sciences and Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou 730030, China
2. China-Malaysia National Joint Laboratory, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou 730030, China
Interests: lactic acid bacteria; gamma-aminobutyric acid; antioxidant; physiological functions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-proteinogenic amino acid that is extensively distributed in various organisms. As an important bioactive molecule, GABA acts as the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in mammals and has many other biological effects. Therefore, GABA has been widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries. To date, GABA has become a star metabolite, garnering attention from diverse fields.

This Special Issue of Metabolites is dedicated to new findings associated with the biosynthesis, metabolism, and physiological activities of GABA. Submissions of original research articles and reviews are welcome. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the aforementioned aspects of GABA. Relevant methodological advances will also be considered. In this Special Issue, we aim to gather groundbreaking contributions to GABA research and related fields.

Prof. Dr. Haixing Li
Prof. Dr. Dandan Gao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • gamma-aminobutyric acid
  • metabolism and metabolomics
  • biotechnology and bioengineering
  • biosynthesis
  • physiological function
  • gamma-aminobutyric-acid-producing microbes
  • methodology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 2165 KiB  
Article
Metabolomics-Based Study on the Anticonvulsant Mechanism of Acorus tatarinowii: GABA Transaminase Inhibition Alleviates PTZ-Induced Epilepsy in Rats
by Liang Chen, Jiaxin Li, Chengwei Fang and Jiepeng Wang
Metabolites 2025, 15(3), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo15030175 - 4 Mar 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 774 | Correction
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Epilepsy is a common chronic and recurrent neurological disorder that poses a threat to human health, and Acorus tatarinowii Schott (ATS), a traditional Chinese medicine, is used to treat it. This study aimed to determine its effects on plasma metabolites. Moreover, the [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Epilepsy is a common chronic and recurrent neurological disorder that poses a threat to human health, and Acorus tatarinowii Schott (ATS), a traditional Chinese medicine, is used to treat it. This study aimed to determine its effects on plasma metabolites. Moreover, the possible mechanism of its intervention in epilepsy was preliminarily explored, combined with network pharmacology. Methods: An epileptic model of rats was established using pentylenetetrazol. The potential targets and pathways of ATS were predicted by network pharmacology. Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography–Quadrupole–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometrynce Liquid Chromatography–Quadrupole–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometryance Liquid Chromatography–Quadrupole–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry and statistical analyses were used to profile plasma metabolites and identify ATS’s effects on epilepsy. Results: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis revealed that ATS was involved in regulating multiple signaling pathways, mainly including the neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction and GABAerGamma-aminobutyrate transaminaseAminobutyrate Transaminaseapse signaling pathway. ATS treatment restored 19 metabolites in epiGamma-aminobutyrate transaminaseminobutyrate Transaminase rats, affecting lysine, histidine, and purine metabolism. GABA-T was found as a new key target for treating epilepsy with ATS. The IC50 of ATS for inhibiting GABA-T activity was 57.9 μg/mL. Through metabolomic analysis, we detected changes in the levels of certain metabolites related to the GABAergic system. These metabolite changes can be correlated with the targets and pathways predicted by network pharmacology. One of the limitations of this study is that the correlation analysis between altered metabolites and seizure severity remains unfinished, which restricts a more in-depth exploration of the underlying biological mechanisms. In the future, our research will focus on conducting a more in-depth exploration of the correlation analysis between altered metabolites and seizure severity. Conclusions: These results improved our understanding of epilepsy and ATS treatment, potentially leading to better therapies. The identification of key metabolites and their associated pathways in this study offers potential novel therapeutic targets for epilepsy. By modulating these metabolites, future therapies could be designed to better manage the disorder. Moreover, the insights from network pharmacology can guide the development of more effective antiepileptic drugs, paving the way for improved clinical outcomes for patients. Full article
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