Study on the potential chemical markers for the discrimination between raw and processed Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS coupled with multivariate statistical analyses

Based on UPLC/MS/MS and Bioinformatics Analysis to Explore the Difference Substances and Mechanism of Curcumae Radix (Curcuma wenyujin) in Dysmenorrhea

BACKGROUND

Curcumae Radix (CW) is traditionally used to treat dysmenorrhea caused by uterine spasm. However, the changes of its composition and anti-uterine spasms during vinegar processing and the mechanism in treating dysmenorrhea are not clear.

OBJECTIVE

To elucidate the changes of anti-uterine spasm and its substance basis, and the mechanism of treating dysmenorrhea before and after vinegar processing.

METHODS

The uterine spasm contraction model was established, and the uterine activity and its inhibition rate were calculated to evaluate the differences. The main chemical constituents of CW were quickly analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS technology, and the differences between them were explored by multivariate statistical analysis. Then, the regulatory network of "active ingredients-core targets-signal pathways" related to dysmenorrhea was constructed by using network pharmacology, and the combination between differential active components and targets was verified by molecular docking.

RESULTS

CW extract relaxed the isolated uterine by reducing the contractile tension, amplitude, and frequency. Compared with CW, the inhibitory effect of vinegar products was stronger, and the inhibition rate was 70.08 %. 39 compounds were identified from CW and 13 differential components were screened out (p<0.05). Network pharmacology screened 11 active components and 32 potential targets, involving 10 key pathways related to dysmenorrhea. The results of molecular docking showed that these differentially active components had good binding activity to target.

CONCLUSION

It was preliminarily revealed that CW could treat dysmenorrhea mainly through the regulation of inflammatory reaction, relaxing smooth muscle and endocrine by curcumenone, 13-hydroxygermacrone, (+)-cuparene, caryophyllene oxide, zederone, and isocurcumenol.

Comparative Investigation of the Differences in Chemical Compounds between Raw and Processed Mume Fructus Using Plant Metabolomics Combined with Chemometrics Methods

Mume Fructus is a well-known herbal medicine and food with a long history of processing and application. Different processing methods impact the intrinsic quality of Mume Fructus. Thus, it is of great significance to investigate the changes in chemical components during processing (i.e., raw compared to the pulp and charcoal forms). In this study, plant metabolomics methods based on mass spectrometry detection were established to analyze the chemical ingredients of Mume Fructus comprehensively. Chemometric strategies were combined to analyze the profile differences of Mume Fructus after different processing methods. The established strategy identified 98 volatile and 89 non-volatile compounds of Mume Fructus by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS), respectively. Moreover, the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) indicated that raw Mume Fructus and the Mume Fructus pulp and charcoal were distributed in three regions. Subsequently, 19 volatile and 16 non-volatile components were selected as potential chemical component markers with variable importance in the projection using (VIP) >1 as the criterion, and the accuracy was verified by a Back Propagation Neural Network (BP-NN). To further understand the difference in the content of Mume Fructus before and after processing, 16 non-volatile chemical component markers were quantitatively determined by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The results revealed that, compared with raw Mume Fructus, the total content of 16 components in the pulp of Mume Fructus increased while it decreased in the charcoal. Therefore, this study used GC-MS, UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and UHPLC-MS/MS modern technology to analyze the differences in chemical components before and after the processing of Mume Fructus and provided a material basis for further research on the quality evaluation and efficacy of Mume Fructus.

Structural Characterization of Chemical Compounds Based on Their Fragmentation Rules in Sophorae Fructus by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS

This study aims to identify the chemical components in Sophorae Fructus, and explore the mass spectrometric cleavage rules using the UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS method. The main characteristic fragments of the compounds were analyzed by electrospray ionization (ESI) ion source under positive and negative ion modes. The compounds were identified by molecular formula, multistage mass spectrometry, ultraviolet spectrum, and the fragmentation patterns of standards. A total of 142 compounds were identified, including 68 flavonoids, 39 saponins, 21 organic acids, and 14 others, of which 43 components were reported from Sophora for the first time. Moreover, the mass spectrometric fragmentation rules of some identified species components were deduced, which are helpful for the structural analysis of flavonoid and saponins. This method provides a reference for the rapid identification of chemical components and is conducive to further study the pharmacodynamic material basis and action mechanism of Sophorae Fructus.

Discrimination of three Angelica herbs using LC-QTOF/MS combined with multivariate analysis

Angelica gigas, a popular medicinal herb in Korea, is locally called Danggui; this name is similarly used for Angelica acutiloba and Angelica sinensis, which are also sold in the retail market. These three herbs have differing therapeutic effects and should be used according to their prescribed purposes. In some retail markets, though, all three herbs are known by the same common name rather than a scientific name and can therefore be confused with each other. In particular, in the case of powdered products, intentional or unintentional wrong sales activity by the seller may occur. In this study, non-targeted analysis was performed using liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry to discriminate between the three Angelica herbs, and marker compounds were identified by principal component analysis. Principal component analysis was applied to the whole dataset with the variables being sample name, peak name (m/z with retention time), and ion intensity extracted in advance by peak finding, alignment, and filtering. All three herbs were visually and clearly differentiated in the score plot, and the marker compounds that contributed to their discrimination were found in the loading plot through principal component variable grouping (PCVG). Among the marker compounds, coumarins contributed to the classification of A. gigas, and phthalides contributed to the classification of A. sinensis. The three Angelica herbs were well discriminated from each other. Within the three Angelica species investigated, marker compounds can determine the species of even powdered or extracted samples that cannot be visually identified.

Unsaturated fatty-acid based HPLC fingerprints in combination with quantitative analysis of multi-components by single-marker for the classification of Rana chensinensis ovum

Comprehensive quality evaluation strategy was established for Rana chensinensis ovum based on analytical chemistry and chemometrics.

Discrimination of heating and frying vegetable oils based on UPLC/Q-TOF MSMS and chemometrics

Fried foods have potential adverse effects on health. However, the compounds produced during the process of frying in different vegetable oils are unknown. In this work, ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF MSMS) and chemical pattern recognition analysis was first conducted to analyze the changes in compounds in 8 different vegetable oils before and after thin-layer heating (without food) and to reveal the potential markers of oil used for deep-frying food. Then, these markers were validated in used frying oil. Our results of principal component analysis (PCA), partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) indicated that both thin-layer heating and deep-frying significantly change the compounds of vegetable oils. Thirty-six of the markers associated with thin-layer heating from the 8 different oils were identified in used frying oils and can be used as common markers of oil used for deep-frying. Additionally, 22 markers detected in individual vegetable oils provided unique markers of used frying oils. These markers can be used to distinguish used frying oil and have the potential to reveal the associated physiological harm.

Entirely control the quality consistency of Rong'e Yishen oral liquid by both quantified profiling and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker method

Quantified profiling and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS) method were combined to control the quality consistency of Rong'e Yishen oral liquid (REYS) in this paper. Firstly, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection (DAD) was applied to collect fingerprints and establish a content determination method. Then, two methods of QAMS and the external standard method (ESM) were used for comparative study to investigate the feasibility of the former to accurately control the quality of individual marker. The results showed that there was no significant difference in quantitative determination between QAMS and ESM (t test, P＞0.05). Sodium benzoate, as an internal reference standard (IRS), can be used to simultaneously quantify Icariin, Echinacoside, and Acteoside three components of the oral liquid. Finally, the fingerprint of 15 batches of REYSs was assessed by SQFM with Hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). The result of the quality evaluation demonstrated that 15 batches were divided into 3 levels and had good quality consistency. What's more, the content percentage of the dominant three medicinal markers and their total amount presented a close correlation with the macro quantitative similarity (P_m) of samples. Thus, quantified profiling combined with QAMS, which is systematic, simple, rigorous, and objective, could be a novel method to evaluate the quality consistency of REYS or even other traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).