Metabolomics combined with serum pharmacochemistry discovering the potential effective compounds of Fangji Huangqi Tang against nephrotic syndrome

Fangji Huangqi Tang (FHT) was first recorded in "Jin Gui Yao Lue," invented by the archaic Chinese medical doctor Zhongjing Zhang, and is a classic medicine that tonifies qi and expels wind, invigorates spleen for diuresis. A large number of literatures indicated that FHT showed a significant effect on Nephrotic Syndrome (NS). A comprehensive strategy was proposed to discover the potential effective compounds and therapeutic targets of FHT against NS as a case study. Serum metabolomics combined with multivariate statistical analysis was employed to analysis and screen the differential endogenous metabolites in serum samples of the control and model rats induced by Adriamycin. The correlation analysis between the efficacy biomarkers and different compounds absorbed in serum of FHT was conducted to explore the potential effective compounds of FHT against NS. With the help of network pharmacology, the therapeutic targets and the possible molecular mechanisms of FHT against NS were further investigated. Fifteen metabolites, including l-phenylalanine, 3-Hydroxybutyric acid and linolenic acid, were associated with renal damage based on the serum metabolomic results. Metabolic pathway analysis indicated that phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis and linoleic acid metabolism were the key pathways associated with NS. Among them, 6 metabolites were defined as efficacy biomarkers such as uric acid, 2-methylbutyrylcarnitine and 10-HDA. The results of correlation analysis suggested that 14 constituents such as fanGhinoline, cycloastragenol, atractylenolide III, and glycyrrhetinic acid were recognized as potential effective compounds, whose potential protein targets participated in the MAPK signaling pathway, GnRH signaling pathway and aldoaterone-regulated sodium reabsorption. This study has clarified the potential effective compounds and therapeutic targets of FHT against NS. The results provided new evidence for the pharmacological mechanism of FHT on NS.

Verification of the Potential Targets of the Herbal Prescription Sochehwan for Drug Repurposing Processes as Deduced by Network Pharmacology

Network pharmacology (NP) is a useful, emerging means of understanding the complex pharmacological mechanisms of traditional herbal medicines. Sochehwan (SCH) is a candidate herbal prescription for drug repurposing as it has been suggested to have beneficial effects on metabolic syndrome. In this study, NP was adopted to complement the shortcomings of literature-based drug repurposing strategies in traditional herbal medicine. We conducted in vitro studies to confirm the effects of SCH on potential pharmacological targets identified by NP analysis. Herbal compounds and molecular targets of SCH were explored and screened from a traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP) and an oriental medicine advanced searching integrated system (OASIS). Forty-seven key targets selected from a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were analyzed with gene ontology (GO) term enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis to identify relevant categories. The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways were presented as significant signaling pathways with lowest p-values by NP analysis, which were downregulated by SCH treatment. The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was identified as a core key target by NP analysis, and its phosphorylation ratio was confirmed to be significantly suppressed by SCH. In conclusion, the NP-based approach used for target prediction and experimental data obtained from Raw 264.7 cells strongly suggested that SCH can attenuate inflammatory status by modulating the phosphorylation status of STAT3.

Study on the absorption of corosolic acid in the gastrointestinal tract and its metabolites in rats

Corosolic acid (CRA) has been widely used as a food supplement. However, its pharmacokinetic behavior still needs to be explored. In this study, the absorption of CRA in stomach and intestine were investigated by in situ gastric absorption and in situ single-pass perfusion, respectively. Furthermore, the metabolites of CRA in rat plasma, bile, and urine were identified by UPLC-QTOF-MS. The enzymes responsible for its metabolism were explored by rat liver microsome (RLMs). The effects of plasma containing metabolites on cancer cell growth and glucose consumption were evaluated by HT29 and HepG2 cells receptively. The results showed that CRA absorption rate is approximately 20% to 40% in stomach. It has similar absorption rate constant (Ka) in duodenum/jejunum/ileum/colon. However, its effective permeability (P_eff) in ileum at 9 μg/mL is significantly higher than the P_eff in colon. Moreover, five possible metabolites were identified in plasma and bile, suggesting CRA could be metabolized through methyl carboxylation, hydroxylation, methyl aldehyde substitution, glucuronidation, and acetylation in vivo. Meanwhile, CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 were found to participate in its metabolism. The plasma containing metabolites of CRA significantly inhibited the growth of HT29 colon cancer cells and stimulated glucose consumption of HepG2 cells. Taken together, these results demonstrated that CRA has good absorption in both stomach and small intestine, but it could be metabolized partly due to CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 in vivo. Its metabolites might be responsible for the excellent anti-cancer and anti-diabetes activities of CRA. This study will provide evidence for further CRA development.

Pentacyclic Triterpene Bioavailability: An Overview of In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Pentacyclic triterpenes are naturally found in a great variety of fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants and are therefore part of the human diet. The beneficial health effects of edible and medicinal plants have partly been associated with their triterpene content, but the in vivo efficacy in humans depends on many factors, including absorption and metabolism. This review presents an overview of in vitro and in vivo studies that were carried out to determine the bioavailability of pentacyclic triterpenes and highlights the efforts that have been performed to improve the dissolution properties and absorption of these compounds. As plant matrices play a critical role in triterpene bioaccessibility, this review covers literature data on the bioavailability of pentacyclic triterpenes ingested either from foods and medicinal plants or in their free form.

Simultaneous determination of paeoniflorin from total glucosides of paeony in Sprague-Dawley rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: in vivo and in vitro studies

Paeoniflorin is a well-known monoterpene glucoside in the herbal drug that exhibits a number of biological activities. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of paeoniflorin from total glucosides of paeony in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) are still unclear. It is essential to investigate the in vivo and in vitro pharmacokinetic differences of paeoniflorin from total glucosides of paeony in Sprague-Dawley (SD) and SHR. The in vivo pharmacokinetic data were analyzed using DAS 2.0 software and the in vitro metabolic characteristics were measured using rat hepatic microsomes. The concentration of paeoniflorin in biological samples was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method, which showed good precision and stability. The plasma concentration-time profiles of paeoniflorin following oral administration of total glucosides of paeony showed a single peak and there were significant differences in the mean values of AUC_(0-t) , AUC_(0-∞) , CL_z /F and T_max between SD and SHR (p < 0.05). The metabolic rate of paeoniflorin from total glucosides of paeony was slower in SHR than in SD rats (p < 0.05). The results might be useful in further applications of paeoniflorin and total glucosides of paeony. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

2α-Hydroxyursolic Acid Inhibited Cell Proliferation and Induced Apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 Human Breast Cancer Cells through the p38/MAPK Signal Transduction Pathway

The mechanisms of action of 2α-hydroxyursolic acid in inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells were investigated. The antiproliferative activity and cytotoxicity were determined by the methylene blue assay. The expression of proteins was determined using Western blot. 2α-Hydroxyursolic acid significantly inhibited MDA-MB-231 cell proliferation, and no cytotoxicity was observed at concentrations below 30 μM. 2α-Hydroxyursolic acid significantly down-regulated expressions of TRAF2, PCNA, cyclin D1, and CDK4 and up-regulated the expressions of p-ASK1, p-p38, p-p53, and p-21. 2α-Hydroxyursolic acid induced apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells by significantly increasing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and inducing the cleaved caspase-3. Additionally, treatment of SB203580, a p38 MAPK specific inhibitor, reversed the inhibition of PCNA, cyclin D1, and Bcl-2 expression induced by 2α-hydroxyursolic acid in MDA-MB-231 cells. These results suggested that 2α-hydroxyursolic acid exhibited anticancer activity through the inhibition of cell proliferation and the induction of apoptosis by regulating the p38/MAPK signal transduction pathway.

Polyhydroxytriterpenoids and Phenolic Constituents from Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl Leaves

Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl leaves have been consumed in China as a health-promoting functional tea for centuries. Three new polyhydroxytriterpenoid glycosides named suspensanosides A-C (1-3), seven known polyhydroxytriterpenoids (4-10), and 12 known phenolics (11-22) were identified from F. suspensa leaves. Compounds 1-10, 15-17, and 22 have not been found in the Forsythia genus previously, whereas compound 14 was first reported to be isolated from the leaves of F. suspensa. All isolates were tested for their antiproliferative activities on BGC-823 and MCF-7 human tumor cell lines, whereas all phenolics were further investigated for their antioxidant activities by a DPPH assay. The results clearly demonstrate that triterpenoids, especially ursane-type triterpenoids, and the diverse phenolic components are crucial for the beneficial effects of F. suspensa leaves.

Metabonomic analysis of the therapeutic effect of Potentilla discolor in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus

A plasma metabonomic approach was applied to investigate the effects of P. discolor and corosolic acid.