Rapid Profiling of Metabolites Combined with Network Pharmacology to Explore the Potential Mechanism of Sanguisorba officinalis L. against Thrombocytopenia

Sanguisorba officinalis L. (SO), a well-known herbal medicine, has been proven to show effect against thrombocytopenia. However, metabolites of SO in vivo are still unclear, and the underlying mechanism of SO against thrombocytopenia from the aspect of metabolites have not been well elucidated. In this study, an improved analytical method combined with UHPLC-QTOF MS and a molecular network was developed for the rapid characterization of metabolites in vivo based on fragmentation patterns. Then, network pharmacology (NP) was used to elucidate the potential mechanism of SO against thrombocytopenia. As a result, a total of 1678 exogenous metabolites were detected in urine, feces, plasma, and bone marrow, in which 104 metabolites were tentatively characterized. These characterized metabolites that originated from plasma, urine, and feces were then imported to the NP analysis. The results showed that the metabolites from plasma, urine, and feces could be responsible for the pharmacological activity against thrombocytopenia by regulating the PI3K-Akt, MAPK, JAK-STAT, VEGF, chemokine, actin cytoskeleton, HIF-1, and pluripotency of stem cells. This study provides a rapid method for metabolite characterization and a new perspective of underlying mechanism study from the aspect of active metabolites in vivo.

Application of metabolomics in osteoporosis research

Osteoporosis (OP) is a systemic disease characterized by bone metabolism imbalance and bone microstructure destruction, which causes serious social and economic burden. At present, the diagnosis and treatment of OP mainly rely on imaging combined with drugs. However, the existing pathogenic mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment strategies for OP are not clear and effective enough, and the disease progression that cannot reflect OP further restricts its effective treatment. The application of metabolomics has facilitated the study of OP, further exploring the mechanism and behavior of bone cells, prevention, and treatment of the disease from various metabolic perspectives, finally realizing the possibility of a holistic approach. In this review, we focus on the application of metabolomics in OP research, especially the newer systematic application of metabolomics and treatment with herbal medicine and their extracts. In addition, the prospects of clinical transformation in related fields are also discussed. The aim of this study is to highlight the use of metabolomics in OP research, especially in exploring the pathogenesis of OP and the therapeutic mechanisms of natural herbal medicine, for the benefit of interdisciplinary researchers including clinicians, biologists, and materials engineers.

Chemical profiling of root bark extract from Oplopanax elatus and its in vitro biotransformation by human intestinal microbiota

Oplopanax elatus (Nakai) Nakai, in the Araliaceae family, has been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat diseases as an adaptogen for thousands of years. This study established an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) method to identify chemical components and biotransformation metabolites of root bark extract from O. elatus. A total of 18 compounds were characterized in O. elatus extract, and 62 metabolites by human intestinal microbiota were detected. Two polyynes, falcarindiol and oplopandiol were recognized as the main components of O. elatus, whose metabolites are further illustrated. Several metabolic pathways were proposed to generate the detected metabolites, including methylation, hydrogenation, demethylation, dehydroxylation, and hydroxylation. These findings indicated that intestinal microbiota might play an essential role in mediating the bioactivity of O. elatus.

Effects of Xian-Ling-Gu-Bao capsule on the gut microbiota in ovariectomized rats: Metabolism and modulation

Xian-Ling-Gu-Bao capsule (XLGB) has been proven to prevent and treat osteoporosis. However, as a long-term oral formula, XLGB's effects on the metabolic capacity, structure and function of gut microbiota have yet to be elucidated in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Our objectives were to evaluate the capacity of gut microbiota for metabolizing XLGB ingredients and to assess the effect of this prescription on gut microbiota. Herein, an integrated analysis that combined ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-TQD-MS) was conducted to determine the metabolic capacity of gut microbiota. The effects of XLGB on gut microbiota were explored by metagenomic sequencing in OVX rats. Fecal samples from each group were collected after intragastric administration for three months. In total, 64 biotransformation products were fully characterized with rat gut microbiota from the OVX group and the XLGB group. The deglycosylation reaction was the main biotransformation pathway in core structures in the group that was incubated with XLGB. Compared with the OVX group, different biotransformation products and pathways of the XLGB group after incubation for 2 h and 8 h were described. After three months of feeding with XLGB, the domesticated gut microbiota was conducive to the production of active absorbed components via deglycosylation, such as icaritin, psoralen and isopsoralen. Comparisons of the gut microbiota of the OVX and XLGB groups showed differences in the relative abundances of the two dominant bacterial divisions, namely, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. The proportion of Firmicutes was significantly lower and that of Bacteroidetes was significantly higher in the XLGB group. This result demonstrated that XLGB could provide a basis for the treatment of osteoporosis by regulating lipid and bile acid metabolism. In addition, the increase in Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella could be an important factor that led to easier production of active absorbed aglycones in the XLGB group. Our observation provided further evidence of the importance of gut microbiota in the metabolism and potential activity of XLGB.

Fermentation of Danggui Buxue Tang, an ancient Chinese herbal mixture, together with Lactobacillus plantarum enhances the anti-diabetic functions of herbal product

Background

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), an ancient Chinese herbal decoction containing Astragali Radix and Angelicae Sinensis Radix at a ratio of 5: 1, is prescribed for menopausal women. Flavonoids and its flavonoid glycosides are considered as the major active ingredients within the herbal decoction; however, their amount is not controllable during the preparation. Besides, the aglycons within DBT are believed to have better gut absorption and pharmacological efficacy.

Methods

The herbal extract of DBT was fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum. The amounts of flavonoid glucosides and its aglycones in the fermented product were analyzed by using UPLC-MS/MS. In addition, in vitro assays were employed to evaluate the efficacy of the fermented DBT in regulating the activities of α-glucosidase, α-amylase and lipase, as well as their antioxidant capacity (DPPH and T-AOC assays) and anti-glycation property (BSA-methylglyoxal, BSA-fructose, and arginine-methylglyoxal models).

Results

The fermentation of DBT with L. plantarum drove a completed conversion of calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside and ononin to calycosin and formononetin, respectively. The chemical transformation could be probably mediated by β-glycosidase within the fermented product. Several in vitro assays corresponding to anti-diabetic functions were compared between parental DBT against its fermented product, which included the activities against α-glucosidase, α-amylase and lipase, as well as anti-oxidation and anti-glycation. The fermented DBT showed increased activities in inhibiting α-glycosidase, suppressing DPPH radical-scavenging and anti-glycation, as compared to the original herbal product.

Conclusion

These results suggested that DBT being fermented with the probiotic L. plantarum could pave a new direction for fermentation of herbal extract, as to strengthen its pharmacological properties in providing health benefits.

Characterization of lignans in Forsythiae Fructus and their metabolites in rats by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Objectives

This study was designed to profile the chemical information of Forsythiae Fructus (FF) and investigate the in-vivo FF-related xenobiotics, especially for lignans.

Methods

Rats were oral administrated of FF and pinoresinol-4-O-glucoside, respectively. Blood and urine samples were collected after ingestion, and xenobiotics was profiled by an UPLC/Qtof MS method.

Key findings

A total of 19 lignans were identified or tentatively characterized in FF, and 63 lignan-related xenobiotics were found in rat plasma and urine after ingestion of FF. It was found that lignans could be transformed into metabolites by furan ring opening, hydrogenation, demethylation, dehydration and phase II reactions (sulfation and glucuronidation). The whole metabolic behaviour of bisepoxylignan was revealed by evaluating the metabolism of pinoresinol-4-O-glucoside in vivo. It was found that the configuration of C-8/C-8ʹ was retained after furan ring opening and metabolic reactions always occurred at position of C-3/C-4/C-5 or C-3ʹ/C-4ʹ/C-5ʹ. Additionally, other types components in FF and in vivo were also characterized.

Conclusions

This work revealed the in-vivo metabolism of FF, and reported the characteristic metabolic reactions of lignans for the first time. It was also provided the foundation for the further investigation on pharmacodynamic components of FF or TCMs containing FF.

Simultaneous Quantitative Analysis of Multiple Biotransformation Products of Xian-Ling-Gu-Bao, a Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescription, with Rat Intestinal Microflora by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

Xian-Ling-Gu-Bao (XLGB), a famous traditional Chinese medicine prescription consisted of six herbal medicines, was used for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in China. As an oral formulation, the multiple components contained in XLGB were inevitably biotransformed by the intestinal microflora before absorption via the gastrointestinal tract. However, the dynamic profiles of biotransformation products of XLGB remain unknown. In this paper, a rapid and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of multiple biotransformation products of XLGB with rat intestinal microflora. For 10 selected quantitative compounds, all calibration curves revealed good linearity (r2 > 0.99) within the sampling ranges considered. The whole intra- and inter-day precisions (as relative standard deviation) of all analytes were <13.5%, and the accuracies (as relative error) were in the range from −11.3 to 11.2%. The lower limits of quantification were 20, 10, 5, 20, 2, 2, 2, 5, 2 and 2 ng/mL for sweroside, timosaponin BII, epimedin C, asperosaponin VI, psoralen, isobavachin, icariside II, timosaponin AIII, isobavachalcone and icaritin, respectively. The matrix effects, extraction recoveries and stabilities were all satisfactory. Meanwhile, dynamic profiles of 21 additional biotransformation products were also monitored by their area-time curves. The analytical method was successfully applied to describe dynamic profiles of 31 biotransformation products of XLGB and the recipes with removal of a definite composed herbal medicine (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma or Rehmanniae Radix).

In vitrometabolic mapping of neobavaisoflavone in human cytochromes P450 and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase enzymes by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

Neobavaisoflavone (NBIF), a phenolic compound isolated from Psoralea corylifolia L., possesses several significant biological properties. However, the pharmacokinetic behaviors of NBIF have been characterized as rapid oral absorption, high clearance, and poor oral bioavailability. We found that NBIF underwent massive glucuronidation and oxidation by human liver microsomes (HLM) in this study with the intrinsic clearance (CL_int) values of 12.43, 10.04, 2.01, and 6.99 μL/min/mg for M2, M3, M4, and M5, respectively. Additionally, the CL_int values of G1 and G2 by HLM were 271.90 and 651.38 μL/min/mg, respectively, whereas their respective parameters were 59.96 and 949.01 μL/min/mg by human intestine microsomes (HIM). Reaction phenotyping results indicated that CYP1A1, 1A2, 2C8, and 2C19 were the main contributors to M4 (34.96 μL/min/mg), M3 (29.45 μL/min/mg), M3 (13.16 μL/min/mg), and M2 (63.42 μL/min/mg), respectively. UGT1A1, 1A7, 1A8, and 1A9 mainly catalyzed the formation of G1 (250.87 μL/min/mg), G2 (438.15 μL/min/mg), G1 (92.68 μL/min/mg), and G2 (1073.25 μL/min/mg), respectively. Activity correlation analysis assays showed that phenacetin-N-deacetylation was strongly correlated to M3 (r = 0.860, p = 0.003) and M4 (r = 0.775, p = 0.014) in nine individual HLMs, while significant activity correlations were detected between paclitaxel-6-hydroxylation and M2 (r = 0.675, p = 0.046) and M3 (r = 0.829, p = 0.006). There was a strong correlation between β-estradiol-3-O-glucuronide and G1 (r = 0.822, p = 0.007) and G2 (r = 0.689, p = 0.040), as well as between propofol-O-glucuronidation and G1 (r = 0.768, p = 0.016) and G2 (r = 0.860, p = 0.003). Moreover, the phase I metabolism and glucuronidation of NBIF revealed marked species differences, and mice are the best animal model for investigating the metabolism of NBIF in humans. Taken together, characterization of NBIF-related metabolic pathways involving in CYP1A1, 1A2, 2C8, 2C19, and UGT1A1, 1A7, 1A8, 1A9 are helpful for understanding the pharmacokinetic behaviors and conducting in-depth pharmacological studies.