Metabolite profiling of Shuganzhi tablets in rats and pharmacokinetics study of four bioactive compounds with liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Shuganzhi Tablets (SGZT) is developed on the basis of a clinical empirical formula as a hospital preparation for the treatment of fatty liver. In this study, a rapid and highly sensitive LC-MS/MS method was established and validated for simultaneous determination of ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rg1, notoginsenoside R1, naringin, specnuezhenide, emodin, polydatin, hesperidin and saikosaponin A in rat plasma. Multiple reaction monitoring mode played an important role in simultaneous quantitative analysis of multiple components. The analytes were separated by the action of an ACQUITY UPLC® BEH C18 column (2.1 × 50 mm, 1.7 μm) in five minutes. The validated LC-MS/MS method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic analysis of hesperidin, emodin, polydatin and naringin of SGZT in rat plasma after administration. A UHPLC system couple with a quadrupole combined with time of flight mass spectrometer was used for qualitatively analyzing of the composition of SGZT and its metabolites in serum, urine, bile and feces of rats. The results showed that a total of 65 components were detected in rat biological samples, including 10 prototype components and 55 metabolites. It was speculated that the ingredients of SGZT experienced mainly the following reactions in rats: phase I reaction such as hydrolysis, oxidation, hydroxylation, carboxylation and dehydroxylation and phase Ⅱ reaction such as glucuronidation and sulfation. These results provide useful information for the further study of its active ingredients.

Recent advances in screening active components from natural products based on bioaffinity techniques

Natural products have provided numerous lead compounds for drug discovery. However, the traditional analytical methods cannot detect most of these active components, especially at their usual low concentrations, from complex natural products. Herein, we reviewed the recent technological advances (2015–2019) related to the separation and screening bioactive components from natural resources, especially the emerging screening methods based on the bioaffinity techniques, including biological chromatography, affinity electrophoresis, affinity mass spectroscopy, and the latest magnetic and optical methods. These screening methods are uniquely advanced compared to other traditional methods, and they can fish out the active components from complex natural products because of the affinity between target and components, without tedious separation works. Therefore, these new tools can reduce the time and cost of the drug discovery process and accelerate the development of more effective and better-targeted therapeutic agents.

Screening of bioactive components from traditional Chinese medicines using cell membrane chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

INTRODUCTION

Cell membrane chromatography (CMC), as a highly selective type of affinity chromatography, has been demonstrated as an effective method to screen bioactive components acting on specific receptor from a complicated biological system.

OBJECTIVE

To review the recent research progress and the technical applications of these analytical methods using CMC combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS).

METHODOLOGY

In this review, we briefly introduce the CMC offline GC/MS, CMC online GC/MS, CMC offline LC/MS, and CMC online LC/MS system. And the practical application of these technologies is also enumerated. Then the future of these technologies and research methods were discussed.

RESULTS

Many bioactive components interacting with specific receptors have been screened and identified in traditional Chinese medicines.

CONCLUSION

CMC technique has been combined with GC/MS and HPLC/MS and these combined systems have been successfully used to screen bioactive components acting on specific receptors from a complicated biological system.

Ultrasound-assisted Extraction of Polysaccharide from Radix Bupleuri using Response Surface Methodology and Antioxidant Research of the Polysaccharide

This report used Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to analyze the conditions that extracting polysaccharide compound from Radix Bupleuri using ultrasonic wave. For determining the optimal extraction conditions, four independent variables, temperature (°C), ultrasonic intensity (UI, W/cm2), dilution rate (water-material ratio, mL/g) and time (min), were investigated using Box-Behnken design. In the results, the best condition after optimization was dilution rate of 35.0:1, UI of 24.5 W/cm2, temperature of 69.5°C and time of 14.6 min. Extraction efficiency was 7.67% and the purity reached 44.14%. It illustrates that the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was efficient and suitable for extracting polysaccharide from Radix Bupleuri. This paper also investigated the antioxidant activity of Radix Bupleuri polysaccharide (RBP) on superoxide anion radical, hydroxyl radical, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picry-hydrazyl (DPPH), in vitro experiment. The result indicated that RBP could remarkably sweep away the hydroxyl radical, and had the capacity for clearing away superoxide radical and DPPH.

Screening active components of modified Xiaoyao powder as NRF2 agonists

Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (NRF2) regulates antioxidant enzymes and phase II detoxifying enzymes, such as NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1). Modified Xiaoyao powder (MXP) is most frequently used in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer in China. This study aimed to screen active components of MXP for antioxidant stress and chemoprevention, which depend on NRF2-NQO1 signalling pathway. A total of 25 monomeric compounds contained in MXP were screened using an antioxidant response element-luciferase reporter. The most potent antioxidant response element-luciferase inducers were chosen to further examine their effects on NRF2 and NQO1 in MCF-7 cells. These results were then confirmed by determining the oxidative stress levels and chemopreventive effect on inhibiting carcinogenesis transformation in NRF2 knockdown (NRF2^KD ) and NRF2 wild-type MCF-10A cells. We found that quercetin, kaempferol, and atractylenolide II in MXP were potent NRF2 inducers, which could up-regulate the expression of NRF2 and its downstream enzymes NQO1. In addition, these components could decrease reduced oxidative stress and inhibit carcinogenesis transformation, which depended on NRF2-NQO1 pathway. In conclusion, NRF2-NQO1 pathway plays an essential role in mediating the activity of MXP and its active components, at least in part; some beneficial effects of MXP may be applicable to breast cancer chemoprevention. Our study firstly found MXP active components including quercetin, kaempferol, and atractylenolide II. Our results firstly demonstrate that NRF2-NQO1 pathway plays an essential role in mediating the activity of MXP and its active components in breast cancer chemoprevention. Our study firstly found that atractylenolide II is a novel NRF2 inducer.