Subsequently, structural characterization of the changed ions
following OVX was attempted manually using the combination of data from the accurate mass, tandem
mass spectra and retention times (SI, Fig. S2). Structures could be assigned to 41 of the 75
OVX-induced upregulated ions in the negative ion mode, which appeared to be in the families of
1-O-alkenyl-lysopho- sphatidylethanolamine (lysoplasmalogen; alkenyl-LPE), lysopho-
sphatidylethanolamine (LPE), ceramide-1-phosphate (CerP), cer- amide (Cer) and sphingomyelin
(Cer-PC). In addition, structures
the levels of most lipids were reverted to a greater extent than
with DPHD alone, reaching levels that were either very close to or slightly lower than those of the
SHAM control rats. The treatment with C. comosa powder at half of the dose (1000 mg/kg Bw; OVX þ
P1000) also yielded similar results. Lastly, the only treat- ment that could effectively increase
the amount of some species of the OVX-downregulated lipids (MAG and TAG) was C. comosa ex- tract,
whereas the levels of these glycerolipids were mostly un- affected by the other treatments.
Together, the data suggest the effectiveness of using DPHD, C. comosa powder or, especially, C.
comosa extract for recovering the changes in serum lipid levels
that resulted from estrogen deficiency in the OVX rats.