a clear trendP < 0.05
The OPLS-DA score plot showed a clear trend towards separation between the two groups, and the currently established discriminant model with R2Y cum = 0.366 ( P < 0.05) and Q2 cum = 0.129 ( P < 0.05) allowed for a valid distinction between the two samples, indicating that there were indeed metabolic differences between the case and control groups.