Comparison of two exploratory data analysis methods for classification of Phyllanthus chemical fingerprint: unsupervised vs. supervised pattern recognition technologies

Bioguided Fractionation of Phyllanthus spp.: Unveiling Anticancer Potential through Metabolomic Correlation and ADMETox Insights

Cancer remains a significant global health concern, with mortality rates steadily rising and prompting an urgent search for effective treatments. This study focuses on the medicinal properties of plants from the Phyllanthus genus, specifically Phyllanthus amarus and Phyllanthus niruri, which have shown promise in traditional medicine. Through bioguided fractionation using preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), bioactive compounds were isolated and identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MSE) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Chemometric analyses such as principal component analysis (PCA) aided in understanding metabolite distribution. Biological assays demonstrated cytotoxic activities of specific fractions against cancer cell lines, notably the PhyN 4n fraction from P. niruri, which induced S-phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in HL60 cells. These findings underscore the anticancer potential of Phyllanthus species and lay the groundwork for future drug development efforts. The study's integration of advanced analytical techniques, chemometrics, and biological assays provides valuable insights for harnessing natural products in the fight against cancer.

Key steps for improving bacterial SERS signals in complex samples: Separation, recognition, detection, and analysis

Rapid and reliable detection of pathogenic bacteria is absolutely essential for research in environmental science, food quality, and medical diagnostics. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), as an emerging spectroscopic technique, has the advantages of high sensitivity, good selectivity, rapid detection speed, and portable operation, which has been broadly used in the detection of pathogenic bacteria in different kinds of complex samples. However, the SERS detection method is also challenging in dealing with the detection difficulties of bacterial samples in complex matrices, such as interference from complex matrices, confusion of similar bacteria, and complexity of data processing. Therefore, researchers have developed some technologies to assist in SERS detection of bacteria, including both the front-end process of obtaining bacterial sample data and the back-end data processing process. The review summarizes the key steps for improving bacterial SERS signals in complex samples: separation, recognition, detection, and analysis, highlighting the principles of each step and the key roles for SERS pathogenic bacteria analysis, and the interconnectivity between each step. In addition, the current challenges in the practical application of SERS technology and the development trends are discussed. The purpose of this review is to deepen researchers' understanding of the various stages of using SERS technology to detect bacteria in complex sample matrices, and help them find new breakthroughs in different stages to facilitate the detection and control of bacteria in complex samples.

Polyphenolic compounds of Phyllanthus amarus Schum & Thonn. (1827) and diabetes-related activity of an aqueous extract as affected by in vitro gastrointestinal digestion

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Extracts of the aerial part of Phyllanthus amarus have been extensively used in several countries to cure diabetes. No data is available on the impact of gastrointestinal digestion of such crude extracts on their antidiabetic activity.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study was to identify active fractions and compounds of fresh aerial parts of P. amarus extracted by an infusion method that are responsible for antidiabetic effects occurring at the level of glucose homeostasis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An aqueous extract was obtained by an infusion method and its polyphenolic composition was analysed by reverse phase UPLC-DAD-MS. The influence of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion was evaluated both on the chemical composition and on the antidiabetic effect of P. amarus infusion extract using glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme inhibition and stimulation of glucose uptake.

RESULTS

Analysis of the chemical composition of the crude extract revealed the presence of polysaccharides and various families of polyphenols such as phenolic acids, tannins, flavonoids and lignans. After simulated digestion, the total content of polyphenols decreased by about 95%. Caffeoylglucaric acid derivates and lignans exhibited strong stimulation of glucose uptake similar to metformin with an increase of 35.62 ± 6.14% and 34.74 ± 5.33% respectively. Moreover, corilagin, geraniin, the enriched polysaccharides fraction and the bioaccessible fraction showed strong anti-hyperglycemic activity with about 39-62% of glucose-6-phosphatase inhibition.

CONCLUSION

Caffeoylglucaric acid isomers, tannin acalyphidin M1 and lignan demethyleneniranthin were reported for the first time in the species. After in vitro gastroinstestinal digestion, the composition of the extract changed. The dialyzed fraction showed strong glucose-6-phosphatase inhibition.

Geographic Differentiation of Essential Oil from Rhizome of Cultivated Atractylodes lancea by Using GC-MS and Chemical Pattern Recognition Analysis

The rhizome of Atractylodes lancea (RAL) is a well-known Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) that has been applied in clinical settings for thousands of years. In the past two decades, cultivated RAL has gradually replaced wild RAL and become mainstream in clinical practice. The quality of CHM is significantly influenced by its geographical origin. To date, limited studies have compared the composition of cultivated RAL from different geographical origins. As essential oil is the primary active component of RAL, a strategy combining gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and chemical pattern recognition was first applied to compare the essential oil of RAL (RALO) from different regions in China. Total ion chromatography (TIC) revealed that RALO from different origins had a similar composition; however, the relative content of the main compounds varied significantly. In addition, 26 samples obtained from various regions were divided into three categories by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). Combined with the geographical location and chemical composition analysis, the producing regions of RAL were classified into three areas. The main compounds of RALO vary depending on the production areas. Furthermore, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were significant differences in six compounds, including modephene, caryophyllene, γ-elemene, atractylon, hinesol, and atractylodin, between the three areas. Hinesol, atractylon, and β-eudesmol were selected as the potential markers for distinguishing different areas by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). In conclusion, by combining GC-MS with chemical pattern recognition analysis, this research has identified the chemical variations across various producing areas and developed an effective method for geographic origin tracking of cultivated RAL based on essential oils.

Fraud Detection of Herbal Medicines Based on Modern Analytical Technologies Combine with Chemometrics Approach: A Review

Fraud in herbal medicines (HMs), commonplace throughout human history, is significantly related to medicinal effects with sometimes lethal consequences. Major HMs fraud events seem to occur with a certain regularity, such as substitution by counterfeits, adulteration by addition of inferior production-own materials, adulteration by chemical compounds, and adulteration by addition of foreign matter. The assessment of HMs fraud is in urgent demand to guarantee consumer protection against the four fraudulent activities. In this review, three analysis platforms (targeted, non-targeted, and the combination of non-targeted and targeted analysis) were introduced and summarized. Furthermore, the integration of analysis technology and chemometrics method (e.g., class-modeling, discrimination, and regression method) have also been discussed. Each integration shows different applicability depending on their advantages, drawbacks, and some factors, such as the explicit objective analysis or the nature of four types of HMs fraud. In an attempt to better solve four typical HMs fraud, appropriate analytical strategies are advised and illustrated with several typical studies. The article provides a general workflow of analysis methods that have been used for detection of HMs fraud. All analysis technologies and chemometrics methods applied can conduce to excellent reference value for further exploration of analysis methods in HMs fraud.

A comprehensive quality evaluation method of Corydalis yanhusuo by HPLC fingerprints, chemometrics, and correlation analysis

A novel quality evaluation method of Corydalis yanhusuo was established by researching the high-performance liquid chromatography behavior of alkaloids under different buffer solutions and exploring the correlation between alkaloids in C. yanhusuo. The retention times of tetrahydropalmatine and corydaline were significantly influenced by pH, while the peak shape was affected by buffer types and ionic strength. The resolution of compounds in fingerprint was satisfactory under acetonitrile-0.2% phosphoric acid buffer (adjusted pH to 5.0 with triethylamine). Twelve common peaks were found by comparing 20 batches of C. yanhusuo fingerprints, and three tertiary alkaloids and four quaternary alkaloids were identified. The fingerprints were analyzed by similarity analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and partial least squares discriminant analysis. All samples were divided into three groups, and the contents of dehydrocorydaline and coptisine from Zhejiang province were relatively higher than other origins. There were six components performing more contributions to the quality of C. yanhusuo. The correlations between alkaloids were conducted by Pearson correlation analysis and mathematical model analysis. The content correlation between palmatine and berberine was y = 0.28x²  + 0.03x + 0.03, and the dehydrocorydaline and coptisine was y = -7.54/(1 + (x/0.14)^0.5 ) + 2.61. The established mathematical model of alkaloids provided a guiding significance for the quality control of C. yanhusuo.

A biochemometric approach for the assessment of Phyllanthus emblica female fertility effects as determined via UPLC-ESI-qTOF-MS and GC-MS

Phyllanthus emblica L. fruits have long been used in Ayurvedic medicine for their many health benefits. In this study, we present P. emblica fruit crude extract and fractions' effects on the female reproductive system by assessing its estrogenic and gonadotropic activities. Results revealed that the non-polar petroleum ether and chloroform fractions exhibited the strongest estrogenic and follicle-stimulating hormone-like [FSH] activity, while the n-butanol fraction exhibited a significant luteinizing hormone-like [LH] activity. The ethyl acetate fraction showed neither estrogenic nor gonadotropic activities and in contrast it may impair female fertility suggesting that different metabolite classes contribute to the plant's overall effect on female fertility. To pinpoint active agents in these fractions, UPLC/ESI-qTOF-MS- was employed for secondary metabolite profiling with 100 metabolites annotated including ellagitannins, gallic acid derivatives, terpeneoids, sterols, phthalates and fatty acids. Correlation between extracts/fraction bioassays and UPLC/MS data was attempted using orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) revealing that guaiane-type sesquiterpenes, phthalates, diterpenes and oxygenated fatty acids showed positive correlation with estrogenic and gonadotropic activities. In contrast, mucic acid gallates, gallic acid derivatives and ellagitannins correlated negatively. GC/MS analysis of the non-polar bioactive fractions viz. petroleum ether and chloroform was also attempted which revealed its enrichment in fatty acids/fatty acyl esters (34%) and phenolic compounds (19.6%). This study provides the first report on the estrogenic and gonadotropic activities of P. emblica fruits in relation to their metabolite fingerprint.

UPLC-HRMS and NMR applied in the evaluation of solid-phase extraction methods as a rational strategy of dereplication of Phyllanthus spp. aiming at the discovery of cytotoxic metabolites

The classical approach to drug discovery from natural products (NP's) requires strenuous and complex purification steps for the isolation and structural elucidation. Modern strategies as dereplication aim to accelerate the identification of known compounds present in a crude or partially purified extract. In this work, we investigated the influence of the solid-phase extraction (Oasis, Plexa, and Agilent C18 cartridges with and without organic modifiers) chemical profile obtained by UPLC-QTOF-MS and NMR and cytotoxicities of aqueous extracts from Phyllanthus niruri and P. amarus. Our results showed differences between the SPE cartridges and the mass recovered. P. niruri showed higher mass recovery than P. amarus indicating a higher amount of secondary metabolites. The UPLC-QTOF-MS analysis revealed that P. niruri crude extract presents higher contents of phenolic compounds than P. amarus. According to NMR analysis, P. niruri contained more tyrosine, corilagin, and glycosidic residues while P. amarus, presented higher content of ellagic acid. The different stationary phases, as well as mobile phases for exploratory SPE, enabled the exploitation of the different chemical functionalities within the Phyllanthus species. The SPE (MeOH:H₂O 70:30 with C18 cartridges) samples showed greater in vitro cytotoxicity than the crude extracts, with IC₅₀ ranging from 8.01 to 94.92 μg mL^-1 against the tumor lines tested. The solid phase extraction allowed the concentration of molecules with desirable physicochemical characteristics, which might increase the hit of therapeutically useful substances.

Development of a UHPLC-MS/MS method for the quantitation of bioactive compounds in Phyllanthus species and its herbal formulations

Phyllanthus species are extensively used in traditional medicines for the treatment of hepatic diseases due to their bioactive hypophyllanthin and phyllanthin. This work describes the development and validation of an ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method in polarity switching multiple reaction monitoring mode for the simultaneous detection and quantitation of 23 compounds using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray-hybrid triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometer. The validated parameters showed good linearity (R²  ≥ 0.996), limit of detection (0.05-1.62 ng/mL), limit of quantitation (0.15-4.95 ng/mL), precisions (intra-day: RSD ≤ 2.11%), (inter-day: RSD ≤ 2.91%), stability (RSD ≤ 2.56%) and overall recovery (98.22-104.48%; RSD ≤ 2.93%). The validated method was successfully applied in ethanolic extracts of P. amarus, P. niruri, P. emblica, P. fraternus, fractions of P. amarus and their herbal formulations for quantitation. The maximum content of hypophyllanthin (29.40 mg/g) and phyllanthin (56.60 mg/g) was detected in ethyl acetate fraction of P. amarus. The total content of 23 compounds was abundant in the ethanolic extract of P. emblica fruit. Principal component analysis was used to differentiate the selected Phyllanthus species and their herbal formulations. The results indicated that the present method could be used for quality control of Phyllanthus species and its herbal formulations.

Zebrafish as a Model for Epilepsy-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction: A Pharmacological, Biochemical and Behavioral Approach

Epilepsy is a neuronal disorder allied with distinct neurological and behavioral alterations characterized by recurrent spontaneous epileptic seizures. Impairment of the cognitive performances such as learning and memory is frequently observed in epileptic patients. Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) are efficient to the majority of patients. However, 30% of this population seems to be refractory to the drug treatment. These patients are not seizure-free and frequently they show impaired cognitive functions. Unfortunately, as a side effect, some AEDs could contribute to such impairment. The major problem associated with conducting studies on epilepsy-related cognitive function is the lack of easy, rapid, specific and sensitive in vivo testing models. However, by using a number of different techniques and parameters in the zebrafish, we can incorporate the unique feature of specific disorder to study the molecular and behavior basis of this disease. In the view of current literature, the goal of the study was to develop a zebrafish model of epilepsy induced cognitive dysfunction. In this study, the effect of AEDs on locomotor activity and seizure-like behavior was tested against the pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced seizures in zebrafish and epilepsy associated cognitive dysfunction was determined using T-maze test followed by neurotransmitter estimation and gene expression analysis. It was observed that all the AEDs significantly reversed PTZ induced seizure in zebrafish, but had a negative impact on cognitive functions of zebrafish. AEDs were found to modulate neurotransmitter levels, especially GABA, glutamate, and acetylcholine and gene expression in the drug treated zebrafish brains. Therefore, combination of behavioral, neurochemical and genenetic information, makes this model a useful tool for future research and discovery of newer and safer AEDs.

Identification and characterization of phenolics and terpenoids from ethanolic extracts of Phyllanthus species by HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS

Phyllanthus species plants are a rich source of phenolics and widely used due to their medicinal properties. A liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method was developed using high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) for the identification and characterization of quercetin, kaempferol, ellagic acid and their derivatives in ethanolic extracts of Phyllanthus species. The chromatographic separation was carried out on Thermo Betasil C₈ column (250 mm×4.5 mm, 5 µm) using 0.1% formic acid in water and 0.1% formic acid in methanol as the mobile phase. The identification of diagnostic fragment ions and optimization of collision energies were carried out using 21 reference standards. Totally 51 compounds were identified which include 21 compounds identified and characterized unambiguously by comparison with their authentic standards and the remaining 30 were tentatively identified and characterized in ethanolic extracts of P. emblica, P. fraternus, P. amarus and P. niruri.

Effect of Phyllanthus amarus Extract on 5-Fluorouracil-Induced Perturbations in Ribonucleotide and Deoxyribonucleotide Pools in HepG2 Cell Line

The aim of this study was to investigate the antitumor activities of Phyllanthus amarus (PHA) and its potential of herb–drug interactions with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU). Cell viability, ribonucleotides (RNs) and deoxyribonucleotides (dRNs) levels, cell cycle distribution, and expression of thymidylate synthase (TS) and ribonucleotide reductase (RR) proteins were measured with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) method, flow cytometry and Western blot analysis, respectively. Our standardized PHA extract showed toxicity to HepG2 cells at high concentrations after 72 h exposure and induced G2/M cell cycle arrest. Combined use of 5-FU with PHA resulted in significant decreases in ATP, CTP, GTP, UTP and dTTP levels, while AMP, CMP, GMP and dUMP levels increased significantly compared with use of 5-FU alone. Further, PHA could increase the role of cell cycle arrest at S phase induced by 5-FU. Although PHA alone had no direct impact on TS and RR, PHA could change the levels of RNs and dRNs when combined with 5-FU. This may be due to cell cycle arrest or regulation of key enzyme steps in intracellular RNs and dRNs metabolism.