Rapid identification of bile acids in snake bile using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

Integrated post-acquisition data processing strategy for rapid steroid sulfate characterization in Toad gall-bladder

LC-MS serves as a workhorse for chemical profile characterization of Chinese medicinal materials (CMMs) attributing to the ability of measuring fruitful MS/MS spectral information. However, it is laborious to extract the information belonging to the compounds-of-interest from the massive data matrixes even employing those well-defined post-acquisition data processing strategies. Here, efforts were devoted to propose an integrated strategy allowing rapid chemical homologs-focused data filtering through integrating the fit-for-purpose existing strategies, such as molecular weight imprinting (MWI), diagnostic fragment ion filtering (DFIF), neutral loss filtering (NLF), and isotope pattern filtering (IPF). Homologs-focused chemical characterization of a precious CMM namely Toad gall-bladder (Chinese name: Chandan) that is rich of diverse effective steroid sulfates, particularly bufogenin sulfates, bile acid sulfates and bilichol sulfates, was employed as a proof-of-concept. Recombinant human SULT2A1-catalyzed in vitro metabolism was undertaken to generate eight bufogenin sulfates to facilitate summarizing MS/MS spectral behaviors. After in-house data library construction and MS1 and MS2 spectral acquisition, data filtering was conducted as follows: 1) MWI and IPF was utilized in combination to capture deprotonated molecular ions and the 34S isotopic ions for the sulfates of those reported steroids; 2) m/z 79.9568 (SO3-·) and 96.9596 (HSO4-) were applied to DFIF; and 3) SO3 (79.9568 Da) served as the feature to achieve NLF. Those captured MS/MS information subsequently participated in tentatively structural annotation through applying those empirical mass fragmentation rules. As a result, 71 compounds including 7 bufogenin sulfates, 17 bile acid sulfates, 13 bilichol sulfates and a C-23 steroid sulfate were detected from Toad gall-bladder and thereof, 39 ones received plausible identities assignment. Above all, the steroid sulfates in Toad gall-bladder were profiled in depth, and more importantly, the proposed strategy should be a meaningful option for, but not limited to, submetabolome characterization in CMMs.

Identification of the Authenticity and Geographical Origin of Bear Bile Powder by Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography - Charged Aerosol Detector Fingerprints Combined with Chemometrics

Bear bile powder (BBP) is a rare animal-derived traditional Chinese medicine, and it has been widely used to treat visual disorders and hepatobiliary diseases in East Asia. However, there is still a lack of reliable quality control methods for BBP. This study was designed to establish a comprehensive quality map of BBP based on bile acids. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with charged aerosol detector (HPLC-CAD) was used for fingerprint establishment and quantitative analysis of BBP. The similarities of HPLC-CAD chromatograms for 50 batches of BBP were more than 0.95, while the similarities of reference chromatograms between 6 other animal bile and BBP were low than 0.7. Additionally, five bile acids in BBP, including tauroursodeoxycholic acid, taurocholic acid, taurochenodeoxycholic acid, ursodesoxycholic acid, and chenodeoxycholic acid, were simultaneously quantified. This method has been validated with good regression as well as satisfactory precision, sensitivity, stability, repeatability, and accuracy. Using this method, the contents of five bile acids in BBP samples from five producing areas were determined and compared. Furthermore, Fisher linear discriminant analysis was performed to discriminate the geographic origins of BBP. The result demonstrated that HPLC-CAD fingerprint combined with multi-components quantification is an effective and reliable method for quality control of BBP, it could be a meaningful reference for the quality evaluation of medicinal bile.

Anti-Dengue Activity of ZnO Nanoparticles of Crude Fucoidan from Brown Seaweed S.marginatum

Dengue fever is a rapidly spreading infection that affects people all over the tropics and subtropics, posing a significant public health threat. The brown seaweed Stoechospermum marginatum was found all over the world, from South Africa (Indian Ocean) to Australia (Pacific Ocean), among other places. In India, it is only available along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, which is a small region. Various metal oxides were proved to be successful in the formation of nanoparticles and zinc is one among them. In this present study, an attempt was made to study the anti-dengue activity of green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles of crude fucoidan isolated from brown seaweed S. marginatum. The fucoidan was isolated from the seaweed by acid extraction method and then characterized by UV, HPLC, and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR) Spectroscopy. Then it was biosynthesized into ZnO nanoparticles and characterized by SEM-EDAX analysis. The results showed the formation of fucoidans and SEM studies showed the crystalline nature of the synthesized nanoparticles. The size of nanoparticles was in the range of 80-126 nm. The synthesized nanoparticles were tested with the C6/36 cell line and it was shown 99.09% of anti-dengue activity against the tested cell line. As an antiviral agent, the ZnO nanoparticles of fucoidans have been shown to be an excellent lead molecule for the treatment of dengue fever.

A comprehensive strategy for quality evaluation of Wushe Zhiyang Pills by integrating UPLC-DAD fingerprint and multi-ingredients rapid quantitation with UPLC-MS/MS technology

Wushe Zhiyang Pills (WZP), a classical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, has been extensively used for the treatment of chronic urticaria and other relevant dermatologic diseases. In this study, a holistic method combining ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector (UPLC-DAD) fingerprint and multi-components quantitative analysis was developed and validated for quality evaluation of WZP. As a result, a total of 34 characteristic peaks were screened to assess the chemical similarities of 16 batches of WZP samples. By coupling with a hybrid linear ion trap (LTQ)-Orbitrap mass spectrometer, 163 compounds were identified or tentatively identified in WZP. Furthermore, a rapid quantitative analysis method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) technique was optimized and validated for simultaneously determination of 16 chemical markers within 13 min in WZP. The developed UPLC-MS/MS approach was successfully employed for analysis of 16 batches of WZP samples. The proposed comprehensive method combining holistic chemical profile with notable target compounds has proved to be suitable for the systematical quality evaluation of WZP, which provides a feasible and efficient strategy to monitor the overall quality consistency of TCM formulae.

[Chemome profiling of Pien-Tze-Huang by online pressurized liquid extraction-ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-ion trap-time-of-flight mass spectrometry]

Pien-Tze-Huang is one of the most famous traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions and consists of several precious medicinal materials, such as Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Bovis Calculus, Snake Gall, and Moschus. However, its formula has not been completely revealed. It is mainly applied for the treatment of acute and chronic viral hepatitis, carbuncle, and boils caused by blood stasis, unknown swelling, bruises, and various inflammation disorders. The chemical composition of Pien-Tze-Huang is extremely complicated. Thus far, extensive attention has been paid to the principal chemical families in Pien-Tze-Huang, such as ginsenosides, bile acids, and muscone derivatives. Comprehensive chemical profiling, although of immense importance for systematic quality control, has not been achieved. Therefore, we configured a platform, namely online pressurized liquid extraction-ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-ion trap-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (online PLE-UHPLC-IT-TOF-MS), to characterize the chemical profile of Pien-Tze-Huang in detail as well as to conduct source attribution, aiming to clarify the chemome of Pien-Tze-Huang and to provide a reliable method for quality assessment. A sub-microgram amount of Pien-Tze-Huang powder (0.3 mg) was placed in a hollow guard column, which was subsequently filled with clear silica gel. Filter membranes were used to seal the extraction vessel. The vessel was then placed in an adapted guard column holder and maintained in a thermal column oven (70 ℃). Metal tubing was used to connect the outlet of the guard column holder to the mass spectrometer. The extraction phase was maintained for 3 min by employing 0.1%(v/v) formic acid aqueous solution as the extraction solvent with a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. Moreover, a six-port two-position electronic valve was introduced to automatically switch the system from extraction to elution phases. Within the elution phase, 0.1%(v/v) formic acid aqueous solution and acetonitrile composed the mobile phase, and the extracts were eluted with a gradient program. Because of the elevated temperature and pressure, the physical and chemical properties of water, especially polarity and solubility, were modified. Therefore, warm water could be an eligible green solvent to achieve wide polarity-spanned extraction. In addition, IT-TOF-MS was employed to acquire tandem mass spectrometry information. The mass fragmentation pathways of saponins and bile acids were carefully studied. Finally, according to authentic compounds, mass fragmentation pathways, reference information in the literature, and accessible databanks, a total of 73 signals were observed from Pien-Tze-Huang, of which 71 components were tentatively identified and assigned. Among them, 36 were from Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma, 15 from Snake Gall, and 9 from Bovis Calculus, while the occurrences of the other 11 components were synergistically contributed by both Bovis Calculus and Snake Gall, through retrieving the in-house chemical database that was built by considering all accessible chemical information from Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Bovis Calculus, Snake Gall, and Moschus. The other two compounds were assigned as unknown compounds. However, none of the components were assigned to Moschus because they mainly contained hydrophobic compounds, such as cycloketones, cholesterol, and sterols, among others, and it was difficult to detect them with the current measurement program. The extraction efficiency of online PLE was assessed by comparing it with the efficiency obtained from ultrasonication at the same time. According to base peak ion current chromatograms (BPCs) and mass spectrometry information, the efficiency of online PLE was greater than that of ultrasonic extraction, even through direct analysis. Online PLE-UHPLC-IT-TOF-MS is not only a tool fit for the concept of green analytical chemistry, but also a reliable analytical pipeline for the direct characterisation of other complicated matrixes. Above all, this study clarified the chemome of Pien-Tze-Huang and provided meaningful information for the quality control of this famous TCM prescription.

A new bile acid from the traditional chinese medicine shedan

A new bile acid tauro-16β-hydroxy-12α-sulfate-5β-cholenoic acid (1), along with six known ones (2-7), was isolated from the snake bile. Its planar structure and relative configuration were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analyses. Moreover, compound 2 showed inhibitory effect on NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages at non-cytotoxic concentration (20 μM) with inhibitory rate of 69.7%. [Formula: see text].

Analysis of factors related to prognosis and death of fish bile poisoning in China: A retrospective study

Fish bile has long been considered to have therapeutic benefits in folk medicine in some Asian countries. However, poisoning incidents and even death sporadically occurred when people consumed fish bile. Herein, we summarize the main characteristics of fish bile poisoning in China including clinical symptoms, treatment strategies and factors being associated with death and affecting prognosis, hoping to provide a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of fish bile poisoning, as well as forensic identification of death cases induced by fish bile poisoning. We suggest that the health authorities should make an effort to enhance people's awareness of the safety of traditional medicine like fish bile so as to reduce the incidence of adverse events.