Metabonomic study on the toxicity of Hei-Shun-Pian, the processed lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii Debx. (Ranunculaceae)

Traditional Chinese medicine Zhusha Anshen Wan: protective effects on liver, kidney, and intestine of the individual drugs using 1H NMR metabolomics

Introduction: Zhusha Anshen Wan (ZSASW) is a traditional Chinese medicine compound mainly composed of mineral drugs. In clinical practice, ZSASW did not show the toxicity of administering equal doses of cinnabar alone, suggesting that the four combination herbs in ZSASW can alleviate the damage of cinnabar. The effect of each herb on reducing the toxicity of cinnabar has not been fully explained. Methods: In our study, we utilized a metabonomics approach based on high-resolution 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate the reduction of toxicity by each herb in ZSASW. Liver, kidney and intestinal histopathology examinations and biochemical analysis of the serum were also performed. Results: Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was conducted to distinct different metabolic profiles in the urine and serum from the rats. Liver and kidney histopathology examinations, as well as analysis of serum clinical chemistry analysis, were also carried out. The metabolic profiles of the urine and serum of the rats in the CGU (treated with cinnabar and Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch) and CCC (treated with cinnabar and Coptis chinensis French) groups were remarkably similar to those of the control group, while those of the CRG (treated with cinnabar and Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch) and CAS (treated with cinnabar and Angelica sinensis) groups were close to those of the cinnabar group. The metabolic profiles of the urine and serum of the rats in the CGU and CCC groups were remarkably similar to those of the control group, while those of the CRG and CAS groups were close to those of the cinnabar group. Changes in endogenous metabolites associated with toxicity were identified. Rehmannia glutinosa, Rhizoma Coptidis and Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch could maintain the dynamic balance of the intestinal flora. These results were also verified by liver, kidney and intestinal histopathology examinations and biochemical analysis of the serum. The results suggested that Discussion: The metabolic mechanism of single drug detoxification in compound prescriptions has been elucidated. Coptis chinensis and Glycyrrhiza uralensis serve as the primary detoxification agents within ZSASW for mitigating liver, kidney, and intestinal damage caused by cinnabar. Detoxification can be observed through changes in the levels of various endogenous metabolites and related metabolic pathways.

Research on the effects of processing Heishunpian from Aconiti lateralis radix praeparata on components and efficacy using the "step knockout" strategy

Heishunpian is obtained through complex processing of Aconiti lateralis radix praeparata. However, the impact of each processing step on chemical compositions and pharmacological activities is still unclear. The mechanism of the processing needs to be further studied. The samples were all prepared using the "step knockout" strategy for UPLC-QTOF-MS analysis, and analgesic and anti-inflammatory efficacy evaluation. Each sample was analyzed by UPLC-QTOF-MS to determine the component differences. The hot plate test and acetic acid writhing test were used to evaluate the analgesic effect. Anti-inflammatory efficacy was evaluated by xylene-induced ear edema test. The correlation between components and efficacies was studied to screen the effective components for further investigating the processing of Heishunpian. Mass spectrum analysis results showed that 49 components were identified, and it appeared that brine immersion and rinsing had a great influence on the components. In the hot plate test, ibuprofen and Heishunpian had the most significant effect, while ibuprofen and the sample without rinsing showed the best efficacy for the acetic acid writhing test. The sample without dyeing had the best effect on ear edema. The correlation analysis indicated that mesaconine, aconine, 3-deoxyaconine, delbruine, and asperglaucide were potentially considered effective analgesic components. It is not recommended to remove brine immersion and rinsing. Boiling and steaming are necessary processes that improve efficacy. Dyeing, which does not have a significant impact on components and efficacy, may be an unnecessary process. This research has been of great significance in identifying anti-inflammatory and analgesic components and optimizing processing for Heishunpian.

Safety evaluations of the processed lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii Debx. And its hepatotoxicity mechanisms in rats

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The processed lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii Debx. is known as Fuzi, an extensively used Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat cardiovascular diseases, rheumatism arthritis, bronchitis, pains, and hypothyroidism, etc. Although Chinese Pharmacopeia regulates the safe clinical dosage of Fuzi at 3-15 g/person/day, such recommendation not only lacks bench evidence but also does not differentiate Fuzi with different processing types, such as Heishunpian and Paofupian.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The current study aimed to 1) determine No-Observed-Adverse-Effect-Levels of Heishunpian and Paofupian in rats and 2) investigate the related toxicity mechanisms for their safe clinical use.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

After giving clinically relevant dosing regimen of Heishunpian/Paofupian to rats, we conducted toxicity assessments including ECG monitoring, histopathological changes and serum biomarkers to detect organ injury. Metabolomic study in the liver revealed changes in endogenous metabolite levels after two-week treatment of Fuzi preparations or its corresponding six toxic alkaloids mixtures.

RESULTS

The NOAEL for both bolus and two-week treatments of Heishunpian and Paofupian in rats was designated to be 7.5 g/kg and 15 g/kg, respectively. Corresponding recommended doses in humans were 7.5-25 g/person/day for Heishunpian and 15-50 g/person/day for Paofupian. Metabolic profiles revealed more significant alterations in endogenous substances from rats receiving the two Fuzi preparations than their corresponding toxic alkaloids mixtures. Upregulation of bile acid pathway could be responsible for Fuzi induced liver injury.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to the current maximum recommended dose, our suggested upper limit of guided dose for Heishunpian was comparable, whereas that for Paofupian could be further elevated. Both C₁₉-diterpenoid alkaloids and co-occurring components in Fuzi preparations contributed to their hepatotoxicity via upregulation of bile acid pathway.

Plant metabolomics: a new strategy and tool for quality evaluation of Chinese medicinal materials

The present quality control method of Chinese medicinal materials (CMM) has obvious deficiency, which cannot be compatible with the multi-target and multi-component characteristics and production process of CMM. Plant metabolomics with a huge impetus to comprehensively characterize the metabolites and clarify the complexity and integrity of CMM, has been widely used in the research of CMM. This article comprehensively reviewed the application of plant metabolomics in the quality control of CMM. It introduced the concept, technique, and application examples, discussed the prospects, limitations, improvements of plant metabolomics. MS and NMR, as important techniques for plant metabolomics, are mainly highlighted in the case references. The purpose of this article is to clarify the advantage of plants metabolomics for promoting the optimization of the CMM quality control system and proposing a system approach to realize the overall quality control of CMM based on plant metabolomics combined with multidisciplinary method.

Risk Compounds, Preclinical Toxicity Evaluation, and Potential Mechanisms of Chinese Materia Medica-Induced Cardiotoxicity

Chinese materia medica (CMM) has been applied for the prevention and treatment of diseases for thousands of years. However, arrhythmia, myocardial ischemia, heart failure, and other cardiac adverse reactions during CMM application were gradually reported. CMM-induced cardiotoxicity has aroused widespread attention. Our review aimed to summarize the risk compounds, preclinical toxicity evaluation, and potential mechanisms of CMM-induced cardiotoxicity. All relevant articles published on the PubMed, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases for the latest twenty years were searched and manually extracted. The risk substances of CMM-induced cardiotoxicity are relatively complex. A single CMM usually contains various risk compounds, and the same risk substance may exist in various CMM. The active and risk substances in CMM may be transformed into each other under different conditions, such as drug dosage, medication methods, and body status. Generally, the risk compounds of CMM-induced cardiotoxicity can be classified into alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids, heavy metals, organic acids, toxic proteins, and peptides. Traditional evaluation methods of chemical drug-induced cardiotoxicity primarily include cardiac function monitoring, endomyocardial biopsy, myocardial zymogram, and biomarker determination. In the preclinical stage, CMM-induced cardiotoxicity should be systematically evaluated at the overall, tissue, cellular, and molecular levels, including cardiac function, histopathology, cytology, myocardial zymogram, and biomarkers. Thanks to the development of systematic biology, the higher specificity and sensitivity of biomarkers, such as genes, proteins, and metabolic small molecules, are gradually applied for evaluating CMM-induced cardiotoxicity. Previous studies on the mechanisms of CMM-induced cardiotoxicity focused on a single drug, monomer or components of CMM. The interaction among ion homeostasis (sodium, potassium, and calcium ions), oxidative damage, mitochondrial injury, apoptosis and autophagy, and metabolic disturbance is involved in CMM-induced cardiotoxicity. Clarification on the risk compounds, preclinical toxicity evaluation, and potential mechanisms of CMM-induced cardiotoxicity must be beneficial to guide new CMM development and post-marketed CMM reevaluation.

Limitation standard of toxic aconitines in Aconitum proprietary Chinese medicines using on-line extraction electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Development of rapid analytical methods and establishment of toxic component limitation standards are of great importance in quality control of traditional Chinese medicine. Herein, an on-line extraction electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (oEESI-MS) coupled with a novel whole process integral quantification strategy was developed and applied to direct determination of nine key aconitine-type alkaloids in 20 Aconitum proprietary Chinese medicines (APCMs). Multi-type dosage forms (e.g., tablets, capsules, pills, granules, and liquid preparation) of APCM could be determined directly with excellent versatility. The strategy has the characteristics of high throughput, good tolerance of matrix interference, small amount of sample (∼0.5 mg) and reagent (∼240 μL) consumption, and short analysis time for single sample (<15 min). The results were proved to be credible by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, respectively. Moreover, the limitation standard for the toxic aconitines in 20 APCMs was established based on the holistic weight toxicity (HWT) evaluation and the Chinese Pharmacopoeia severally, and turned out that HWT-based toxicity evaluation results were closer to the real clinical applications. Hence, a more accurate and reliable APCM toxicity limitation was established and expected to play an important guiding role in clinics. The current study extended the power of ambient MS as a method for the direct quantification of molecules in complex samples, which is commonly required in pharmaceutical analysis, food safety control, public security, and many other disciplines.

Integrated metabolomics and network toxicology to reveal molecular mechanism of celastrol induced cardiotoxicity

Celastrol (CS), an active triterpene derived from traditional Chinese medicine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f, has been used to treat chronic inflammation, arthritis and other diseases. However, it has been reported that CS can trigger cardiotoxicity and the molecular mechanism of heart injury induced by CS is not clear. Considering the wide application of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f in clinics, it is necessary to develop an accurate and reliable method to assess the safety of CS, and to elucidate as much as possible the mechanism of cardiotoxicity induced by CS. In this study, Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS)-based metabolomics revealed clues to the mechanism of CS-induced heart injury. Palmitic acid significantly increased in plasma from CS-treated rats, and this increase resulted in oxidative stress response in vivo. Excessive ROS further activate TNF signaling pathway and caspase family, which were obtained from the KEGG enrichment analysis of network toxicology strategy. Protein expression level of caspase-3, caspase-8, bax were significantly increased by western blot. Q-PCR also showed the similar results as western blot. It means that apoptosis plays a key role in the process of celastrol induced cardiotoxicity. Blocking this signal axis may be a potential way to protect myocardial tissue.

Aconitum alkaloids induce cardiotoxicity and apoptosis in embryonic zebrafish by influencing the expression of cardiovascular relative genes

Aconitine (AC) and mesaconitine (MA) are major bioactive diterpenoid alkaloids derived from herbal aconitum plants. Emerging evidence indicates that AC plays a pivotal role in the cardiotoxicity for aconite poisoning. However, the cardiotoxicity data of MA, especially those on the difference between AC and MA are quite limited. Zebrafish embryos were used in this study for toxicological screening, and the cardiac morphology and function were observed. Embryos were analyzed by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after exposure and pharmacokinetic behaviors were also investigated. Results showed that 1.5% of the aconitum alkaloids penetrated into the zebrafish embryos. 2.5 μg/L AC and 20 μg/L MA caused a deficient cardiovascular system with yolk sac hemorrhage and early cardiac dysfunctions were observed in 96 h post-fertilization. AC showed greater cardiotoxicity than MA by comparing the EC₅₀ of pericardium edema. Aconitum alkaloids exposure also resulted in a significant decrease in the expression of cardiac genes (Tbx5, Gata4, and Nkx2.5) from an early stage (12-24 hpf), which may partly explained that the death caused by aconitum is most likely to occur within the first 24 h. In addition, a high percentage of apoptotic cells was observed in the brain region, which identified another potential target of the DDA action in zebrafish embryos.

Discovery of nano-piperolactam A: A nonsteroidal contraceptive lead acting through down-regulation of interleukins

Elevated serum interleukins (IL-6, IL-1β) over baseline concentration help in blastocyst adhesion to the uterine endometrium in the early phase of pregnancy. A nano PLA (Piperolactam A)-HPBCD (2-hydroxy-propyl-β-cyclodextrin) inclusion complex was developed as an interleukin down-regulator that exhibited 100% anti-implantation activity in rodents at a dose as low as 2.5-5.0 mg/kg. On metabolomics study, among major glyco-lipo-protein metabolites, only serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) levels revealed alteration by the formulation. Administration of PLA-HPBCD did not cause changes in serum estrogen and progesterone levels. However, IL-6 and IL-1β failed to increase post PLA-HPBCD administration; hence, it is assumed to be the mode of the drug's abortifacient action. In addition, absence of signs of either acute or chronic toxicity suggests the formulation was considerably non-toxic. Therefore, the nano-PLA conjugate promises as a non-steroidal contraceptive lead apart from ormeloxifene, the only non-steroidal anti-fertility agent currently available globally.

Relationships between the Toxicities of Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata (Fuzi) and the Toxicokinetics of Its Main Diester-Diterpenoid Alkaloids

The processed lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii Deb (Aconiti Radix lateralis praeparata or Fuzi) is a potent traditional herbal medicine extensively used in treatment of cardiovascular diseases, rheumatism arthritis, and bronchitis in many Asian countries. Although Fuzi has promising therapeutic effects, its toxicities are frequently observed. Three main C₁₉-diester-diterpenoid alkaloids (DDAs) are believed to be the principal toxins of the herb. Although toxicokinetic profiles of the toxic DDAs have already been examined in several studies, they have seldom been correlated with the toxicities of Fuzi. The current article aimed to investigate the relationship between the up-to-date toxicokinetic data of the toxic DDAs and the existing evidence of the toxic effects of Fuzi. Relationships between the cardiac toxicity and the plasma and heart concentration of DDAs in mice and rats were established. Based on our findings, clinical monitoring of the plasma concentrations of DDAs of Fuzi is recommended to prevent potential cardiac toxicities. Additionally, caution with respect to potential hepatic and renal toxicity induced by Fuzi should be exercised. In addition, further analyses focusing on the preclinical tissue distribution profile of DDAs and on the long-term toxicokinetic-toxicity correlation of DDAs are warranted for a better understanding of the toxic mechanisms and safer use of Fuzi.

Plasma metabolic profiling analysis of Cortex Periplocae-induced cardiotoxicity based on UPLC/Q-TOF-MS

Cortex Periplocae is a well-known form of traditional medicine with its unique cardiotonic action, anti-tumor activity and immune regulation effect. However, improper use of Cortex Periplocae often leads to cardiac toxicity, which in the most severe cases can even be life-threatening. Biochemical tests and histopathological examinations are primary methods for clinical trials. However, such approaches are time-consuming, lack specificity and have low sensitivity, which can easily lead to negative results in studies. Therefore, a more scientific and systematic evaluation of Cortex Periplocae cardiotoxicity is particularly important. In this study, we established a method that combines metabonomics with trend analysis of a gavage concentration series to find cardiac toxicity biomarkers of Cortex Periplocae. We created rat cardiotoxicity models, in which the toxicity was caused by Cortex Periplocae. We collected data from rat plasma samples based on metabonomics using ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS). Multiple statistical analyses, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), were used to examine metabolite profile changes in plasma samples to screen potential cardiotoxicity biomarkers and metabolic pathways. Compared with the control group, after 7 days administration, the pathological sections showed cardiac toxicity. Moreover, some metabolites in the body changed significantly. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis showed that there are 11 metabolites related with cardiac toxicity, which play a role in "phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis"; "phenylalanine metabolism"; "valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis"; "glycerophospholipid metabolism" as well as "pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis". These metabolites can better explain the cardiotoxicity mechanism of Cortex Periplocae and provide a scientific and systematic method to evaluate the cardiotoxicity of Cortex Periplocae.

Metabolic Profiling Analysis of the Alleviation Effect of the Fractions of Niuhuang Jiedu Tablet on Realgar Induced Toxicity in Rats

Niuhuang Jiedu Tablet (NJT) is a classical formula in treating acute tonsillitis, pharyngitis, and so on. In the formula, significant level of Realgar as a potentially toxic element is contained. Our previous experiments revealed that it was less toxic for combined Realgar in NJT. However, the active fraction of this prescription with toxicity alleviation effect on Realgar was still obscure. NJT was divided into five different polar fractions (NJT-PET, NJT-25, NJT-50, NJT-75, and NJT-95), and we explored the toxicity alleviation effect on Realgar. Based on 1H NMR spectra of urine and serum from rats, PCA and PLS-DA were performed to identify different metabolic profiles. Liver and kidney histopathology examinations and serum clinical chemistry analysis were also performed. With pattern recognition analysis of metabolites in urine and serum, Realgar group showed a clear separation from control group, while the metabolic profiles of NJT-PET, NJT-25, NJT-50, and NJT-95 groups were similar to Realgar group, and the metabolic profiles of NJT and NJT-75 groups were very close to control group. Statistics results were confirmed by the histopathological examination and biochemical assay. The present work indicated that 75% EtOH fraction of NJT was the most valid fraction with the toxicity alleviation effect on Realgar.

De Novo RNA Sequencing and Expression Analysis of Aconitum carmichaelii to Analyze Key Genes Involved in the Biosynthesis of Diterpene Alkaloids

Aconitum carmichaelii is an important medicinal herb used widely in China, Japan, India, Korea, and other Asian countries. While extensive research on the characterization of metabolic extracts of A. carmichaelii has shown accumulation of numerous bioactive metabolites including aconitine and aconitine-type diterpene alkaloids, its biosynthetic pathway remains largely unknown. Biosynthesis of these secondary metabolites is tightly controlled and mostly occurs in a tissue-specific manner; therefore, transcriptome analysis across multiple tissues is an attractive method to identify the molecular components involved for further functional characterization. In order to understand the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, Illumina-based deep transcriptome profiling and analysis was performed for four tissues (flower, bud, leaf, and root) of A. carmichaelii, resulting in 5.5 Gbps clean RNA-seq reads assembled into 128,183 unigenes. Unigenes annotated as possible rate-determining steps of an aconitine-type biosynthetic pathway were highly expressed in the root, in accordance with previous reports describing the root as the accumulation site for these metabolites. We also identified 21 unigenes annotated as cytochrome P450s and highly expressed in roots, which represent candidate unigenes involved in the diversification of secondary metabolites. Comparative transcriptome analysis of A. carmichaelii with A. heterophyllum identified 20,232 orthogroups, representing 30,633 unigenes of A. carmichaelii, gene ontology enrichment analysis of which revealed essential biological process together with a secondary metabolic process to be highly enriched. Unigenes identified in this study are strong candidates for aconitine-type diterpene alkaloid biosynthesis, and will serve as useful resources for further validation studies.

Effect of processing on the alkaloids in Aconitum tubers by HPLC-TOF/MS

According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2015, only processed Aconitum tubers can be clinically applied, and the effect of processing is unclear. This research aimed to explore the effect of processing on cardiac efficacy of alkaloids in Aconitum tubers. First, the chemical ingredients in unprocessed and processed Aconitum tubers were identified and compared by using high performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-TOF/MS) and multivariate pattern recognition methods. Then the representative alkaloids in Aconitum tubers, aconitine, benzoylaconine, and aconine, which belong to diester-diterpenoid alkaloids, monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids, and amine-diterpenoid alkaloids, respectively, were selected for further validation of attenuated mechanism. Subsequent pharmacological experiments with aconitine, benzoylaconine, and aconine in SD rats were used for validate the effect of processing on cardiac functions. After processing the Aconitum tubers, it was found that the contents of diester-diterpenoid alkaloids were reduced, and those of monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids and amine-diterpenoid alkaloids were increased, suggesting that diester-diterpenoid alkaloids were transformed into monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids and amine-diterpenoid alkaloids. Through further decocting the aconitine in boiling water, it was confirmed that the three alkaloids could be progressively transformed. Pharmacological experiments with aconitine, benzoylaconine, and aconine in SD rats showed that aconitine at a dose of 0.01 mg/kg and aconine at a dose of 10 mg/kg enhanced the cardiac function, while benzoylaconine at a dose of 2 mg/kg weakened the cardiac function. The effect of processing is attributed to the transformation of the most toxic diester-diterpenoid alkaloids into less toxic monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids and amine-diterpenoid alkaloids.

NMR-based metabonomics study on the effect of Gancao in the attenuation of toxicity in rats induced by Fuzi

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Fuzi, the processed lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux, is a traditional Chinese medicine used for its analgesic, antipyretic, anti-rheumatoid arthritis and anti-inflammation effects; however, it is also well known for its toxicity. Gancao, the root of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., is often used concurrently with Fuzi to alleviate its toxicity. However, the mechanism of detoxication is still not well clear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

In this study, the effect of Gancao on the metabolic changes induced by Fuzi was investigated by NMR-based metabonomic approaches.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups (group A: control, group B: Fuzi decoction alone, group C: Gancao decoction alone, group D: Fuzi decoction and Gancao decoction simultaneously, group E: Fuzi decoction 5h after Gancao decoction) and urine samples were collected for NMR-based metabolic profiling analysis. Statistical analyses such as unsupervised PCA, t-test, hierarchical cluster, and pathway analysis were used to detect the effects of Gancao on the metabolic changes induced by Fuzi.

RESULTS

The behavioral and biochemical characteristics showed that Fuzi exhibited toxic effects on treated rats (group B) and statistical analyses showed that their metabolic profiles were in contrast to those in groups A and C. However, when Fuzi was administered with Gancao, the metabolic profiles became similar to controls, whereby Gancao reduced the levels of trimethylamine N-oxide, betaine, dimethylglycine, valine, acetoacetate, citrate, fumarate, 2-ketoglutarate and hippurate, and regulated the concentrations of taurine and 3-hydroxybutyrate, resulting in a decrease in toxicity. Furthermore, important pathways that are known to be involved in the effect of Gancao on Fuzi, including phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, the synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies, and the TCA cycle, were altered in co-treated rats.

CONCLUSIONS

Gancao treatment mitigated the metabolic changes altered by Fuzi administration in rats, demonstrating that dosing with Gancao could reduce the toxicity of Fuzi at the metabolic level. Fuzi and Gancao administered simultaneously resulted in improved toxicity reduction than when Gancao was administrated 5h prior to Fuzi. In summary, co-administration of Gancao with Fuzi reduces toxicity at the metabolic level.

A Novel Method for Evaluating the Cardiotoxicity of Traditional Chinese Medicine Compatibility by Using Support Vector Machine Model Combined with Metabonomics

Traditional biochemical and histopathological tests have been used to evaluate the safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compatibility for a long time. But these methods lack high sensitivity and specificity. In the previous study, we have found ten biomarkers related to cardiotoxicity and established a support vector machine (SVM) prediction model. Results showed a good sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, in this study, we used SVM model combined with metabonomics UPLC/Q-TOF-MS technology to build a rapid and sensitivity and specificity method to predict the cardiotoxicity of TCM compatibility. This study firstly applied SVM model to the prediction of cardiotoxicity in TCM compatibility containing Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata and further identified whether the cardiotoxicity increased after Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata combined with other TCM. This study provides a new idea for studying the evaluation of the cardiotoxicity caused by compatibility of TCM.

Serum metabolomics analysis of rat after intragastric infusion of Pu-erh theabrownin

BACKGROUND

The aim was to study the effects of Pu-erh theabrownin (TB) (Mw  > 50 kDa) on the metabolism of rat serum by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics and identify candidate marker metabolites associated with Pu-erh TB, and thus provide fundamental information for a better understanding of the metabolism of Pu-erh tea in animals.

RESULTS

TB infusion induced different changes in endogenous serum metabolites depending on the type of diet. Compared with the control group, the TB infusion group showed significantly reduced serum glycine and choline levels, as well as significantly increased taurine, carnitine and high-density lipoprotein (all P < 0.05). Compared with the high-lipid group, the high-lipid TB infusion group exhibited significantly reduced low-density lipoprotein and acetate levels, as well as significantly increased inositol, carnitine and glycine levels (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Examination of the variations of these differential expressed metabolites and their individual functions revealed that the TB extract accelerated lipid catabolism in rats and might affect glucose metabolism. Of these, carnitine level significantly increased after intragastric infusion of TB regardless of the type of diet, and activities of carnitine palmitoyltransferases I and II changed significantly, suggesting carnitine may be a candidate serum marker for tracking the metabolism of TB in rats. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Metabolomics and its application to the evaluation of the efficacy and toxicity of traditional Chinese herb medicines

Traditional Chinese herb medicines (TCHMs) have been used in the treatment of a variety of diseases for thousands of years in Asian countries. The active components of TCHMs usually exert combined synergistic therapeutic effects on multiple targets, but with less potential therapeutic effect based on routine indices than Western drugs. These complex effects make the assessment of the efficacy of TCHMs and the clarification of their underlying mechanisms very challenging, and therefore hinder their wider application and acceptance. Metabolomics is a crucial part of systems biology. It allows the quantitative measurement of large numbers of the low-molecular endogenous metabolites involved in metabolic pathways, and thus reflects the fundamental metabolism status of the body. Recently, dozens of metabolomic studies have been devoted to prove the efficacy/safety, explore the underlying mechanisms, and identify the potential biomarkers to access the action targets of TCHMs, with fruitful results. This article presents an overview of these studies, focusing on the progress made in exploring the pharmacology and toxicology of various herbal medicines.

Serum metabolomics reveals betaine and phosphatidylcholine as potential biomarkers for the toxic responses of processed Aconitum carmichaelii Debx

We recently reported that processed Aconitum carmichaelii Debx (Bai-Fu-Pian in Chinese, BFP) elicits differential toxic responses in rats under various health conditions. The present study aimed to determine the graded toxicity of BFP so as to derive a safe therapeutic rationale in clinical practice. Sensitive and reliable biomarkers of toxicity were also identified, with the corresponding metabolic pathways being unveiled. Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups (n = 6) and received oral administration of BFP extract (0.32, 0.64, 1.28 or 2.56 g kg(-1) per day) or an equal volume of drinking water (control) for 15 days. The metabolomic profiles of rat serum were analyzed by liquid chromatography quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF-MS). Linear regression analysis and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) were used to elucidate the differentiated altered metabolites and associated network relationships. Results from biochemical and histopathological examinations revealed that BFP could induce prominent toxicity in the heart, liver and kidneys at a dose of 2.56 g kg(-1) per day. Betaine up-regulation and phosphatidylcholine down-regulation were detected in the serum samples of drug-treated groups in a dose-dependent manner. In summary, betaine and phosphatidylcholine could be regarded as sensitive biomarkers for the toxic responses of BFP. Perturbations of RhoA signaling, choline metabolism and free radical scavenging were found to be partly responsible for the toxic effects of the herbal drug. Based on the metabolomics findings, we could establish a safe therapeutic range in the clinical use of BFP, with promising predictions of possible drug toxicity.

A metabonomic study of adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory and autoimmune disease accompanied by the destruction and deformities of joints. Adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) is one of the excellent animal models of RA used to understand disease pathogenesis and screen potential drugs. In this paper, a urinary metabonomics method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) has been established to investigate the disease progression of AIA and find potential biomarkers of secondary inflammation in AIA rats. 24 potential biomarkers were identified, including xanthurenic acid, kynurenic acid, 4-pyridoxic acid, and phenylalanine, which revealed that tryptophan metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, gut microbiota metabolism and energy metabolism were disturbed in AIA rats. These potential biomarkers and their corresponding pathways are helpful to further understand the mechanisms of AIA and pathogenesis of RA. This study demonstrates that metabonomics based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS is a powerful methodology to analyze the underlying disease pathogenesis.

Study of the cardiotoxicity of Venenum Bufonis in rats using an 1H NMR-based metabolomics approach

Venenum Bufonis, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used in Asia and has gained popularity in Western countries over the last decade. Venenum Bufonis has obvious side effects that have been observed in clinical settings, but few studies have reported on its cardiotoxicity. In this work, the cardiotoxicity of Venenum Bufonis was investigated using a ¹¹H NMR-based metabolomics approach. The ¹H NMR profiles of the serum, myocardial extracts and liver extracts of specific-pathogen-free rats showed that Venenum Bufonis produced significant metabolic perturbations dose-dependently with a distinct time effect, peaking at 2 hr after dosing and attenuating gradually. Clinical chemistry, electrocardiographic recordings, and histopathological evaluation provided additional evidence of Venenum Bufonis-induced cardiac damage that complemented and supported the metabolomics findings. The combined results demonstrated that oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and energy metabolism perturbations were associated with the cardiac damage that results from Venenum Bufonis.

A review on phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of the processed lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The processed lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux (Ranunculaceae), an extensively used traditional Chinese medicine, is known as Fuzi in China (Chinese: ), "bushi" in Japan, "Kyeong-Po Buja" in Korea, Chinese aconite, monkshood or Chinese wolfsbane. It has been used to treat shock resulting from acute myocardial infarction, low blood pressure, coronary heart disease, chronic heart failure, etc.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

The present paper aims to provide an up-to-date review at the advancements of the investigations on the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacological effect and toxicity of Fuzi. Besides, the possible tendency and perspective for future research of this plant are discussed, as well.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All available information on Fuzi was collected via electronic search (using Elsevier, PubMed, ACS, CNKI, Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, and Web of Science), books and classic works about Chinese herb.

RESULTS

122 chemical constituents, among which C19-diterpenoid alkaloids and C20-diterpenoid alkaloids are the predominant groups, have been isolated and identified from Fuzi. Fuzi with its active compounds is possessed of wide-reaching biological activities, including effects on cardiovascular system, anti-inflammation and analgesic action, anti-tumor activity, effect on the immune system, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects, anti-aging effect, effect of protecting kidney and effect on energy metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly all of compounds were found from the roots of the plant, so further phytochemical studies should focus more on the other parts of the plant, such as the leaves, flowers or stems. Besides, a majority of the pharmacological studies were carried out using crude and poorly characterized extracts. Thus, more bioactive components particularly cardiotonic and analgesic compounds should be identified through bioactivity-guided isolation strategies. Moreover, investigations on how to develop Fuzi׳s new clinical usage on the basis of its pharmacological effects are in requirement.

The acute hepatotoxicity of tacrine explained by 1H NMR based metabolomic profiling

NMR based metabolomics approach was applied to study the mechanism of tacrine-induced acute hepatotoxicity and had found significant disturbances.

Toxicity assessment of Arisaematis Rhizoma in rats by a 1H NMR-based metabolomics approach

A ¹H NMR based metabolomics approach combined with serum biochemistry and histopathological examination was used to study the toxicity of Arisaematis Rhizoma by intragastrical administration for the first time.

A review on phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology studies of Aconitum

Objectives

A number of species belonging to herbal genus Aconitum are well-known and popular for their medicinal benefits in Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Tibetan and Chinese systems of medicine. It is a valuable drug as well as an unpredictable toxic material. It is therefore imperative to understand and control the toxic potential of herbs from this genus. In this review, the ethnomedicinal, phytochemistry, pharmacology, structure activity relationship and toxicology studies of Aconitum were presented to add to knowledge for their safe application.

Key findings

A total of about 76 of all aconite species growing in China and surrounding far-east and Asian countries are used for various medical purposes. The main ingredients of aconite species are alkaloids, flavonoids, free fatty acids and polysaccharides. The tuberous roots of genus Aconitum are commonly applied for various diseases such as rheumatic fever, painful joints and some endocrinal disorders. It stimulates the tip of sensory nerve fibres. These tubers of Aconitum are used in the herbal medicines only after processing. There remain high toxicological risks of the improper medicinal applications of Aconitum. The cardio and neurotoxicities of this herb are potentially lethal. Many analytical methods have been reported for quantitatively and qualitatively characterization of Aconitum.

Summary

Aconitum is a plant of great importance both in traditional medicine in general and in TCM in particular. Much attention should be put on Aconitum because of its narrow therapeutic range. However, Aconitum's toxicity can be reduced using different techniques and then benefit from its pharmacological activities. New methods, approaches and techniques should be developed for chemical and toxicological analysis to improve its quality and safety.

NMR-based metabolomics approach to study the chronic toxicity of crude ricin from castor bean kernels on rats

Ricin, a large, water soluble toxic glycoprotein, is distributed majorly in the kernels of castor beans (the seeds of Ricinus communis L.) and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) or other folk remedies throughout the world. The toxicity of crude ricin (CR) from castor bean kernels was investigated for the first time using an NMR-based metabolomic approach complemented with histopathological inspection and clinical chemistry. The chronic administration of CR could cause kidney and lung impairment, spleen and thymus dysfunction and diminished nutrient intake in rats. An orthogonal signal correction partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OSC-PLSDA) of metabolomic profiles of rat biofluids highlighted a number of metabolic disturbances induced by CR. Long-term CR treatment produced perturbations on energy metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, amino acid metabolism and kynurenine pathway, and evoked oxidative stress. These findings could explain well the CR induced nephrotoxicity and pulmonary toxicity, and provided several potential biomarkers for diagnostics of these toxicities. Such a (1)H NMR based metabolomics approach showed its ability to give a systematic and holistic view of the response of an organism to drugs and is suitable for dynamic studies on the toxicological effects of TCM.

Metabonomics study of the effects of pretreatment with glycyrrhetinic acid on mesaconitine-induced toxicity in rats

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Aconitum carmichaelii Debx. (Fuzi), a commonly use traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has often been used in combination with Rhizoma Glycyrrhizae (Gancao) to reduce its toxicity due to diester diterpenoid alkaloids aconitine, mesaconitine, and hypaconitine. However, the mechanism of detoxication is still unclear. Glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) is the metabolite of glycyrrhizinic acid (GL), the major component of Gancao. In present study, the effect of GA on the changes of metabolic profiles induced by mesaconitine was investigated using NMR-based metabolomic approaches.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifteen male Wistar rats were divided into a control group, a group administered mesaconitine alone, and a group administered mesaconitine with one pretreatment with GA. Their urine samples were used for NMR spectroscopic metabolic profiling. Statistical analyses such as orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), t-test, hierarchical cluster, and pathway analysis were used to detect the effects of pretreatment with GA on mesaconitine-induced toxicity.

RESULTS

The OPLS-DA score plots showed the metabolic profiles of GA-pretreated rats apparently approach to those of normal rats compared to mesaconitine-induced rats. From the t-test and boxplot results, the concentrations of leucine/isoleucine, lactate, acetate, succinate, trimethylamine (TMA), dimethylglycine (DMG), 2-oxo-glutarate, creatinine/creatine, glycine, hippurate, tyrosine and benzoate were significantly changed in metabolic profiles of mesaconitine-induced rats. The disturbed metabolic pathways include amino acid biosynthesis and metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS

GA-pretreatment can mitigate the metabolic changes caused by mesaconitine-treatment on rats, indicating that prophylaxis with GA could reduce the toxicity of mesaconitine at the metabolic level.

A metabolic profiling analysis of the acute toxicological effects of the realgar (As₂S₂) combined with other herbs in Niuhuang Jiedu Tablet using ¹H NMR spectroscopy

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Niuhuang Jiedu Tablet (NJT), composed of Realgar (As₂S₂), Bovis Calculus Artificialis, Borneolum Synthcticum, Gypsum Fibrosum, Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (RR), Scutellariae Radix (SR), Platycodonis Radix (PR) and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (GR), is an effective formula of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used in treating acute tonsillitis, pharyngitis, periodontitis and mouth ulcer. In the formula, significant level of realgar (As₂S₂) as a potentially toxic element is contained. In our pervious experiments, NJT was significantly less toxic than realgar (As₂S₂), and the material bases of toxicity alleviation effect to realgar (As₂S₂) were RR, SR, PR and GR. However, the toxicity alleviation effect of each above mentioned four herbs to realgar (As₂S₂) and their synergistic detoxification effects to realgar (As₂S₂) were still obscure.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Male Wistar rats were divided into 11 groups: control, group R (treated with Realgar), group RRSPG (treated with Realgar, RR, SR, PR and GR), group RRSP (treated with Realgar, RR, SR and PR), group RRSG (treated with Realgar, RR, SR and GR), group RRPG (treated with Realgar, RR, PR and GR), group RSPG (treated with Realgar, SR, PR and GR), group RR (treated with Realgar and RR), group RS (treated with Realgar and SR), group RP (treated with Realgar and PR) and group RG (treated with Realgar and GR). Based on (1)H NMR spectra of urine and serum from rats, PCA and PLS-DA were performed to identify different metabolic profiles. Liver and kidney histopathology examinations and serum clinical chemistry analysis were also performed.

RESULTS

The metabolic profiles of groups RR, RS, RP and RG were similar to those of group R, while the metabolic profiles of groups RRSPG, RRSP, RRSG, RRPG and RSPG were almost in line with those of control group. Statistics results were confirmed by the histopathological examination and biochemical assay.

CONCLUSION

The present work suggested that the toxicity alleviation effects of RR, SR, PR and GR to realgar (As₂S₂) were not obvious when combined with realgar (As₂S₂) respectively, but they had synergistic detoxification effects on realgar (As₂S₂) mutually.

UPLC-Q-TOF/MS based metabolomic profiling of serum and urine of hyperlipidemic rats induced by high fat diet

Hyperlipidemia is considered to be a high lipid level in blood, can induce metabolic disorders and dysfunctions of the body, and results in some severe complications. Therefore, hunting for some metabolite markers and clarifying the metabolic pathways in vivo will be an important strategy in the treatment and prevention of hyperlipidemia. In this study, a rat model of hyperlipidemia was constructed according to histopathological data and biochemical parameters, and the metabolites of serum and urine were analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS. Combining pattern recognition and statistical analysis, 19 candidate biomarkers were screened and identified. These changed metabolites indicated that during the development and progression of hyperlipidemia, energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and nucleotide metabolism were mainly disturbed, which are reported to be closely related to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc. This study demonstrated that a UPLC-Q-TOF/MS based metabolomic approach is useful to profile the alternation of endogenous metabolites of hyperlipidemia.

(1)H NMR-based metabonomics study on the toxicity alleviation effect of other traditional Chinese medicines in Niuhuang Jiedu tablet to realgar (As2S2)

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Niuhuang Jiedu Tablet (NJT) is an effective prescription of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used in treating acute tonsillitis, pharyngitis, periodontitis and mouth ulcer. NJT is prepared from Xionghuang (Realgar, As2S2), Rengong Niuhuang (Bovis Calculus Artificialis), Bingpian (Borneolum Synthcticum), Shigao (Gypsum Fibrosum), Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma), Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix), Jiegeng (Platycodonis Radix) and Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma). In the prescription, significant level of realgar (As2S2) as a potentially toxic element is contained.

AIM OF THE STUDY

In this study, (1)H NMR-based metabonomics approach has been used to investigate the toxicity of realgar (As2S2) after being counterbalanced by other TCMs in NJT.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: control, group I (treated with Realgar), group II (treated with Realgar, Bovis Calculus Artificialis, Borneolum Synthcticum, Gypsum Fibrosum, Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix, Platycodonis Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), group III (treated with Realgar, Bovis Calculus Artificialis, Borneolum Synthcticum and Gypsum Fibrosum) and group IV (treated with Realgar, Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix, Platycodonis Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma). Based on (1)H-NMR spectra of urine and serum from rats, PCA and PLS-DA were performed to identify different metabolic profiles. Liver and kidney histopathology examinations and serum clinical chemistry analysis were also performed.

RESULTS

PLS-DA scores plots demonstrated that the cluster of group I was separated from that of control rats, while group II was located close to control rats, indicating that metabolic profiles of group II were restored toward those of control rats. The metabolic profiles of group III were similar to those of group I, while the metabolic profiles of group II were almost in line with those of group II. Statistics results were confirmed by the histopathological examination and biochemical assay.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicated that it was more secure and much less toxic for counterbalanced realgar (As2S2) in NJT. The effective material bases of toxicity alleviation to realgar (As2S2) were Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma), Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix), Jiegeng (Platycodonis Radix) and Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), which regulated energy metabolism, choline metabolism, amino acid metabolism and gut flora disorder affected by realgar (As2S2) exposure.

Myocardial lipidomics profiling delineate the toxicity of traditional Chinese medicine Aconiti Lateralis radix praeparata

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The lateral root of Aconitum has been popularly used in traditional Chinese medicine (TMC) known as Fuzi which is beneficial for the treatment of various diseases, such as rheumatism, painful joints, syncope and bronchial asthma. However, it has a potential carditoxicity with a relatively narrow margin of safety.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This paper was designed to explore the mechanisms of Fuzi's toxicity and find out potential tissue-specific biomarkers of toxic effects.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A myocardial lipidomics based on ultraperformance lipid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF MS) was developed to compare three cardiac lipid extraction methods and investigate the changes of lipids in mice heart of three different dosage groups. In addition, we concurrently inspected the biochemical parameters in plasma, observed the histology of the heart and recorded the electrocardiogram (ECG).

RESULTS

The cardiotoxicity of Fuzi was dose-dependent, and the high-dose group obviously manifested the heart damage in histology and a certain degree of arrhythmia. Significant changes of 14 lipid metabolites which primarily involved in phospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, saturated fatty acid oxidation and unsaturated fatty acid peroxidation were identified and considered as the potential biomarkers of Fuzi toxicity.

CONCLUSION

The lipidomics approach is helpful to search potential tissue-specific biomarkers and understand the underlying mechanisms of Fuzi toxicity on the heart.

UPLC-Q-TOF-HDMS analysis of constituents in the root of two kinds of Aconitum using a metabolomics approach

INTRODUCTION

Metabolomics is an 'omics' approach that aims to comprehensively analyse all metabolites in a biological sample, and has great potential for directly elucidating plant metabolic processes. Increasing evidence supports the view that plants produce a broad range of low-molecular-weight secondary metabolites responsible for variation from species to species, thus enabling the use of secondary metabolite profiling in the chemotaxonomy.

OBJECTIVE

To gain deeper insights into the metabolites to increasing plant diversity, we performed systematic untargeted metabolite profiling to exploit the different parts and species of Aconitum as a case study.

METHOD

Application of ultraperformance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-high-definition mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-HDMS) equipped with electrospray ionisation and coupled with pattern recognition analyses to study constituents in the root of two kinds of Aconitum species.

RESULTS

Twenty-two metabolites between the mother root of Aconitum carmichaelii Debx (CHW) and lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii Debx (SFZ) and 13 metabolites between the CHW and root of Aconitum kusnezoffii Reichb (CW) have been identified. Of note, songorine, carmichaeline and isotalatizidine did not exist in CW, whereas they are present in the SFZ and CHW.

CONCLUSION

Metabolomics based UPLC-QTOF-HDMS with multivariate statistical models was effective for analysis of constituents in the root of two kinds of Aconitum species.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles cause nephrotoxicity and kidney metabolism alterations in rats

Although zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have been widely used, their potential hazards on mammalian and human remain largely unknown. In this study, the biochemical compositions of urine and kidney from the rats treated with ZnO NPs (100, 300 and 1000 mg/kg, respectively) were investigated using (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique with the pattern recognition of partial least squares-discriminant analysis. Hematology, clinical biochemistry and kidney histopathological examinations were also performed. Metabolic profiles from rats treated with ZnO NP(S) exhibited increases in the levels of taurine, lactate, acetate, creatine, phosphocholine, trimethylamine-N-oxide, α-glucose, and 3-D-hydroxybutyrate, as well as decreases in lipid, succinate, citrate, α-ketoglutarate, hippurate and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid in urine after ZnO NPs treatment for 14 days. A similar alteration pattern was also identified in kidney. Urine choline and phosphocholine increased significantly shortly after ZnO NPs treatment, moreover, some amino acids and glucose also increased during the experimental period. However, succinate, citrate and α-ketoglutarate in urine exhibited a different alteration trend, which showed increases on the first day after ZnO NPs treatment, but decreases gradually until the termination of the study. A similar alteration pattern of urinary (1)H NMR spectra was also detected in kidney. Moreover, ZnO NPs (1000 mg/kg) resulted in significant increases in serum creatine and blood urea nitrogen, decreases in hemoglobin, haematocrit and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and overt tubular epithelial cell necrosis. These findings show that ZnO NPs can disturb the energy metabolism and cause mitochondria and cell membrane impairment in rat kidney, which may contribute to ZnO NPs-induced nephrotoxicity.

1H NMR-based metabonomics study of the urinary biochemical changes in Kansui treated rat

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The dried root of Kansui (Euphorbia kansui L.) is a commonly used and effective traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

AIM OF THE STUDY

We combined the urinary metabolites alteration and traditional assays of Kansui-induced rats to discuss the mechanism of toxicity of Kansui.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Sprague-Dawley rats were dosed with 7.875g Kansui/kg weight and 15.75g Kansui/kg weight. Urine samples were collected at day -1 (before treatment), and days 7, 14 and 21 for NMR analysis. Plasma and liver and kidney tissues were collected at day 14 for biochemical assays and histopathological examination, respectively.

RESULTS

The metabonome of rats treated with Kansui differed markedly from that of the controls. This was confirmed by the histopathology of liver and kidney tissue and clinical biochemistry analysis. The toxicity of Kansui accumulated with dosing time, and persisted even when treatment was stopped. The corresponding biochemical pathways alterations included inhibited TCA cycle, increased anaerobic glycolysis, and perturbed amino acids metabolism.

CONCLUSION

The biochemical pathways disorder conjunction with histopathology changes provides new clues to evaluate the toxicity of Kansui from a systematic and holistic view.

Effect of Acupuncture on Rats with Acute Gouty Arthritis Inflammation: A Metabonomic Method for Profiling of Both Urine and Plasma Metabolic Perturbation

Acute gouty arthritis is a common inflammation model with multiple pathogenic mechanisms seen in clinical practice, for which acupuncture may potentially be an alternative therapy. To investigate the effect of acupuncture on acute gouty arthritis and search for its mechanism, a metabonomic method was developed in this investigation. Acute gouty arthritis model rats were induced by monosodium urate (MSU) crystals. The urine and plasma samples were collected at several time points and the endogenous metabolites were analyzed by an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Data were analyzed using principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) analysis to compare metabolic profiles of MSU crystal-induced acute gouty arthritis rats with MSU crystal-induced acute gouty arthritis, treated with acupuncture rats. The results showed that acupuncture could restore the metabolite network that disturbed by MSU administration. Our study indicates that UPLC-MS-based metabonomics can be used as a potential tool for the investigation of biological effect of acupuncture on acute gouty arthritis.

Urinary metabonomic study using a CUMS rat model of depression

Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) is a well-validated model of depression. In this study, a urinary metabonomics method based on the NMR spectrometry was used to study the metabolic perturbation in CUMS-induced rat depression model. With pattern recognition analysis, a clear separation of CUMS rats and healthy controls was achieved, and nine endogenous metabolites contributing to the separation were identified. CUMS-treated rats were characterized by the increase of glycine, pyruvate, glutamine, and asparagines, as well as the decrease of 2-oxoglutarate, dimethylglycine, citrate, succinate, and acetate. The urinary biochemical changes related to the metabolic disturbance in CUMS induced depression, and the possible correlations with live qi stagnation in traditional Chinese medicine are discussed. The work shows that CUMS is a reliable model for studying depression, and the noninvasive urinary metabolomic method is a valuable tool to investigate the biochemical pertubations in depression as an early diagnostic means.

¹H NMR-based metabonomic analysis of brain in rats of morphine dependence and withdrawal intervention

Metabolic consequences of morphine dependence and withdrawal intervention have not been well explored. In the present study, the metabolic changes in brain hippocampus, nucleus accumbens (NAc), prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum of rats with morphine dependence and withdrawal intervention were explored by using ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance coupled with principal component analysis, partial least squares and orthogonal signal correction analysis. We found that the concentrations of neurotransmitters including glutamate, glutamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid changed differentially in hippocampus, NAc, PFC and striatum after repeated morphine treatment. Significant changes were also found in a number of cerebral metabolites including N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), lactic acid, creatine, myo-inositol and taurine. These findings indicate the profound disturbances of energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism and neurotransmitters caused by chronic morphine treatment. Interestingly, morphine-induced changes in lactic acid, creatine and NAA were clearly reversed by intervention of methadone or clonidine. Our study provides a comprehensive understanding of the metabolic alteration associated with morphine addiction and withdrawal therapy, which may help to develop new pharmacotherapies.

Metabolomics study on Fuzi and its processed products using ultra-performance liquid-chromatography/electrospray-ionization synapt high-definition mass spectrometry coupled with pattern recognition analysis

The lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii Debx is named "Fuzi" which is widely distributed across Asia and North America and has been used to relieve joint pain and treat rheumatic diseases for over two thousand years. However, it has very narrow therapeutic ranges and despite the toxicological risk, its usage remains very high. A traditional Chinese processing approach (Paozhi, detoxifying measure) is necessary to remove the poisonous Aconitum alkaloids mainly deriving from the diester diterpene alkaloids (DDAs) including aconitine, mesaconitine and hypaconitine. They can be decomposed into less or non-toxic derivatives through Paozhi that plays an essential role in detoxification. Processed Fuzi is mainly focused on the three main forms of Yanfuzi (YFZ), Heishunpian (HSP) and Baifupian (BFP) which are highly desirable in order to guarantee the clinical safety and their low toxicity in decoctions. The difference in metabolomic characters between Fuzi and its processed preparations is still completely unclear. Therefore, this paper was designed to investigate a comprehensive metabolome of Fuzi and its processed products by ultra-performance liquid-chromatography/electrospray-ionization synapt high-definition mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-HDMS) combined with pattern recognition methods. The difference in metabolic profiles between Fuzi and its processed preparations was well observed by the principal component analysis (PCA) of the MS spectra. Significant changes of 19 metabolite biomarkers were detected in the Fuzi samples and three preparations. The underlying regulations of Paozhi-perturbed metabolic pathways were also discussed according to the identified metabolites. The present study proves that UPLC-Q-TOF-HDMS based metabolomic analysis greatly contributes to the investigation of Fuzi metabolism through Paozhi techniques, and provides useful information to further comprehensively understand the pharmacological activity and potential toxicity of processed Fuzi in a clinical environment.

Metabonomic study on chronic unpredictable mild stress and intervention effects of Xiaoyaosan in rats using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY

Xiaoyaosan (XYS), a famous Chinese prescription, composed of Radix Bupleuri (Bupleurum chinense DC.), Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels), Radix Paeoniae Alba (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.), Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz.), Poria (Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf), Radix Glycyrrhizae (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.), Herba Menthae (Mentha haplocalyx Briq.), and Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens (Zingiber officinale Rosc.), has been widely used in the clinic for treating mental disorders. Behavior and biochemical analyses indicate XYS has obvious anti-depression activity. However, there is no report on the effects of XYS using a metabolomics approach.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Depression is a prevalent complex psychiatric disorder and its pathophysiological mechanism is not yet well understood. This paper was designed to study metabonomic characters of the depression induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) and the therapeutic effects of XYS, classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in treating the depression.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A plasma metabonomics method based on gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was developed. Principal component analysis (PCA) was utilized to classify and reveal the differences between the model group and control group. In turns, the concentration of these differences was analyzed with t-test to determine whether XYS was possible to influence the metabolic pattern induced by CUMS.

RESULTS

The significant difference in metabolic profiling was observed from model group compared with drug-dose group by using the PCA, indicating the recovery effect of XYS on CUMS rats. Some significantly changed metabolites like glycine, glucose and hexadecanoic acid have been identified. These biochemical changes are related to the disturbance in amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism and glycometabolism, which are helpful to further understand the CUMS and the therapeutic mechanism of XYS.

CONCLUSIONS

Metabonomic approach is helpful to further understanding the pathophysiology of depression and assisting in clinical diagnosis of depression and is also a valuable tool for studying the essence of Chinese medicine's syndrome theory and therapeutic effect mechanism of TCM.

Antidepressant-like effects of the fractions of Xiaoyaosan on rat model of chronic unpredictable mild stress

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Xiaoyaosan (XYS), composed of Radix Bupleuri, Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Radix Paeoniae Alba, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Poria, Herba Menthae, Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens and Radix Glycyrrhizae, is a valuable traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) which is used for the treatment of depression in China. In the formula, Radix Bupleuri usually serves as the principal drug, Radix Angelicae Sinensis and Radix Paeoniae Alba serve as the ministerial drugs, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Poria, Herba Menthae and Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens serve as adjunctive drugs, Radix Glycyrrhizae serves as messenger drug, they coordinate with each other and enhance the effect of the formula. In our previous experiments, the antidepressant effect of XYS was revealed. However, the antidepressant part (or component) of this prescription was still obscure. We divided the XYS into five different polar fractions, and explored the antidepressant activity of five different polar fractions to identify the active fraction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Behavior research and metabonomics method based on (1)H NMR were used for efficacy study of different fractions in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) model of depression. Rats were divided into 8 groups and drugs were administered during the 21 days model building period. The urine samples of rats were collected overnight (12h) on 21 day and the metabolic profiling of the urine was measured using NMR. Multivariate analysis was also utilized to evaluate the active fraction of XYS.

RESULTS

In the behavior research, there were significant difference between the lipophilic fraction group (XY-A) and the model group. In addition, with pattern recognition analysis of urinary metabolites, the results showed a clear separation of the model group and control group, while XY-A group was much closer to the control group in the OSC-PLS score plot. Seven endogenous metabolites contributing to the separation of the model group and control group were detected, while XY-A group regulated the 5 perturbed metabolites showing a tendency of recovering to control group.

CONCLUSIONS

The present work suggested that petroleum ether fraction was the most effective fraction, implying that lipophilic components contribute to the antidepressant effect of XYS.

Comparison of toxic reaction of Tripterygium wilfordii multiglycoside in normal and adjuvant arthritic rats

AIM OF THE STUDY

Tripterygium wilfordii multiglycoside (GTW), an authorized Chinese patent drug, is used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other immune disease. This study was to determine whether GTW induced different toxic reactions in adjuvant arthritis rats (AA rats) compared to those in normal rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To prepare arthritic rat model, male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were immunized by injecting complete Freund's Adjuvant into right hind footpad. And then, GTW was given to rats intragastrically at dosage of 7 or 105 mg kg(-1)day(-1) from day 15 to day 28 after immunization. Routine clinical parameters and histopathologic changes of liver, kidney and testis were examined. Metabolic profiling in serum of groups was analyzed by LC-MS. A principal component analysis (PCA) and partial-least-squares discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) were carried out combined with mass spectrometry (MS) data set. All the quantitative data were performed by two-way ANOVA analysis following Student's t-test.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Treatment with GTW at both doses could diminish the right and left hind paws swelling. There was slight lipoid degeneration in hepatic tissue of normal rats treated by high dose of GTW, but there were not distinctly pathological changes in hepatic tissue of AA rats treated by GTW. Compared normal rats administered with GTW, no statistically significant difference in the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatinine (CRE), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels were observed. However, the serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level was significant decreased in AA rats under exposure GTW compared with normal rats in the same conditions (p<0.05), which indicated that GTW could offer a different liver toxic reaction in normal and AA rats. The metabolic analysis showed that a clear separation of PCA and PLS-DA score spot in normal rats, but not separation was seen in AA rats perturbed with low dosage GTW. The result indicated low dosage GTW might arouse a general toxic in normal rats but not in AA rats. The biomarker analysis showed that the level of lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) was down-regulated, but the level of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and chenodexycholic acid (CDCA) was up-regulated in AA rats compared with normal rats under exposure GTW. According to pathway analysis of metabolic markers, we conceived that LPC, UDCA and CDCA were the critical intermediates of choline and fatty acid metabolism. And the lipid metabolism was a correlative outcome of GTW induced toxicity in the liver in physiological condition animals. Taken together, GTW could induce different toxic reactions between normal and AA rats, and the lipid metabolism might be part of the mechanism for the hepatic lipidosis or the other liver injury.

Metabolomics for bioactivity assessment of natural products

Natural products historically have been a rich source of lead molecules in drug discovery, based on their capability to create unique and diverse chemical structures. However, it is also true that the vast number of metabolites typically present in natural products and their huge dynamic range results in the loss of many possibly bioactive natural compounds, becoming an inextricable obstacle for drug development. Recently, new strategies which favour a holistic approach as opposed to the traditional reductionist methods used previously, have been introduced with the purpose of overcoming the bottlenecks in natural product research. This approach is based on the application of new technologies, including metabolomics, for example. Metabolomics allows a systematic study of a complex mixture such as a phytochemical preparation, which can be linked to observations obtained through biological testing systems without the need for isolating active principles. This may put drug discovery from natural products back in the limelight again. In this review paper, the description of some examples of successful metabolomics applications in several important fields related to drug discovery from natural sources aims at raising the potential of metabolomics in reducing the gap between natural products (NP) and modern drug discovery demand.