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Mück F, Scotti F, Mauvisseau Q, Thorbek BLG, Wangensteen H, de Boer HJ. Three-tiered authentication of herbal traditional Chinese medicine ingredients used in women's health provides progressive qualitative and quantitative insight. Front Pharmacol 2024; 15:1353434. [PMID: 38375033 PMCID: PMC10875096 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1353434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbal products are increasingly used in Europe, but prevalent authentication methods have significant gaps in detection. In this study, three authentication methods were tested in a tiered approach to improve accuracy on a collection of 51 TCM plant ingredients obtained on the European market. We show the relative performance of conventional barcoding, metabarcoding and standardized chromatographic profiling for TCM ingredients used in one of the most diagnosed disease patterns in women, endometriosis. DNA barcoding using marker ITS2 and chromatographic profiling are methods of choice reported by regulatory authorities and relevant national pharmacopeias. HPTLC was shown to be a valuable authentication tool, combined with metabarcoding, which gives an increased resolution on species diversity, despite dealing with highly processed herbal ingredients. Conventional DNA barcoding as a recommended method was shown to be an insufficient tool for authentication of these samples, while DNA metabarcoding yields an insight into biological contaminants. We conclude that a tiered identification strategy can provide progressive qualitative and quantitative insight in an integrative approach for quality control of processed herbal ingredients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felicitas Mück
- Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Francesca Scotti
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Helle Wangensteen
- Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Mück F, Scotti F, Mauvisseau Q, Raclariu-Manolică AC, Schrøder-Nielsen A, Wangensteen H, de Boer HJ. Complementary authentication of Chinese herbal products to treat endometriosis using DNA metabarcoding and HPTLC shows a high level of variability. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1305410. [PMID: 38116075 PMCID: PMC10728824 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1305410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is popular for the treatment of endometriosis, a complex gynecological disease that affects 10% of women globally. The growing market for TCMs has yielded a significant incentive for product adulteration, and although emerging technologies show promise to improve their quality control, many challenges remain. We tested the authenticity of two traditional Chinese herbal formulae used in women's healthcare for the treatment of endometriosis, known as Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan (FL) and Ge Xia Zhu Yu Tang (GX). Dual-locus DNA metabarcoding analysis coupled with high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) were used to authenticate 19 FL and six GX commercial herbal products, as well as three ad hoc prepared artificial mixtures. HPTLC was able to detect most of the expected ingredients via comparative component analysis. DNA metabarcoding was able to detect an unexpected species diversity in the products, including 38 unexpected taxa. Chromatography has a resolution for all species indirectly through the identification of marker compounds for the different species ingredients. Metabarcoding on the other hand yields an overview of species diversity in each sample, but interpretation of the results can be challenging. Detected species might not be present in quantities that matter, and without validated quantification, some detected species can be hard to interpret. Comparative analysis of the two analytical approaches also reveals that DNA for species might be absent or too fragmented to amplify as the relevant chemical marker compounds can be detected but no amplicons are assigned to the same species. Our study emphasizes that integrating DNA metabarcoding with phytochemical analysis brings valuable data for the comprehensive authentication of Traditional Chinese Medicines ensuring their quality and safe use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felicitas Mück
- Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Francesca Scotti
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Ancuţa Cristina Raclariu-Manolică
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Stejarul Research Centre for Biological Sciences, National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, Piatra Neamț, Romania
| | | | - Helle Wangensteen
- Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Farag MA, Baky MH, Morgan I, Khalifa MR, Rennert R, Mohamed OG, El-Sayed MM, Porzel A, Wessjohann LA, Ramadan NS. Comparison of Balanites aegyptiaca parts: metabolome providing insights into plant health benefits and valorization purposes as analyzed using multiplex GC-MS, LC-MS, NMR-based metabolomics, and molecular networking. RSC Adv 2023; 13:21471-21493. [PMID: 37485437 PMCID: PMC10359763 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra03141a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile (Zygophyllaceae), also known as the desert date, is an edible fruit-producing tree popular for its nutritional and several health benefits. In this study, multi-targeted comparative metabolic profiling and fingerprinting approaches were conducted for the assessment of the nutrient primary and secondary metabolite heterogeneity in different parts, such as leaves, stems, seeds, unripe, and ripe fruits of B. aegyptiaca using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC-MS), and gas chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) based metabolomics coupled to multivariate analyses and in relation to its cytotoxic activities. NMR-based metabolomic study identified and quantified 15 major primary and secondary metabolites belonging to alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, sugars, and amino and fatty acids. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the NMR dataset revealed α-glucose, sucrose, and isorhamnetin as markers for fruit and stem and unsaturated fatty acids for predominated seeds. Orthogonal projections to latent structure discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) revealed trigonelline as a major distinctive metabolite in the immature fruit and isorhamnetin as a major distinct marker in the mature fruit. UPLC-MS/MS analysis using feature-based molecular networks revealed diverse chemical classes viz. steroidal saponins, N-containing metabolites, phenolics, fatty acids, and lipids as the constitutive metabolome in Balanites. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) profiling of primary metabolites led to the detection of 135 peaks belonging to sugars, fatty acids/esters, amino acids, nitrogenous, and organic acids. Monosaccharides were detected at much higher levels in ripe fruit and disaccharides in predominate unripe fruits, whereas B. aegyptiaca vegetative parts (leaves and stem) were rich in amino acids and fatty acids. The antidiabetic compounds, viz, nicotinic acid, and trigonelline, were detected in all parts especially unripe fruit in addition to the sugar alcohol d-pinitol for the first time providing novel evidence for B. aegyptiaca use in diabetes. In vitro cytotoxic activity revealed the potential efficacy of immature fruit and seeds as cytotoxic agents against human prostate cancer (PC3) and human colorectal cancer (HCT-116) cell lines. Collectively, such detailed profiling of parts provides novel evidence for B. aegyptiaca medicinal uses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed A Farag
- Pharmacognosy Department, College of Pharmacy, Cairo University Cairo 11562 Egypt +011-202-2362245
| | - Mostafa H Baky
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Egyptian Russian University Badr City Cairo 11829 Egypt
| | - Ibrahim Morgan
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) Weinberg 3 Halle (Saale) 06120 Germany
| | - Mohamed R Khalifa
- Global Public Health Institute, American University in Cairo New Cairo Egypt
| | - Robert Rennert
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) Weinberg 3 Halle (Saale) 06120 Germany
| | - Osama G Mohamed
- Pharmacognosy Department, College of Pharmacy, Cairo University Cairo 11562 Egypt +011-202-2362245
- Natural Products Discovery Core, Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI 48109 USA
| | - Magdy M El-Sayed
- Dairy Science Department, National Research Centre Giza 12622 Egypt
| | - Andrea Porzel
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) Weinberg 3 Halle (Saale) 06120 Germany
| | - Ludger A Wessjohann
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) Weinberg 3 Halle (Saale) 06120 Germany
| | - Nehal S Ramadan
- Chemistry of Tanning Materials and Leather Technology Department, National Research Centre Dokki Giza 12622 Egypt
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Farag MA, Ajayi AO, Taleb M, Wang K, Ayoub IM. A Multifaceted Review of Eurycoma longifolia Nutraceutical Bioactives: Production, Extraction, and Analysis in Drugs and Biofluids. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:1838-1850. [PMID: 36687023 PMCID: PMC9850716 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c06340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Eurycoma longifolia Jack (known as Tongkat Ali) is a popular traditional herbal medicine, native to southeast Asia, that is well-known for its aphrodisiac as well as several other effects. Mostly, the root extract of E. longifolia is used as a folk medicine for sexual dysfunction, aging, anxiety, exercise recovery, fever, increased energy, and osteoporosis. These health effects led to the inclusion of E. longifolia in dietary supplements, particularly for bodybuilding purposes. These effects are mediated by a myriad of bioactive compounds belonging to quassinoids, canthin-6-one alkaloids, tirucallane triterpenes, squalene derivatives, and bioactive steroids. Among these phytoconstituents, quassinoids account for a large portion of E. longifolia root phytochemicals. Of these ingredients, eurycomanone, the major quassinoid in E. longifolia extract, accounts to a large extent for its health effects. This review capitalizes on the novel trends toward the production of E. longifolia bioactives using biotechnology and extraction optimization for best yields and recovery. Alongside, novel extraction methods, i.e., green techniques, of E. longifolia bioactives are described. Further, an overview of the different analytical approaches for the quality control assessment of E. longifolia plant material and nutraceuticals is presented alongside studies in body fluids to determine its pharmacokinetics and efficacy level. Such a compilation of analytical methods will help ensure safety and efficacy of that major drug.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed A. Farag
- Pharmacognosy
Department, College of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El Aini St., Cairo 11562, Egypt
| | - Abiodun O. Ajayi
- Chemistry
Department, School of Sciences & Engineering, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo 11835, Egypt
| | - Mohammed Taleb
- Department
of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University-Gaza, P.O. Box 1277, Gaza 79702, Palestine
| | - Kai Wang
- Institute
of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China, 100093
| | - Iriny M. Ayoub
- Department
of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain
Shams University, Abbassia Cairo 11566, Egypt
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