Determination of major components from Radix Achyranthes bidentate using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry and an evaluation of their anti-osteoporosis effect in vitro

Chemical Profiling of Shen-Wu-Yi-Shen Tablets Using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and Its Quality Evaluation Based on UPLC-DAD Combined with Multivariate Statistical Analysis

Shen-Wu-Yi-Shen tablets (SWYST) is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription used for treating chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study aims to characterize the constituents in SWYST and evaluate the quality based on the quantification of multiple bioactive components. SWYST samples were analyzed with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and a data-processing strategy. As a result, 215 compounds in SWYST were unambiguously identified or tentatively characterized, including 14 potential new compounds. Meanwhile, strategies based on characteristic fragments for rapid identification were summarized, indicating that the qualitative method is accurate and feasible. Notably, the glucose esters of laccaic acid D-type anthraquinone were first found and their fragmentation patterns were described by comparing that of O-glycoside isomers. Besides, based on comparisons of the cleavage ways of mono-acyl glucose with different acyl groups or acylation sites, differences in fragmentation pathways between 1,2-di-O-acyl glucose and 1,6-di-O-acyl glucose were proposed for the first time and verified by reference substances. In addition, a validated UPLC-DAD was established for the determination of 11 major bioactive components related to treatment of CKD (albiflorin, paeoniflorin, 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxy-stilbene-2-O-β-d-glucoside (TSG), 1-O-galloyl-2-O-cinnamoyl-β-d-glucose, emodin-8-O-β-d-glucoside, chrysophanol-O-β-d-glucoside, aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol and physcion). Moreover, TSG and 1-O-galloyl-2-O-cinnamoyl-β-d-glucose were found as the quality markers related to the origins of SWYST based on multivariate statistical analysis. Conclusively, the findings in this work provide a feasible reference for further studies on quality research and mechanisms of action in treating CKD.

Inokosterone activates the BMP2 to promote the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and improve bone loss in ovariectomized rats

Evidence suggests that enhancing the osteogenic ability of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) may be beneficial in the fight against osteoporosis (OP) effects. Inokosterone (IS) is a major active constituent of Achyranthis bidentatae radix (ABR), which stimulates osteogenic differentiation of mouse embryonic osteoblasts. This study aims to investigate effect of IS on OP using osteogenic differentiated BMSCs and ovariectomy (OVX)-induced OP rats. The BMSCs were treated with 50, 100, or 200 mg/L IS and OP rats were given 2 or 4 mg/kg of IS by gavage. Cell viability, the osteogenic differentiation marker protein expression level, and mineralization were observed. This study proved that IS improved cell viability, osteogenic differentiation, and cellular mineralization in BMSCs and raised expression levels of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2), Smad1, runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), collagen I, ALP, and OCN. By BMP2 knockdown/overexpression, this study also proved the BMP2 signaling pathway activation is a potential biological mechanism of IS to improve osteogenic differentiation and mineralization in osteogenic differentiated BMSCs. In OVX-induced OP rats, IS was observed to antagonize bone loss, improve osteogenic differentiation marker protein expression levels, and activate BMP-2, smad1, and RUNX2. These findings provide scientific support for further investigation of the biological mechanisms of IS in ameliorating OP.

Comprehensive metabolic profiles of Achyranthes bidentate in rat serum via ultra-high performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry and their correlation with osteoinductive activity

The osteoinductive effect of crude and salt-processed Achyranthes bidentata is associated with the serum metabolites. Grey relationship analysis between the serum metabolites and osteoinductive effect will help to clarify the bioactive serum metabolites. First, an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry method was used to develop serum metabolic fingerprint of rats after oral administration of crude and salt-processed Achyranthes bidentata. The MS¹ and MS² data of serum metabolites were scanned in the range of m/z 100-1500 and 50-1200, respectively. The chemical structures of the metabolites were thoroughly elucidated. Two prototypes and twelve metabolites have been identified. Second, osteoblasts were cultured with the drug-containing serum at different time points. The osteoinductive effect of crude and salt-processed Achyranthes bidentata was evaluated by detecting the proliferation rate and alkaline phosphatase activity of osteoblasts. Third, grey correlation analysis was utilized to elucidate the spectral-effect relationship between serum metabolic fingerprints and osteoinductive effect. Finally, the correlation coefficients of ten metabolites, i.e., oleanolic acid, poststerone-M1, chikusetsusaponin V-M1, oleanolic acid-M2, oleanolic acid-M4, spinacoside D-M1, chikusetsusaponin I-M1, betavulgaroside IV-M2, chikusetsusaponin IVa and achyranthoside IV-M1 were above 0.7. Collectively, our work will provide helpful knowledge for the future research on Achyranthes bidentata.

Kidney tonifying traditional Chinese medicine: Potential implications for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis

The aging global population is increasingly affected by osteoporosis (OP), which is one of the most significant threats to the elderly. Moreover, its prevention and treatment situations have become increasingly severe. Therefore, it is imperative to develop alternatives or complementary drugs for preventing and treating osteoporosis. Kidney tonifying traditional Chinese medicine (KTTCM) has been used for the treatment of osteoporosis for a long time. Pharmacological studies have shown that kidney tonifying traditional Chinese medicine can promote osteoblasts, inhibit osteoclasts, and regulate the level of estrogen and plays vital roles in stimulating osteogenesis, restraining adipogenesis of marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), regulating the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus, and inhibiting oxidative stress. These effects are mediated by OPG/RANKL/RANK, BMP/Smads, MAPKs, and Wnt/β-catenin systems. To develop a safe, synergistic, effective, and homogenized TCM formula with robust scientific evidence to provide faster and more economical alternatives, the anti-osteoporosis ingredients and pharmacological mechanisms of kidney tonifying traditional Chinese medicine are recapitulated from the perspective of molecular and cell biology, and the safety and toxicity of kidney tonifying traditional Chinese medicine have also been reviewed in this paper.

Rapid characterization of chemical constituents in Naoling Pian by LC-MS combined with data processing techniques

Naoling Pian is a prescription composed of 15 herbs, which is mainly used for the treatment of insomnia in clinical practice. However, the chemical constituents in Naoling Pian are numerous and unclear, which hinders the interpretation of its bioactive constituents and the subsequent research on the material basis for pharmacodynamics. The purpose of this study is to develop a rapid method for identifying the chemical constituents of Naoling Pian using high-throughput ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight coupled with mass spectrometry combined with a software platform for data processing. The whole composition of Naoling Pian was characterized in positive and negative ion modes. In this experiment, an overall total of 201 constituents were identified by using reference standards, online and self-built databases matching, fragmentation rules analysis of mass spectrometry peaks with a software platform. Meanwhile, Naoling Pian was analyzed for the first time using LC-MS method, the constituents could be identified in a quick and accurate manner, and the results could provide a scientific basis for the follow-up research on the pharmacodynamic material basis and quality control of Naoling Pian. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Inokosterone from Gentiana rigescens Franch Extends the Longevity of Yeast and Mammalian Cells via Antioxidative Stress and Mitophagy Induction

In the present study, replicative lifespan and chronological lifespan assays of yeast were used to double-screen antiaging compounds from Gentiana rigescens Franch, a Chinese herb medicine. Inokosterone from G. rigescens Franch extended not only the replicative lifespan of K6001 yeast but also the chronological lifespan of YOM36 yeast. Furthermore, it can enhance the survival ability of mammalian cells. In order to understand the mechanism of action of this compound, this study focused on antioxidative stress and autophagy when performing the analysis. The increased cell survival rate under oxidative stress conditions, antioxidant enzyme activity and gene expression were observed in the inokosterone-treated groups. Meanwhile, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation of yeast were obviously decreased. Additionally, the macroautophagy and mitophagy in YOM38-GFP-ATG8 yeast were increased upon inokosterone treatment, respectively. At the same time, the cleavage-free GFP from GFP-ATG8 in the cytoplasm and the ubiquitin of the mitochondria at the protein level were markedly enhanced after incubation with inokosterone. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of inokosterone on antioxidative stress and autophagy in mammalian cells, and the relationship between ROS and autophagy. The ROS, malondialdehyde (MDA) were significantly decreased, and the autophagosomes in mammalian cells were obviously increased after inokosterone treatment. The autophagosomes in ∆sod1 yeast with a K6001 background had no obvious changes, and the ROS and MDA of ∆sod1 yeast were increased compared with K6001 yeast. The increase of autophagosomes and the reduction of ROS and MDA in ∆sod1 yeast were observed after treatment with inokosterone. Meanwhile, the reduction of the ROS level and the increase of the SOD1 gene expression of K6001 yeast lacking autophagy were observed after treatment with inokosterone. In order to indicate whether the genes related to antioxidant enzymes and autophagy were involved in the antiaging effect of inokosterone, mutants of K6001 yeast were constructed to conduct a lifespan assay. The replicative lifespans of ∆sod1, ∆sod2, ∆uth1, ∆skn7, ∆gpx, ∆cat, ∆atg2, and ∆atg32 of K6001 yeast were not affected by inokosterone. These results suggest that inokosterone exerted an antiaging activity via antioxidative stress and increased autophagy activation; autophagy affected the ROS levels of yeast via the regulation of SOD1 gene expression.

Exploration of the mechanism of Zisheng Shenqi decoction against gout arthritis using network pharmacology

BACKGROUND

In this study, the network pharmacological methods were used to predict the target of effective components of compounds in Zisheng Shenqi Decoction (ZSD, or Nourishing Kidney Qi Decoction) in the treatment of gouty arthritis (GA).

METHOD

The main effective components and corresponding key targets of herbs in the ZSD were discerned through the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis (TCMSP), Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine (BATMAN-TCM) database. UniProt database and Swiss Target Prediction (STP) database was used to rectify and unify the target names and supply the target information. The targets related to GA were obtained by using GeneCards database. After we discovered the potential common targets between ZSD and GA, the interaction network diagram of "ZSD-component-GA-target" was constructed by Cytoscape software (Version 3.7.1). Subsequently, the Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of ZSD effective components-targets and GA-related targets was constructed by Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes Database (STRING). Bioconductor package "org.Hs.eg.db" and "cluster profiler" package were installed in R software (Version 3.6.0) which used for Gene Ontology analysis and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway enrichment analysis.

RESULTS

146 components and 613 targets of 11 herbal medicines in the ZSD were got from TCMSP database and BATMAN-TCM database. 987 targets of GA were obtained from GeneCards database. After intersected and removed duplications, 132 common targets between ZSD and GA were screened out by Cytoscape software (Version 3.7.1). These common targets derived from 81 effective components of 146 components, such as quercetin, stigmasterol and kaempferol. They were closely related to anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti oxidative stress and the principal targets comprised of Purinergic receptor P2X, ligand-gated ion channel 7 (P2x7R), Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and IL-1β. GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis by R software (Version 3.6.0) showed that the key target genes had close relationship with oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolic process and leukocyte migration in aspects of biological process, cell components and molecular function. It also indicated that ZSD could decrease inflammatory reaction, alleviate ROS accumulation and attenuate pain by regulating P2 × 7R and NOD like receptor signaling pathway of inflammatory reaction.

CONCLUSION

A total of 81 effective components and 132 common target genes between ZSD and GA were screened by network pharmacology. The PPI network, GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis suggested that ZSD can exerte anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects on the treatment of GA by reducing decreasing inflammatory reaction, alleviating ROS accumulation, and attenuating pain. The possible molecular mechanism of it mainly involved multiple components, multiple targets and multiple signaling pathways, which provided a comprehensive understanding for further study. In general, the network pharmacological method applied in this study provides an alternative strategy for the mechanism of ZSD in the treatment of GA.

Metabolomic Investigation on Fermentation Products of Achyranthes japonica Nakai by Lactobacillus plantarum

Fermentation has recently re-emerged as an approach for improved functionality of food products in addition to the traditional roles such as shelf life, taste, and texture. Here, we report dynamic changes in the metabolite profiles of Achyranthes japonica Nakai by Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation, primarily, the significant increases in representative functional ingredients, 20-hydroxyecdysone and 25S-inokosterone. Additionally, untargeted metabolite profiling showed 58% of metabolites underwent significant alteration. The most dynamic change was observed in cellobiose, which showed a 56-fold increase. Others were sugar alcohols and amino acids, while lyxitol and erythritol that were among the most dynamically down-regulated.