Poly-pharmacokinetic strategy represented the synergy effects of bioactive compounds in a traditional Chinese medicine formula, Si Shen Wan and its separated recipes to normal and colitis rats

The colonic metabolism differences of main alkaloids in normal and colitis mice treated with Coptis chinensis Franch. and Sophora flavescens Ait. herbal pair using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry method combined with chemometrics

Coptis chinensis Franch. and Sophora flavescens Ait. is a herbal pair frequently used in treating ulcerative colitis. However, the bio-disposition profile of the major components in the inflamed gut remains unclear, which is essential to understand the pharmacological material basis of this herb pair. Here we established an integral quantitative and chemometric method to deduce the colonic metabolism differences of this herbal pair in normal and colitis mice. With this LC-MS method, a total of 41 components have been found in the Coptis chinensis Franch. and Sophora flavescens Ait. extract, and 28 metabolites were found in the colon after oral administration. Alkaloid and its phase I metabolites were the main components in the colon of normal and colitis mice. The results of principal component analysis at 6 h after oral administration showed significant colonic metabolism differences between normal and colitis mice. Heamap results showed that colitis induced significant changes in the colonic bio-disposition of this herbal pair extract. In particular, in the context of colitis, the phase I metabolism of berberine, coptisine, jatrorrhizine, palmatine,and epiberberine has been inhibited. These results may provide a basis for understanding the pharmacological material basis of Coptis chinensis Franch. and Sophora flavescens Ait. in treating ulcerative colitis.

Comparative pharmacokinetic studies of Ephedra herba in common cold and nephrotic syndrome rat models

Ephedra herba is a conventional Chinese medicine to treat cold, fever, asthma, edema, and lung diseases in the clinic. At present, most pharmacokinetic studies focus on the pharmacokinetic process of alkaloids in normal animals. However, the non-alkaloid components are also active. In addition, the pharmacokinetic studies under pathological state make more sense for clarifying the material basis of efficacy. In this study, a sensitive and rapid ultra-high-performance-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and applied to determine nine bioactive components (ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, methylephedrine, (+)-catechin, epicatechin, vitexin, vicenin-2, cinnamic acid, and ferulic acid) in normal, common cold and nephrotic syndrome rats after the oral administration of Ephedra herba. Compared to the normal group, except for ferulic acid, the exposure levels of the other eight components were significantly increased and the plasma clearance clearly declined in common cold rats. Similarly, the exposure levels of seven components other than cinnamic acid and ferulic acid were also significantly augmented and the plasma clearance decreased significantly in nephrotic syndrome rats. In brief, the pathological conditions of the common cold and nephrotic syndrome could lead to alterations in the pharmacokinetics profiles of the nine components, which provide a reference for further exploration of the pharmacodynamics basis of Ephedra herba.

Holism of Chinese herbal medicine prescriptions for inflammatory bowel disease: A review based on clinical evidence and experimental research

BACKGROUND

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic nonspecific inflammatory disease that causes a heavy burden and lacks effective treatments. Chinese herbal medicine prescriptions (CHMPs), which are characterized by a synergistic usage of herbs, are widely used in the management of IBD. The molecular mechanisms of action of CHMP are still ambiguous as the canonical "one-compound-one-target" approach has difficulty describing the dynamic bioreactions among CHMP objects. It seems more flexible to define the holism of CHMP for IBD by employing high-throughput analysis. However, studies that discuss the development of CHMP in treating IBD in a holistic view are still lacking.

PURPOSE

This review appraised preclinical and clinical research to fully describe the anti-IBD capacity of CHMPs and discussed CHMPs' holistic characteristics that can contribute to better management of IBD.

METHODS & RESULTS

We screened clinical and preclinical references of CHMP being used as treatments for IBD. We discussed the complexity of IBD and the development of CHMP to present the sophistication of CHMP treatments. To describe the clinical effectiveness of CHMPs against IBD, we performed an umbrella review of CHMP-associated META analyses, in which 1174 records were filtered down to 12 references. Then, we discussed 14 kinds of CHMPs that had a long history of use and analyzed their mechanisms of action. Representative herbs were employed to provide a subordinate explanation for the whole prescription. As holism is the dominant characteristic of CHMPs, we explored applications of CHMPs for IBD with the help of omics, gut microbiome, and network pharmacology, which are potential approaches to a dynamic figure of bioactions of CHMPs.

CONCLUSION

This review is the first to discuss the potential of CHMPs to manage IBD in a holistic context and will provide inspiring explanations for CHMP applications for further product transformation and application to other diseases.

Phytochemical identification of Xiaoer Huanglong Granule and pharmacokinetic study in the rat using its seven major bioactive components

Xiaoer Huanglong Granule is the only Chinese Patent Medicine widely used for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, not much is known on the bioactive components and pharmacokinetics of Xiaoer Huanglong Granule even after it was successfully introduced into clinical use. This study analyzed the components in the medication and rat plasma after oral administration with the help of UNIFI platform and Masslynx. A total of 119 and 37 components were detected in the medication and plasma, respectively, using ultra performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometer. We established a rapid and sensitive simultaneous determination of 1 triterpene saponin, 3 monoterpene glycosides, and 3 lignans in rat plasma by solid-phase extraction. The determination was accomplished within 7.50 min via gradient elution. The values of lower limit of quantification were validated at 0.08 ng/mL for tenuifolin, 0.8 ng/mL for lactiflorin, 1.828 ng/mL for albiflorin, 2 ng/mL for paeoniflorin, gomisin B, and gomisin D, 10 ng/mL for schisandrin. The results from validations of other methods were all acceptable (RSD ≤ 14.94%). This is the first report on the identification and pharmacokinetics studies of components in Xiaoer Huanglong Granule. Moreover, the pharmacokinetic behavior of lactiflorin was studied for the first time. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

HPLC-MS/MS based comparative pharmacokinetics of 12 bioactive components in normal and osteoporosis rats after oral administration of You-Gui-Wan

You-Gui-Wan is a traditional Chinese patent medicine that has been extensively used to treat kidney-yang deficiency syndrome. An HPLC-MS/MS method was developed to measure contents of 12 components of You-Gui-Wan in rat plasma. Considering that pathological changes might directly affect the pharmacokinetic behavior of drugs, this method was further applied to compare pharmacokinetics between normal and osteoporotic animals. The results indicated that osteoporosis significantly altered the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the 12 components. Thus, the pharmacokinetics of You-Gui-Wan evaluated under osteoporotic conditions were much closer to clinical practice than that in normal physiological states. Thus, the optimized analytical method, along with the pharmacokinetic evaluation in the osteoporotic model may offer a more comprehensive understanding to elucidate the anti-osteoporosis mechanism of You-Gui-Wan. These findings may aid in developing a more effective treatment plan for osteoporosis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.