Screening active ingredients of rosemary based on spectrum-effect relationships between UPLC fingerprint and vasorelaxant activity using three chemometrics

Chemometric-based drug discovery approaches from natural origins using hyphenated chromatographic techniques

INTRODUCTION

Isolation and characterization of bioactive components from complex matrices of marine or terrestrial biological origins are the most challenging issues for natural product chemists. Biochemometric is a new potential scope in natural product analytical science, and it is a methodology to find the compound's correlation to their bioactivity with the help of hyphenated chromatographic techniques and chemometric tools.

OBJECTIVES

The present review aims to evaluate the application of chemometric tools coupled to chromatographic techniques for drug discovery from natural resources.

METHODS

The searching keywords "biochemometric," "chemometric," "chromatography," "natural products bioassay," and "bioassay" were selected to search the published articles between 2010-2023 using different search engines including "Pubmed", "Web of Science," "ScienceDirect," and "Google scholar."

RESULTS

An initial stage in natural product analysis is applying the chromatographic hyphenated techniques in conjunction with biochemometric approaches. Among the applied chromatographic techniques, liquid chromatography (LC) techniques, have taken up more than half (53%) and also, mass spectroscopy (MS)-based chromatographic techniques such as LC-MS are the most widely used techniques applied in combination with chemometric methods for natural products bioassay. Considering the complexity of dataset achieved from chromatographic hyphenated techniques, chemometric tools have been increasingly employed for phytochemical studies in the context of determining botanicals geographical origin, quality control, and detection of bioactive compounds.

CONCLUSION

Biochemometric application is expected to be further improved with advancing in data acquisition methods, new efficient preprocessing, model validation and variable selection methods which would guarantee that the applied model to have good prediction ability in compound relation to its bioactivity.

Spectrum-Effect Relationships as an Effective Approach for Quality Control of Natural Products: A Review

As natural products with biological activity, the quality of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) is the key to their clinical application. Fingerprints based on the types and contents of chemical components in TCM are an internationally recognized quality evaluation method but ignore the correlation between chemical components and efficacy. Through chemometric methods, the fingerprints represented by the chemical components of TCM were correlated with its pharmacodynamic activity results to obtain the spectrum-effect relationships of TCM, which can reveal the pharmacodynamic components information related to the pharmacodynamic activity and solve the limitations of segmentation of chemical components and pharmacodynamic research in TCM. In the 20th anniversary of the proposed spectrum-effect relationships, this paper reviews its research progress in the field of TCM, including the establishment of fingerprints, pharmacodynamic evaluation methods, chemometric methods and their practical applications in the field of TCM. Furthermore, the new strategy of spectrum-effect relationships research in recent years was also discussed, and the application prospects of this technology were discussed.

Medicinal plant rosemary relaxes blood vessels by activating vascular smooth muscle KCNQ channels

The evergreen plant rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) has been employed medicinally for centuries as a memory aid, analgesic, spasmolytic, vasorelaxant and antihypertensive, with recent preclinical and clinical evidence rationalizing some applications. Voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels in the KCNQ (Kv7) subfamily are highly influential in the nervous system, muscle and epithelia. KCNQ4 and KCNQ5 regulate vascular smooth muscle excitability and contractility and are implicated as antihypertensive drug targets. Here, we found that rosemary extract potentiates homomeric and heteromeric KCNQ4 and KCNQ5 activity, resulting in membrane hyperpolarization. Two rosemary diterpenes, carnosol and carnosic acid, underlie the effects and, like rosemary, are efficacious KCNQ-dependent vasorelaxants, quantified by myography in rat mesenteric arteries. Sex- and estrous cycle stage-dependence of the vasorelaxation matches sex- and estrous cycle stage-dependent KCNQ expression. The results uncover a molecular mechanism underlying rosemary vasorelaxant effects and identify new chemical spaces for KCNQ-dependent vasorelaxants.

An integrated strategy of spectrum-effect relationship and near-infrared spectroscopy rapid evaluation based on back propagation neural network for quality control of Paeoniae Radix Alba

The quantitative analysis of near-infrared spectroscopy in traditional Chinese medicine has still deficiencies in the selection of the measured indexes. Then Paeoniae Radix Alba is one of the famous "Eight Flavors of Zhejiang" herbs, however, it lacks the pharmacodynamic support, and cannot reflect the quality of Paeoniae Radix Alba accurately and reasonably. In this study, the spectrum-effect relationship of the anti-inflammatory activity of Paeoniae Radix Alba was established. Then based on the obtained bioactive component groups, the genetic algorithm, back propagation neural network, was combined with near-infrared spectroscopy to establish calibration models for the content of the bioactive components of Paeoniae Radix Alba. Finally, three bioactive components, paeoniflorin, 1,2,3,4,6-O-pentagalloylglucose, and benzoyl paeoniflorin, were successfully obtained. Their near-infrared spectroscopy content models were also established separately, and the validation sets results showed the coefficient of determination (R² > 0.85), indicating that good calibration statistics were obtained for the prediction of key pharmacodynamic components. As a result, an integrated analytical method of spectrum-effect relationship combined with near-infrared spectroscopy and deep learning algorithm was first proposed to assess and control the quality of traditional Chinese medicine, which is the future development trend for the rapid inspection of traditional Chinese medicine.

Spectrum effect correlation of yangyin tongnao granules on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury rats

Yangyin Tongnao Granules (YYTNG), as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound preparation, have a good curative effect on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the active components of YYTNG in the plasma and the inflammatory response in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury rats. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was conducted to determine the fingerprints at different time points of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats after the administration of YYTNG at different times points. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect the levels of interleukin-18 (IL-18) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the plasma of MCAO rats at different time points. The spectral-effect relationship between the YYTNG fingerprints and inflammatory indexes in vivo was established by combining three different mathematical models, grey correlation, multiple linear regression, and partial least-square method. The results revealed that each chromatographic peak in the HPLC of the plasma exhibited a certain correlation with the inflammatory index, in the following order: P2 >P6 >P5 >P1 >P3 >P4. Therefore, this study successfully established the spectrum-effect correlation of YYTNG on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury rats. The results provide a certain guiding ideology for the analyses of the relationship between fingerprints and the pharmacodynamics of TCM prescriptions.

Rosmarinus officinalis L. hexane extract: phytochemical analysis, nanoencapsulation, and in silico, in vitro, and in vivo anti-photoaging potential evaluation

A shift towards natural anti-aging ingredients has spurred the research to valorize traditionally used plants. In this context, Rosmarinus officinalis L. was evaluated for its photoprotective, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-wrinkling properties. GC/MS and LC-ESI-HRMS based phytochemical profiling of rosemary leaves hexane extract resulted in the identification of 47 and 31 compounds, respectively and revealed rich content in triterpenoids, monoterpenoids and phenolic diterpenes. In vitro assays confirmed the antioxidant, anti-aging, and wound healing potential of rosemary extract along with a good safety profile, encouraging further development. A systematic molecular modelling study was conducted to elucidate the mechanistic background of rosemary anti-aging properties through the inhibitory effects of its major constituents against key anti-aging targets viz. elastase, collagenase, and hyaluronidase. Development of rosemary extract lipid nanocapsules-based mucoadhesive gels was performed to improve skin contact, permeation, and bioavailability prior to in vivo testing. The developed formulae demonstrated small particle size (56.55–66.13 nm), homogenous distribution (PDI of 0.207–0.249), and negatively charged Zeta potential (− 13.4 to − 15.6). In UVB-irradiated rat model, topical rosemary hexane extract-loaded lipid nanocapsules-based gel provided photoprotection, restored the antioxidant biochemical state, improved epidermal and dermal histological features, and decreased the level of inflammatory and wrinkling markers. The use of rosemary hexane extract in anti-aging and photoprotective cosmeceuticals represents a safe, efficient, and cost-effective approach.

Combining ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadruple exactive orbitrap mass spectrometry with chemometrics to identify and verify the blood-activating components of hawthorn

Hawthorn, one of the widely-used Chinese herbal medicines, has been used to treat blood stasis syndrome in the clinic, but its blood-activating components are unclear. This study combined the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadruple exactive-orbitrap mass spectrometry with chemometrics to identify the blood-activating components of hawthorn. Different polar fractions of hawthorn aqueous extracts were extracted and mixed to prepare 14 samples. The contents of 25 chemical components for 14 samples were determined by the proposed quantitative method which was validated in terms of linearity, precision, stability, repeatability, and recovery, while the blood-activating effect was evaluated by measuring the whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, and plasma fibrinogen levels. Then the partial least squares model was established on the spectrum-effect relationship. The result showed that vitexin-2″-O-rhamnoside, rutin, citric acid, malic acid, gallic acid, and fumaric acid could reduce the whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, and plasma fibrinogen levels in blood stasis model rats, and these components were the blood-activating components of hawthorn. This study provided a scientific basis for clarifying the blood-activating components of hawthorn, and the spectrum-effect approach proved to be an effective approach to discovering the bioactive components of Chinese herbal medicines.

Spectrum-Effect Relationship Between Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Banxia Baizhu Tianma Decoction: An Identification Method of Active Substances With Endothelial Cell Protective Effect

Banxia Baizhu Tianma decoction (BBTD), a six-herb Chinese medicine formula first described approximately 1732 AD, is commonly prescribed for Hypertension with Phlegm-dampness Stagnation (HPDS) as an adjuvant therapy in China. Obesity is an important risk factor for the increasing prevalence of hypertension year by year in China. In Traditional Chinese medicine, obesity is often differentiated as the syndrome of excessive phlegm-dampness.Vascular endothelial cell injury plays an important role in the development and occurrence of HPDS. In this study, the protective effects of 18 batches of BBTD samples from different origins on HUVEC cells were evaluated, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) was used to establish fingerprints, and combined with pharmacodynamic indexes, the protective components of BBTD on endothelial cells were analyzed. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated by ROS and Hs-CRP models, respectively. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and Bivariate correlation analysis (BCA) were used to investigate the potential correlation between chemical components and endothelial cell protection. The results indicated that BBTD could reduce ROS and hs-CRP levels in HUVEC cells, and the pharmacological activities in 18 batches of BBTD samples were significantly different. The results of BCA indicated that Gastrodin, Liquiritin, Hesperidin, Isoliquiritin, Hesperetin, and Isoliquiritigenin might be the active constituents to activate ROS and suppress hs-CRP as determined by spectrum-effect relationships. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the 6 components at different concentration were verified, and the results showed that all of them had good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in a concentration-dependent manner. This study showed that activity determination and spectral correlation can be used to search for active substances in Chinese medicine formula and provide data support for quality control of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Spectrum-effect relationship between UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS fingerprint and promoting gastrointestinal motility activity of Fructus aurantii based on multivariate statistical analysis

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Nowadays, gastrointestinal motility disorders (GMD) have reduced the quality of people's daily life worldwide, but there is still a lack of effective western medicine treatment. Fructus aurantii (FA), a representative regulating-qi herbal medicine, has been widely used to treat GMD in China for thousands of years, but it is not clear that which specific components contribute to the efficacy.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The efficacy differences of various fractions of FA on normal mice and GMD rats were compared, so as to find out the main effective fraction of FA, and to screen the main regulating-qi components based on spectrum-effect relationship and multivariate statistical analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The fingerprints of different fractions of FA were established and main compounds were identified with UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS technique. The promoting gastrointestinal motility activities of FA were evaluated by defecation test, gastric emptying and intestinal propulsion test in mice, and further investigated according to the biochemical analysis of 5-HT, SP, MLT, GAS and VIP in GMD rats' plasma. One-way ANOVA was used to find out the difference of efficacy. The active components were screened through spectrum-effect relationship with PCA-X, Pearson bivariate correlation analysis and OPLS analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Ethyl acetate fraction is the main active fraction, and nine compounds are the major regulating-qi components. The developed spectrum-effect analysis can be used for the screening of bioactive components in natural products with high accuracy and reliability.

Spectrum-Effect Relationship between HPLC Fingerprints and Antioxidant Activity of Yangyin Tongnao Prescription

Yangyin Tongnao (YYTN) prescription is used as a traditional Chinese herbal formula, and it has antioxidant activity that mainly contributes in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. However, the compounds related to its antioxidant activity are still unknown. In the present study, the fingerprints of YYTN extracts under different extraction conditions were obtained by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to identify the common peaks to all the samples processed. A 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity assay and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay were carried out to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the extracts. Spectrum-effect relationship between HPLC fingerprints and antioxidant activity of YYTN was assessed by Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (PPMCC) and multiple linear regression analysis (MLRA). The results showed that peaks 5, 6, 13, 15, and 24 of the fingerprints were closely connected to antioxidant activity. Five peaks were identified: vanillic acid (P5), puerarin (P7), ferulic acid (P13), daidzein (P21), and formononetin (P23). Our study successfully established the spectrum-effect relationship between HPLC fingerprints and antioxidant activity of YYTN, which provided a general method for establishing quality standards with a combination of chromatography and antioxidant activity.

Spectrum-effect relationship between UPLC fingerprints and anti-lung cancer effect of Panax ginseng

OBJECTIVES

Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate among the various types of cancer. Panax ginseng (C. A. Mey). is a popular anti-cancer herbal supplement. The quality control of ginseng is crucial to ensure its clinical efficacy. This study aimed to establish new quality control methods for ginseng and to identify its main active components responsible for lung cancer treatment.

METHODS

Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) was used to establish fingerprints of 18 batches of ginseng. CCK-8 test was performed to evaluate the inhibitory activity of ginseng on Lewis lung cancer (LLC) cells. The spectrum-effect relationship analysis of ginseng was assessed by canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and bioactivity validation.

KEY FINDINGS

Six common peaks were identified and the variation coefficients were determined. The 18 batches of ginseng inhibited the proliferation of LLC cells to different degrees, showing different half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀ ) values. Spectrum-effect relationship analysis showed that ginsenoside Ro is the main anti-proliferative constituent of LLC cell.

CONCLUSIONS

Spectrum-effect relationship is suitable for quality control of ginseng used for lung cancer. It is also effective in discovering the active ingredients related to the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine.

Selecting and Characterizing Tyrosinase Inhibitors from Atractylodis macrocephalae Rhizoma Based on Spectrum-Activity Relationship and Molecular Docking

Atractylodis macrocephalae Rhizoma (AMR) is a famous classical Chinese traditional medicine (CTM), which has been used as a tonic for many diseases for thousands of years. In ancient China, it was used as a supplementary food for beauty in the palace. In preliminary studies, the function of whitening skin and the significant inhibiting effect on tyrosinase (TYR) which is the reactive enzyme in the composition of melanin of AMR were discovered, and the relevant research was rarely reported. In this study, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) along with partial least squares regression analysis (PLS) was applied to survey the coherence between the chemical constituents and the inhibiting activity of 11 batches of AMR on TYR activity. The results of PLS showed that the chromatographic peaks 11 (atractylenolide III) and 15 could be important effective ingredients of the inhibition TYR activity as ascertained by spectrum-activity relationships. Furthermore, TYR inhibitory activity of atractylenolide III was validated by in vitro test by β-arbutin served as a positive control drug. The results of the in vitro test and the molecular docking showed that atractylenolide III has high TYR inhibitory activity and could link to the residues in TYR catalytic pocket. Therefore, bioassay, molecular docking, and spectrum-activity relationships are appropriate for linking the quality of samples with pharmaceutical-related active ingredients. And our studying would lay a theoretical foundation for applying the water extracts of AMR in whitening cosmetics.

Romero (Rosmarinus officinalis L.): su origen, importancia y generalidades de sus metabolitos secundarios

El presente trabajo, es una revisión que muestra el impacto que tiene el uso de las plantas medicinales en la salud humana. Desde la antigüedad, por tradición, se extendió el uso mayoritario de algunas familias vegetales como la Lamiaceae que destaca por sus propiedades aromáticas y aplicación culinaria en numerosas culturas, así como en el tratamiento y prevención de una gran variedad de enfermedades y malestares. Dentro de las especies pertenecientes a esta familia se encuentra el romero (Rosmarinus officinalis), planta que ha ganado importancia en el campo de la investigación por sus diversos atributos biológicos como: antiinflamatorio, antimicrobiano, antioxidante y anticancerígeno, entre otros; resultados que debe a sus metabolitos secundarios como: el ácido carnósico, el carnosol, el ácido rosmárico y  el alcanfor, entre otros más, aunado a un potencial efecto cuando es aplicado. También se mencionan algunas metodologías que buscan la extracción de los componentes biológicamente activos del romero.