A Serum and Urine Metabolomics Dataset of TCM Syndromes in Cholelithiasis

The present study investigated the distinct metabolic profiles of two primary traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes in patients with cholelithiasis-liver Qi stagnation (LQS) and liver-gallbladder damp-heat (LGDH). By integrating untargeted and targeted metabolomics, we aimed to identify objective serum and urine biomarkers for syndrome differentiation and to elucidate their underlying biological basis. In total, 91 participants, comprising 33 healthy controls (HCs), 30 cholelithiasis patients with LQS syndrome, and 28 cholelithiasis patients with LGDH syndrome, were enrolled. Untargeted analysis of serum and urine samples quantified 602 and 636 metabolites, respectively. To strengthen the robustness of the dataset, complementary targeted metabolomics was conducted as an orthogonal validation step, providing reliable quantification for 210 serum and 204 urinary. The present findings provide molecular insights into the TCM principle of syndrome differentiation (Bian Zheng Lun Zhi). The identified biomarker panel may offer a basis for developing objective tools for the stratification of cholelithiasis syndromes and may support future efforts towards personalized therapeutic strategies.