Two Species Origins Comparison of Herba Patriniae based on Their Ingredients Profile by UPLC-QTOF/MS/MS and Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis

Chemometrics-based Chemical Analysis of Myrrh and Its Vinegar-processed Products by UPLC-MS/MS

Myrrh is widely used in clinical practice but accompanied by obvious toxicity. According to traditional Chinese medicines theory, processing with vinegar can effectively reduce its toxicity. However, the detoxification processing technology of Myrrh and the corresponding mechanism have been unclear. The objective of this study is to systematically analyze the variation in chemical composition of raw Myrrh and its processed products using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS coupled with chemometrics. A total of 75 compounds including 56 sesquiterpenoids, 2 diterpenoids, 15 triterpenoids and 2 other types were identified. Raw Myrrh and its processed products were divided into two major groups, and 14 chemical markers were selected out by principal component analysis and partial least square discriminant analysis. Additionally, the exact content of 5 representative chemical markers was determined to be significantly reduced after vinegar-processing by UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS. Moreover, multivariate statistical analysis and the quantitative results comprehensively indicated that the optimized processing method was processing at a ratio of 200 : 5 (Myrrh:vinegar). This research provides not only a reliable foundation for the study of Myrrh, but also a scientific reference for clinical use of this herb.

Hepatoprotective activity of Patrinia scabiosaefolia Fisch and quality evaluation based on UPLC fingerprint and multi-component analysis

To establish a quality evaluation method for Patrinia scabiosaefolia Fisch (PS), as well as to study the anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective effects of the aqueous extract of Patrinia scabiosaefolia Fisch (APS). We used ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) to establish fingerprint and content determination method for PS. The alcoholic liver injury model was prepared by feeding Lieber-DeCarli alcohol liquid feed to mice. We determined the levels of ALT, AST, TC, TG in serum, as well as GSH, MDA in the liver. The mRNA relative expression levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, INOS and COX-2 were detected by qRT-PCR, and liver tissues were taken for pathological examination. The fingerprints of 16 batches of PS were established, and 3 component peaks were identified, which were chlorogenic acid (CA), isochlorogenic acid A (ICAA) and isochlorogenic acid C (ICAC). The similarity of the 6 common peaks was between 0.924 and 1.000. A mice model of alcoholic liver injury was successfully made by mixing alcohol liquid feed. The levels of ALT, AST, TC and TG in serum and MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β, LL-6, COX-2 and INOS mRNA in liver were effectively reduced in the drug administration group. The levels of GSH in mouse liver tissue were increased in the drug administration group. The method has good repeatability, stability and feasibility, and it meets the requirements for Quality evaluation. APS exhibits a protective effect against alcoholic liver injury (ALI) in mice.

The Integration of the Metabolome and Transcriptome for Dendrobium nobile Lindl. in Response to Methyl Jasmonate

Dendrobium nobile Lindl., as an endangered medicinal plant within the genus Dendrobium, is widely distributed in southwestern China and has important ecological and economic value. There are a variety of metabolites with pharmacological activity in D. nobile. The alkaloids and polysaccharides contained within D. nobile are very important active components, which mainly have antiviral, anti-tumor, and immunity improvement effects. However, the changes in the compounds and functional genes of D. nobile induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJA) are not clearly understood. In this study, the metabolome and transcriptome of D. nobile were analyzed after exposure to MeJA. A total of 377 differential metabolites were obtained through data analysis, of which 15 were related to polysaccharide pathways and 35 were related to terpenoids and alkaloids pathways. Additionally, the transcriptome sequencing results identified 3256 differentially expressed genes that were discovered in 11 groups. Compared with the control group, 1346 unigenes were differentially expressed in the samples treated with MeJA for 14 days (TF14). Moreover, the expression levels of differentially expressed genes were also significant at different growth and development stages. According to GO and KEGG annotations, 189 and 99 candidate genes were identified as being involved in terpenoid biosynthesis and polysaccharide biosynthesis, respectively. In addition, the co-expression analysis indicated that 238 and 313 transcription factors (TFs) may contribute to the regulation of terpenoid and polysaccharide biosynthesis, respectively. Through a heat map analysis, fourteen terpenoid synthetase genes, twenty-three cytochrome P450 oxidase genes, eight methyltransferase genes, and six aminotransferase genes were identified that may be related to dendrobine biosynthesis. Among them, one sesquiterpene synthase gene was found to be highly expressed after the treatment with MeJA and was positively correlated with the content of dendrobine. This study provides important and valuable metabolomics and transcriptomic information for the further understanding of D. nobile at the metabolic and molecular levels and provides candidate genes and possible intermediate compounds for the dendrobine biosynthesis pathway, which lays a certain foundation for further research on and application of Dendrobium.

Identification and quantitative analysis of the chemical constituents of Gandouling tablets using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Gandouling tablets are used in a clinical agent for the treatment of hepatocellular degeneration; however, their chemical constituents have not been elucidated. Here, we screened and identified the chemical constituents of Gandouling tablets using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)-quadrupole time of flight/mass spectrometry. A method for the quality evaluation of Gandouling tablets was developed by combining the UHPLC fingerprints and the simultaneous quantitative analysis of multiple active ingredients. For fingerprint analysis, 20 shared peaks were identified to assess the similarities among the 10 batches of Gandouling tablets and the similarity was >0.9. The levels of nine representative active ingredients were simultaneously determined to ensure consistency in quality. A total of 99 chemical components were identified, including 18 alkaloids, 20 anthraquinones, 13 flavonoids, 11 phenolic acids, 9 polyphenols, 7 phenanthrenes, 5 sesquiterpenes, 3 curcuminoids, 2 lignans, 2 isoflavones, 2 dianthranones, and 7 other components. The retention times, molecular formulae, and secondary fragmentation information of these compounds were analyzed, and the cleavage pathways and characteristic fragments of some of the representative compounds were elucidated. This systematic analysis used to identify the chemical components of Gandouling tablets lays the foundation for its further quality control and research on their pharmacodynamic substances.