Simultaneous determination of seven compounds in Chinese patent medicines Chenxiangqu by matrix solid-phase dispersion coupled with ultra high performance liquid chromatography and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Detection of Adulteration and Pesticide Residues in Chinese Patent Medicine Qipi Pill Using KASP Technology and GC-MS/MS

Chinese patent medicines (CPMs) are of great value for the prevention and treatment of diseases. However, adulterants and pesticide residues in CPMs have become the “bottleneck” impeding the globalization of traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, 12 batches of commercially available Qipi pill (a famous CPM recorded in Chinese Pharmacopeia) from different manufacturers were investigated to evaluate their authenticity and quality safety. Considering the severely degraded DNA in CPMs, kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) technology combined with DNA mini-barcodes was proposed for the quality regulation of a large number of products in CPM market. The residues of four kinds of pesticides including pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), aldrin, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) were quantified using gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The results indicated that in two of the 12 batches of Qipi pill, the main herbal ingredient Panax ginseng was completely substituted by P. quinquefolius, and one sample was partially adulterated with P. quinquefolius. The PCNB residue was detected in 11 batches of Qipi pill, ranging from 0.11 to 0.46 mg/kg, and the prohibited pesticide HCH was present in four samples. Both adulteration and banned pesticides were found in two CPMs. This study suggests that KASP technology combined with DNA mini-barcodes can be used for the quality supervision of large sample size CPMs with higher efficiency but lower cost. Our findings also provide the insight that pesticide residues in CPMs should be paid more attention in the future.

Establishment of Deep-Eutectic-Solvent-Assisted Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion Extraction for the Determination of Four Flavonoids in Scutellariae Radix Based on the Concept of Quality by Design

BACKGROUND

Sample preparation is the most crucial step in analytical schemes. Micro-matrix solid-phase dispersion, as a method for microextraction of analytes, has prevailed recently for its low sample and extraction solvent consumption. However, small amounts of adsorbent or sample, or a short extraction time, always bring uncertainty to the result when using this method.

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to develop a simple and reliable method of deep-eutectic-solvent-assisted ultrasonic-synchronized matrix solid-phase dispersion microextraction for the analysis of four flavonoids in Scutellariae Radix based on the concept of quality by design.

METHOD

The ZSM-5 molecular sieve was used as a new adsorbent in the micro-matrix solid-phase dispersion process. Single-factor and Box-Behnken designs were used to construct the design space.

RESULTS

Verification of the experiment demonstrated that the design space is robust. Under optimal conditions, all analytes showed good linearity (R2 > 0.999), high reproducibility (RSD < 2.24%) and stability (RSD < 2.87%), and satisfactory recoveries (95.90-102.31%), which indicated that the established method is reliable and reproducible. Moreover, it has been successfully applied to determine the flavonoids in nine batches of Scutellariae Radix.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate a great potential for analyzing complicated samples especially with small amount and helping to promote the quality control of the sample preparation process for traditional Chinese medicines.

HIGHLIGHTS

A systematic approach using a facile deep-eutectic-solvent-assisted ultrasonic-synchronized matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction coupled with HPLC for the analysis of flavonoids in Scutellariae Radix has been developed based on the concept of quality by design.

Rapid qualitative profiling and quantitative analysis of phenolics in Ribes meyeri leaves and their antioxidant and antidiabetic activities by HPLC-QTOF-MS/MS and UHPLC-MS/MS

Ribes meyeri leaves are used as traditional Kazakh medicine in China. However, no study on the characterization of the phenolic compounds in R. meyeri leaves has been reported, resulting in the lack of quality control measures and poor standardization. This study was conducted to identify the phenolic compounds in R. meyeri leaves and evaluate their antioxidant and antidiabetic activities. A total of 77 phenolics were tentatively identified by liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was applied to simultaneously quantify 12 phenolics in R. meyeri leaves. Rutin, epigallocatechin, isoquercitrin, epicatechin, protocatechuic acid, and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside were abundant in the R. meyeri leaves. The methanol extract and four different extracts enhanced the glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The ethyl acetate extracts showed a total phenolic content of 966.89 ± 3.59 mg gallic acid equivalents/g, a total flavonoid content of 263.58 ± 17.09 mg catechin equivalents/g, and good protein-tyrosine phosphatase-1B inhibitory activities (IC₅₀ : 0.60 ± 0.03 μg/mL). To our knowledge, this work is the first to identify and quantify the major phenolics in R. meyeri leaves.

Identification of bilobetin metabolites, in vivo and in vitro, based on an efficient ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry strategy

Bilobetin, a natural compound extracted from Ginkgo biloba, has various pharmacological activities such as antioxidation, anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and promoting osteoblast differentiation. However, few studies have been conducted and there are no reports on its metabolites owing to its low content in nature. In addition, it has been reported to have potential liver and kidney toxicity. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the metabolites of bilobetin in vitro and in vivo. Bilobetin was incubated with liver microsomes to determine metabolites in vitro, and faeces and urine were collected after oral administration to rats to determine metabolites in vivo. After the samples were processed, they were measured using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. As a result, a total of 21 and 9 metabolites were detected in vivo and in vitro, respectively. Demethylation, demethylation and loss of water, demethylation and hydrogenation, demethylation and glycine conjugation, oxidation, methylation, oxidation and methylation, and hydrogenation were the main metabolic pathways. This study is the first to identify the metabolites of bilobetin and provides a theoretical foundation for the safe use of bilobetin in clinical application and the development of new drugs.