Simultaneous quantitative determination of 13 active components in the traditional Chinese medicinal preparation Suanzaoren oral liquid by HPLC coupled with diode array detection and evaporative light scattering detection

Research progress of quality control for the seed of Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H.F. Chow (Suan-Zao-Ren) and its proprietary Chinese medicines

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Semen Ziziphi Spinosae (SZS), the seed of Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H.F. Chow (Chinese name Suan-Zao-Ren), is widely distributed in China, Laos, Myanmar, and Iran. It is a classic traditional Chinese medicine with sedative and sleeping effects. In clinical practice, there are more than 155 proprietary Chinese medicines containing SZS. However, many commercial SZS products are difficult to qualify using current methods. Moreover, there is a scarcity of quality standards for SZS in proprietary Chinese medicines.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study was to clearly reveal the quality indicators during the entire production process of SZS and its products.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study reviewed more than 230 articles and related books on the quality control of SZS and its proprietary Chinese medicines published over the last 40 years (from January 1979 to October 2022). Moreover, where available, information on the quality of SZS and its proprietary Chinese medicines was also collected from websites for comparison, including online publications (e.g. PubMed, CNKI, Google Scholar, and Web of Science), the information at Yaozhi website and China Medical Information Platform, along with some classic books on Chinese herbal medicine. The literature and information search were conducted using keywords such as "Suan-Zao-Ren", " Ziziphus jujuba" and "quality control", and the latest results from various databases were combined to obtain valid information. The active components, which in vivo exposure, and Q-markers were also summarized.

RESULTS

The jujuboside A, jujuboside B, and spinosin were revealed as the key Q-markers for SZS. Moreover, the advancements and prospects of the quality control for SZS and its extract, proprietary Chinese medicines, health foods, and adulterants were comprehensively summarized. The high-performance liquid chromatography-UV/evaporative light scattering detection and fingerprint analysis were found to be the mainstream methods for the SZS quality control. In particular, the novel quality evaluation method based on the unit content was applied for SZS and its proprietary Chinese medicines. Significant fluctuations were found in the contents of Q-markers. Moreover, the mass transfer rule of Q-markers was comprehensively clarified based on the entire production process, including production origins, ripening time, primary process, processing, compatibility decoction/extract, and storage. Ultimately, the crushing and compatibility of SZS were found to be the key steps affecting the active components.

CONCLUSIONS

In short, this study provides solid evidences to reveal quality indicators for the entire production process of developing rational quality standards for SZS and its products. Moreover, this study also provides a template quality control overview, which could be extended to other traditional Chinese medicines.

A review of the botany, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and quality of Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The rhizomes of Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge., belonging to the family Liliaceae, are named 'Zhi-mu' according to traditional Chinese medicine theory. It is a medicinal plant that has long been used as a tonic agent in various ethnomedicinal systems in East Asia, especially in China, and also for treating arthralgia, hematochezia, tidal fever, night sweats, cough, dry mouth and tongue, hemoptysis, etc. THE ARM OF THE REVIEW: The review aims to provide a systematic overview of botany, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and quality control of Anemarrhena asphodeloides and to explore the future therapeutic potential and scientific potential of this plant.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was performed on Anemarrhena asphodeloides using scientific databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, CNKI, Elsevier, SpringerLink, ACS publications, ancient books, Doctoral and master's Theses. Collected data from different sources was comprehensively summarised for botany, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and quality control of Anemarrhena asphodeloides.

RESULTS

A comprehensive analysis of the literature as mentioned above confirmed that the ethnomedical uses of Anemarrhena asphodeloides had a history of thousands of years in eastern Asian countries. Two hundred sixty-nine compounds have been identified from Anemarrhena asphodeloides, including steroidal saponins, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, alkaloids, steroids, organic acids, polysaccharides, benzophenones and other ingredients. Studies have shown that the extracts and compounds from Anemarrhena asphodeloides have extensive pharmacological activities, such as nervous system activity, antitumour, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antiosteoporotic, antiallergic, antiplatelet aggregation, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-ageing, hair growth promoting, preventing cell damage, etc. Evaluating the quality and toxicity of Anemarrhena asphodeloides is essential to confirm its safe use in humans.

CONCLUSION

Anemarrhena asphodeloides is widely used in traditional medicine and have diverse chemical constituents with obvious biological activities. Nevertheless, more studies should be carried out in animals and humans to evaluate the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in its biological activity and confirm its safe use.

Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics of Timosaponin A-III by a Sensitive HPLC-MS/MS Method: Low Bioavailability Resulting from Poor Permeability and Solubility

BACKGROUND

Timosaponin A-III is one of the most promising active saponins from Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bge. As an oral chemotherapeutic agent, there is an urgent need to clarify its biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics to improve its development potential.

OBJECTIVE

This research explores the bioavailability of timosaponin A-III and clarifies its absorption and metabolism mechanisms by a sensitive and specific HPLC-MS/MS method.

METHODS

Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability studies of timosaponin A-III were performed in Sprague- Dawley rats by oral (20 mg/kg) and intravenous administration (2 mg/kg). Control group was given the same volume of normal saline. The absorption of timosaponin A-III was investigated in a rat intestinal perfusion model in situ and a Caco-2 cell transport model in vitro. The metabolic rate of timosaponin A-III was determined in a rat liver microsome incubation system.

RESULTS

After the oral administration, timosaponin A-III reached C_max of 120.90 ± 24.97 ng/mL at 8 h, and the t_1/2 was 9.94 h. The absolute oral bioavailability of timosaponin A-III was 9.18%. The permeability coefficients of timosaponin A-III in four intestinal segments ranged from 4.98 to 5.42 × 10^-7 cm/s, indicating a difficult absorption. A strikingly high efflux transport of timosaponin A-III was found, P_appBA 3.27 ± 0.64 × 10^-6 cm/s, which was abolished by a P-gp inhibitor. Rat liver microsome incubation studies showed that timosaponin A-III could hardly be metabolized, with a t_1/2 of over 12 h. In addition, the solubility test showed a low solubility in PBS solution, i.e. 30.58 μg/mL.

CONCLUSION

Timosaponin A-III exhibited low oral bioavailability by oral and intravenous administration, which was probably caused by its low permeability and solubility. This study may provide a reference for its rational clinical use and further study on the pharmacology or toxicology of timosaponin A-III.

Suan-Zao-Ren Decoction ameliorates synaptic plasticity through inhibition of the Aβ deposition and JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in AD model of APP/PS1 transgenic mice

Background

Suan-Zao-Ren Decoction (SZRD) has been widely used to treat neurological illnesses, including dementia, insomnia and depression. However, the mechanisms underlying SZRD’s improvement in cognitive function remain unclear. In this study, we examined SZRD’s effect on APP/PS1 transgenic mice and mechanisms associated with SZRD’s action in alleviating neuroinflammation and improving synaptic plasticity.

Methods

The APP/PS1 mice were treated with different dosages of SZRD (12.96 and 25.92 g/kg/day, in L-SZRD and H-SZRD groups, respectively) for 4 weeks. Morris water maze was conducted to determine changes in behaviors of the mice after the treatment. Meanwhile, in the samples of the hippocampus, Nissl staining and Golgi-Cox staining were used to detect synaptic plasticity. ELISA was applied to assess the expression levels of Aβ₁₋₄₀ and Aβ₁₋₄₂ in the hippocampus of mice. Western blot (WB) was employed to test the protein expression level of Aβ₁₋₄₂, APP, ADAM10, BACE1, PS1, IDE, IBA1, GFAP, PSD95 and SYN, as well as the expressions of JAK2, STAT3 and their phosphorylation patterns to detect the involvement of JAK2/STAT3 pathway. Besides, we examined the serum and hippocampal contents of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α through ELISA.

Results

Compared to the APP/PS1 mice without any treatment, SZRD, especially the L-SZRD, significantly ameliorated cognitive impairment of the APP/PS1 mice with decreases in the loss of neurons and Aβ plaque deposition as well as improvement of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus (P < 0.05 or 0.01). Also, SZRD, in particular, the L-SZRD markedly inhibited the serum and hippocampal concentrations of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α, while reducing the expression of p-JAK2-Tyr1007 and p-STAT3-Tyr705 in the hippocampus of the APP/PS1 mice (P < 0.05 or 0.01).

Conclusions

The SZRD, especially the L-SZRD, may improve the cognitive impairment and ameliorate the neural degeneration in APP/PS1 transgenic mice through inhibiting Aβ accumulation and neuroinflammation via the JAK2/STAT3 pathway.

Soporific Effect of Modified Suanzaoren Decoction and Its Effects on the Expression of CCK-8 and Orexin-A

Suanzaoren decoction (SZRT), a classic Chinese herbal prescription, has been used as a treatment for insomnia for more than a thousand years. However, recent studies have found no significant effects of SZRT as a treatment for insomnia caused by gastric discomfort. Herein, we studied the effects of modified Suanzaoren decoction (MSZRD) on gastrointestinal disorder-related insomnia. The main constituents of MSZRD were spinosin (2.21 mg/g) and 6-feruloylspinosin (0.78 mg/g). A pentobarbital-induced animal model of insomnia showed that MSZRD shortened sleep latency and prolonged sleep time of the male Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice treated for 7 days with oral MSZRD. Sprague-Dawley male rats were treated daily with oral MSZRD or placebo for 11 days and then deprived of sleep for the last 4 days to establish a model of insomnia. Of note, MSZRD-treated animals had significantly improved body weight, organ index scores, and fecal moisture relative to placebo-treated animals, as well as reduced temperature. Sleep-deprived rats exhibited more exploratory behaviors in an open-field anxiety test; however, this effect was significantly reduced in MSZRD-treated animals. We found that MSZRD treatment decreased gastric acid pH, decreased the production of gastrin, pepsin, and Orexin-A, and increased the expression of MTL and CCK-8. Importantly, serum GABA concentration was increased by treatment with MSZRD, as reflected by a decreased Glu/GABA ratio. Treated animals had increased the expression of GAD1, GABARA1, and CCKBR but decreased the expression of Orexin R1. In summary, these results suggest that MSZRD has soporific and gastroprotective effects that may be mediated by differential expression of CCK-8 and Orexin-A.

The investigation of immunoprotective and sedative hypnotic effect of total polysaccharide from Suanzaoren decoction by serum metabonomics approach

Suanzaoren decoction, as one of the traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, has been most commonly used in Asian countries and reported to inhibit the process of immunodeficiency insomnia. Polysaccharide is important component which also contributes to the role of immunoprotective and sedative hypnotic effects. This study was aimed to explore the immunoprotective and sedative hypnotic mechanisms of polysaccharide from Suanzaoren decoction by serum metabonomics approach. With this purpose, complex physical and chemical immunodeficiency insomnia models were firstly established according to its multi-target property. Serum samples were analyzed using UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS spectrometry approach to determine endogenous metabolites. Then, principal component analysis was used to distinguish the groups, and partial least squares discriminate analysis was carried out to confirm the important variables. The serum metabolic profiling was identified and pathway analysis was performed after the total polysaccharide administration. The twenty-one potential biomarkers were screened, and the levels were all reversed to different degrees in the total polysaccharide treated groups. These potential biomarkers were mainly related to vitamin, sphingolipid, bile acid, phospholipid and acylcarnitine metabolisms. The result has indicated that total polysaccharide could inhibit insomnia triggered by immunodeficiency stimulation through regulating those metabolic pathways. This study provides a useful approach for exploring the mechanism and evaluating the efficacy of total polysaccharide from Suanzaoren decoction.

Determination of Propionylbrassinolide and Its Impurities by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Evaporative Light Scattering Detection

The discovery of brassinolide in 1979, a milestone in brassinosteroids research, has sparked great interest of brassinolide analogs (BLs) in agricultural applications. Among these BLs, propionylbrassinolide has captured considerable attention because it shows plant growth regulating activity with an excellent durability. Two impurities of propionylbrassinolide were isolated and purified by semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the chemical structures were confirmed. For simultaneous separation and determination of propionylbrassinolide and impurities, an efficient analytical method based on HPLC with evaporative light scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD) was developed. The optimized analysis was performed on a C18 reversed phase column (250 mm × 4.60 mm, 5 μm) with isocratic elution of acetonitrile and water (90:10, v/v) as the mobile phase. The drift tube temperature of the ELSD system was set to 50 °C and the auxiliary gas pressure was 150 kPa. The regression equations demonstrated a good linear relationship (R² = 0.9989-0.9999) within the test ranges. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) for propionylbrassinolide, impurity 1 and 2 were 1.3, 1.2, 1,3 and 4.3, 4.0, 4.2 mg/L, respectively. The fully validated HPLC-ELSD method was readily applied to quantify the active ingredient and impurities in propionylbrassinolide technical concentrate. Moreover, the optimized separation conditions with ELSD have been successfully transferred to mass spectrometry (MS) detector for LC-MS determination.