Plasma pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and excretion study of 6-gingerol in rat by liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A network pharmacology integrated pharmacokinetics strategy to investigate the pharmacological mechanism of absorbed components from crude and processed Zingiberis Rhizoma on deficiency-cold and hemorrhagic syndrome

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Zingiberis Rhizoma (ZR) and Zingiberis Rhizoma Carbonisata (ZRC), as two forms of ginger-based herbal drugs used in China for at least 2000 years, have been recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia and applied for specific indications in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

AIM OF THE STUDY

The present study aimed to explore the underlying therapeutic and processing mechanism of the absorbed components of ZR and ZRC on deficiency-cold and hemorrhagic syndrome (DCHS) using network pharmacological technique combined with pharmacokinetics strategy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, a rapid and sensitive approach was conceived to simultaneously determine the seven components (zingiberone, 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, 6-shogaol, 6-paradol, diacetyl-6-gingerol and 10-gingerol) in rat serum by HPLC-DAD-MS. The network pharmacological technique was employed to evaluate the effect of the absorbed components of ZR and ZRC on DCHS. Also, the vitro experiments were carried out to validate the functions of the seven compounds on coagulation and other major haematological effects.

RESULTS

The values of intra-assay and inter-assay precision were determined to be less than 7.44%, with an accuracy value ranging from 83.64% to 107.99%. Analysis of rat plasma revealed that the extraction recoveries and matrix effects of the seven analytes were >85.76%. The method for validation following oral administration of ZR and ZRC to rats was proved to be a success in the pharmacokinetic study of the seven ingredients. Pharmacokinetics showed that ZR processing could enhance the absorption and utilization of 6-shogaol, 6-paradol and diacetyl-6-gingerol, meanwhile reduce the absorption of 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, and 10-gingerol. Through the pathway enrichment analysis, it was found that the significant biological process of ZR and ZRC on DCHS was primarily associated with complement, coagulation cascades and platelet activation pathways. The vitro experiments indicated that zingiberone, 6-paradol and diacetyl-6-gingerol had a hemostatic effect by upregulating the expression of one or more targets such as TNF-α, FⅩa, FⅫ, FⅧ, ICAM-1, vWF and ITGB3. While 6-gingerol, 6-shogaol, 8-gingerol and 10-gingerol played a critical role in promoting blood circulation by increasing the expression of TM and/or PORC, and/or reducing the expression of ITGB3.

CONCLUSION

In brief, network pharmacological technique in combination with pharmacokinetics strategy provided an applicable method for pharmacological mechanism study of ZR and ZRC, which, also, could be used as reference for quality control of the two drugs. In a broader sense, this combined strategy might even be valuable in uncovering the therapeutic and processing mechanism of Chinese herbs on a systematic level.

[6]-Gingerol Ameliorates ISO-Induced Myocardial Fibrosis by Reducing Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Apoptosis through Inhibition of TLR4/MAPKs/NF-κB Pathway

SCOPE

[6]-Gingerol is one of the primary pungent constituents of ginger. While [6]-gingerol has many pharmacological effects, its benefits for myocardial fibrosis, including its exact role and underlying mechanisms, remain largely unexplored. The present study is designed to characterize the cardio-protective effects of [6]-gingerol in myocardial fibrosis mice and possible underlying mechanisms.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Mice are subcutaneously injected with isoproterenol (ISO, 10 mg kg^-1 ) and gavaged with [6]-gingerol (10, 20 mg kg^-1 day^-1 ) for 14 days. Pathological alterations, fibrosis, oxidative stress, inflammation response, and apoptosis are examined. In ISO-induced myocardial fibrosis, [6]-gingerol treatment decreases the J-point, heart rate, cardiac weight index, left ventricle weight index, creatine kinase (CK), and lactate dehydrogenase serum levels, calcium concentration, reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde, and glutathione disulfide (GSSG), and increases levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione, and GSH/GSSG. Further, [6]-gingerol improved ISO-induced morphological pathologies, inhibited inflammation and apoptosis, and suppressed the toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4)/mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs)/nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling pathways.

CONCLUSION

The protective effect of [6]-gingerol in mice with ISO-induced myocardial fibrosis may be related to the inhibition of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis, potentially through the TLR4/MAPKs/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Metabolic Profiles of Ginger, A Functional Food, and Its Representative Pungent Compounds in Rats by Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Ginger, a popular functional food, has been widely used throughout the world for centuries. However, its metabolic behaviors remain unclear, which entails an obstacle to further understanding of its functional components. In this study, the metabolic profiles of ginger in rats were systemically investigated by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS. The results included the characterization of 92 components of ginger based on the summarized fragmentation patterns and self-building chemical database. Furthermore, four representative compounds were selected to explore the typical metabolic pathways of ginger. Consequently, 141 ginger-related xenobiotics were characterized, following the metabolic spots of the pungent phytochemicals were summarized. These findings indicated that the in vivo effective components of ginger were mainly derived from [6]-gingerol and [6]-shogaol. Meanwhile, hydrogenation, demethylation, glucuronidation, sulfation, and thiolation were their major metabolic reactions. These results expand our knowledge about the metabolism of ginger, which will be important for discovering its functional components and the further mechanism research.

Metabolic profile of Guge Fengtong tablet in rat urine and bile after oral administration, using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

In the present study, we developed and validated a rapid analytical method using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF/MS) to investigate the metabolic profile of Guge Fengtong tablet (GGFTT), a traditional Chinese medicine. The urine and bile samples were collected with 24 h after oral administration of GGFTT. A total of 34 compounds, including 11 parent compounds and 23 metabolites were unambiguously or tentatively identified. Our results indicated that glucuronidation, oxidation and methylation were the major metabolic pathways of the constituents in GGFTT. In addition, the results of this work also demonstrated the feasibility of HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF/MS for reliable characterization of the in vivo metabolites from herbal preparations.

Prevention of allergic rhinitis by ginger and the molecular basis of immunosuppression by 6-gingerol through T cell inactivation

The incidence of allergies has recently been increasing worldwide. Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated hypersensitivity is central to the pathogenesis of asthma, hay fever and other allergic diseases. Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) and its extracts have been valued for their medical properties including antinausea, antiinflammation, antipyresis and analgesia properties. In this study, we investigated the antiallergic effects of ginger and 6-gingerol, a major compound of ginger, using a mouse allergy model and primary/cell line culture system. In mice with ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic rhinitis, oral administration of 2% ginger diet reduced the severity of sneezing and nasal rubbing by nasal sensitization of OVA and suppressed infiltration of mast cells in nasal mucosa and secretion of OVA-specific IgE in serum. 6-Gingerol inhibited the expression of not only Th2 cytokines but also Th1 cytokines in OVA-sensitized spleen cells. Accordingly, 6-gingerol suppressed in vitro differentiation of both Th1 cells and Th2 cells from naïve T cells. In addition, 6-gingerol suppressed both superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB)- and anti-CD3-induced T cell proliferation. 6-Gingerol also abrogated PMA plus ionomycin- and SEB-induced IL-2 production in T cells, suggesting that 6-gingerol affected T cell receptor-mediated signal transduction rather than the antigen-presentation process. Indeed, 6-gingerol inhibited the phosphorylation of MAP kinases, calcium release and nuclear localization of c-fos and NF-κB by PMA and ionomycin stimulation. Thus, our results demonstrate that 6-gingerol suppresses cytokine production for T cell activation and proliferation, thereby not causing B cell and mast cell activation and resulting in prevention or alleviation of allergic rhinitis symptoms.

Gingerols and shogaols: Important nutraceutical principles from ginger

Gingerols are the major pungent compounds present in the rhizomes of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) and are renowned for their contribution to human health and nutrition. Medicinal properties of ginger, including the alleviation of nausea, arthritis and pain, have been associated with the gingerols. Gingerol analogues are thermally labile and easily undergo dehydration reactions to form the corresponding shogaols, which impart the characteristic pungent taste to dried ginger. Both gingerols and shogaols exhibit a host of biological activities, ranging from anticancer, anti-oxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic to various central nervous system activities. Shogaols are important biomarkers used for the quality control of many ginger-containing products, due to their diverse biological activities. In this review, a large body of available knowledge on the biosynthesis, chemical synthesis and pharmacological activities, as well as on the structure-activity relationships of various gingerols and shogaols, have been collated, coherently summarised and discussed. The manuscript highlights convincing evidence indicating that these phenolic compounds could serve as important lead molecules for the development of therapeutic agents to treat various life-threatening human diseases, particularly cancer. Inclusion of ginger or ginger extracts in nutraceutical formulations could provide valuable protection against diabetes, cardiac and hepatic disorders.

An LC-MS/MS method for the determination of salidroside and its metabolite p-tyrosol in rat liver tissues

CONTEXT

Salidroside and its metabolite p-tyrosol are two major phenols in the genus Rhodiola L. (Crassulaceae). They have been confirmed to possess various pharmacological properties and are used for the prophylaxis and therapeutics of many diseases. Several analytical methods have been developed for the determination of the two compounds in plant materials and biological plasma matrices. However, these methods are not optimal for biological samples containing complex organic interferences, such as liver and brain tissues.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to further develop and validate a simple and specific LC-MS/MS method for the determination of salidroside and its metabolite p-tyrosol in rat liver tissues using paracetamol as the internal standard (IS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Salidroside and p-tyrosol with the IS paracetamol and liver tissues were used as model compounds and biological samples. Samples were processed by protein precipitation (PP) with methanol, the supernatant was dried under nitrogen and the residue was reconstituted in a mobile phase that consisted of a mixture of acetonitrile and water (1:9, v/v). Salidroside and p-tyrosol were detected in negative mode under multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) by a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer coupled with electrospray ionization.

RESULTS

Standard curves were linear over the concentration range of 50-2000 ng/mL with correlation coefficients of 0.995 or better for both salidroside and p-tyrosol. The intra- and inter-day accuracy for salidroside ranged between 104.90 and 112.73% with a precision of 3.51-14.27%. For p-tyrosol, the intra- and inter-day accuracy was between 92.38 and 100.59%, and the precision was 8.54% or less. The stability data showed that no significant degradation occurred under the experimental conditions. The recoveries were 111.44, 108.10, and 102.00% for salidroside at concentrations of 50, 500 and 2000 ng/mL, respectively, and were 105.44, 105.50, and 113.04% for tyrosol at concentrations of 50, 500 and 2000 ng/mL, respectively. The matrix effects were 83.85-92.45% for salidroside and 85.61-92.49% for p-tyrosol at three QC levels. This method was successfully applied to a liver tissue distribution study of salidroside and its metabolite p-tyrosol in rats.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This newly established method is validated as simple, reliable and accurate. It can be used as a valid analytical method for the intrinsic quality control of biological matrices, especially tissue samples.

Sex dependent pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and excretion of peimine and peiminine in rats assessed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Fritillaria thunbergii Miq. has been traditionally used in China as antitussive and expectorant herbs, and newly used in the clinical treatment of leukemia in recent years.

AIM

To investigate whether gender exerted a significant influence on the pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and excretion of peimine and peiminine in Sprague-Dawley rats who were given a single oral administration of 4.25 g/kg Fritillaria thunbergii Miq. extract.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned into two groups based on the gender and orally administered 4.25 g/kg Fritillaria thunbergii Miq. extract for each individual pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and excretion study.

RESULTS

Compared with female rats, peimine and peiminine were eliminated slowly from male rat plasma, and significant gender-related differences were observed in the pharmacokinetic parameters. Drug blood and tissue levels in male rats were significantly higher than the female counterparts except for several tissues, such as fat, muscle and skin. Gender also exerted a significant influence on the urine excretion but such effect was not observed in the feces excretion study.

CONCLUSIONS

Gender exerted a significant influence on the pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and urine excretion of peimine and peiminine. It is assumed that the sex-associated differences of peimine and peiminine in rats might be mainly result from sex-dependent expression and activity of drug metabolism enzymes and P-glycoprotein.

Benefits of whole ginger extract in prostate cancer

It is appreciated far and wide that increased and regular consumption of fruits and vegetables is linked with noteworthy anticancer benefits. Extensively consumed as a spice in foods and beverages worldwide, ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is an excellent source of several bioactive phenolics, including non-volatile pungent compounds such as gingerols, paradols, shogaols and gingerones. Ginger has been known to display anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiproliferative activities, indicating its promising role as a chemopreventive agent. Here, we show that whole ginger extract (GE) exerts significant growth-inhibitory and death-inductory effects in a spectrum of prostate cancer cells. Comprehensive studies have confirmed that GE perturbed cell-cycle progression, impaired reproductive capacity, modulated cell-cycle and apoptosis regulatory molecules and induced a caspase-driven, mitochondrially mediated apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells. Remarkably, daily oral feeding of 100 mg/kg body weight of GE inhibited growth and progression of PC-3 xenografts by approximately 56 % in nude mice, as shown by measurements of tumour volume. Tumour tissue from GE-treated mice showed reduced proliferation index and widespread apoptosis compared with controls, as determined by immunoblotting and immunohistochemical methods. Most importantly, GE did not exert any detectable toxicity in normal, rapidly dividing tissues such as gut and bone marrow. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the in vitro and in vivo anticancer activity of whole GE for the management of prostate cancer.

An impression on current developments in the technology, chemistry, and biological activities of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)

Ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is widely cultivated as a spice for its aromatic and pungent components. The essential oil and oleoresins from ginger are valuable products responsible for the characteristic flavor and pungency. Both are used in several food products such as soft beverages and also in many types of pharmaceutical formulations. More than 100 compounds have been reported from ginger, some of which are isolated and characterized, others are tentatively identified by GC-MS and / or LC-MS. [6]-Gingerol, the major gingerol in ginger rhizomes, has been found to possess many interesting pharmacological and physiological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and cardiotonic effects. Ginger is considered as "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) by Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA. Due to all these properties, ginger has gained considerable attention in developed countries in recent years, especially for its use in the treatment of inflammatory conditions. The present review is a persuasive presentation of the current information on processing, chemistry, biological activities, and medicinal uses of ginger. Further studies are required for the validation of the beneficial uses. Formulation for novel products and new usages may emerge in the years to come, based on the revealed results of various studies.

Examination of the pharmacokinetics of active ingredients of ginger in humans

Ginger extracts have been studied in various clinical trials for different indications. However, the pharmacokinetics of the ginger active constituents in human biological matrices is not well investigated. This study aims to develop a LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous measurement of 6-, 8-, and 10-gingerols and 6-shogaol and study their pharmacokinetics in human plasma and colon tissues. A sensitive LC-MS/MS method was established and validated with a low limit of quantification of 2-5 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day accuracy ranged from -7.3% to 10.4% and from -9.4% to 9.8%, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision ranged from 0.9% to 10.9% and from 2.0% to 12.4%, respectively. The glucuronide and sulfate metabolites of 6-, 8-, and 10-gingerols and 6-shogaol in plasma and colon tissues were quantified after hydrolysis with β-glucuronidase and sulfatase. After oral dosing of 2.0 g ginger extracts in human, free 10-gingerol and 6-shogaol were detected in plasma with peak concentrations (9.5 ± 2.2 and 13.6 ± 6.9 ng/mL, respectively) at 1 h after oral administration, but no free 6-gingerol and 8-gingerol were detected in plasma from 0.25 to 24 h. The peak concentrations of glucuronide metabolites of 6-, 8-, and 10-gingerols and 6-shogaol were 0.47 ± 0.31, 0.17 ± 0.14, 0.37 ± 0.19, and 0.73 ± 0.54 μg/mL at 1 h, respectively. The peak concentrations of the sulfate metabolites of 6-, 8-, and 10-gingerols and 6-shogaol were 0.28 ± 0.15, 0.027 ± 0.018, 0.018 ± 0.006, and 0.047 ± 0.035 μg/mL at 1 h, respectively. Very low concentrations (2-3 ng/mL) of 10-gingerol glucuronide and sulfate were found in colon tissues. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed that half-lives of these four analytes and their metabolites were 1-3 h in human plasma. No accumulation was observed for 6-, 8-, and 10-gingerols and 6-shogaol and their metabolites in both plasma and colon tissues after multiple daily dosing.

Ginger phytochemicals mitigate the obesogenic effects of a high-fat diet in mice: a proteomic and biomarker network analysis

SCOPE

Natural dietary anti-obesogenic phytochemicals may help combat the rising global incidence of obesity. We aimed to identify key hepatic pathways targeted by anti-obsogenic ginger phytochemicals fed to mice.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Weaning mice were fed a high-fat diet containing 6-gingerol (HFG), zerumbone (HFZ), a characterized rhizome extract of the ginger-related plant Alpinia officinarum Hance (high fat goryankang, HFGK) or no phytochemicals (high-fat control, HFC) for 6 wks and were compared with mice on a low-fat control diet (LFC). Increased adiposity in the HFC group, compared with the LFC group, was significantly (p<0.05) reduced in the HFG and HFGK groups without food intake being affected. Correlation network analysis, including a novel residuals analysis, was utilized to investigate relationships between liver proteomic data, lipid and cholesterol biomarkers and physiological indicators of adiposity. 6-Gingerol significantly increased plasma cholesterol but hepatic farnesyl diphosphate synthetase, which is involved in cholesterol biosynthesis was decreased, possibly by negative feedback. Acetyl-coenzyme A acyltransferase 1 and enoyl CoA hydratase, which participate in the β-oxidation of fatty acids were significantly (p<0.05) increased by consumption of phytochemical-supplemented diets.

CONCLUSION

Dietary ginger phytochemicals target cholesterol metabolism and fatty acid oxidation in mice, with anti-obesogenic but also hypercholesterolemic consequences.

Characterization of [6]-gingerol metabolism in rat by liquid chromatography electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

[6]-Gingerol is a structural analog of capsaicin, an agonist of the transient receptor potential channel vanilloid 1, which is known to have therapeutic properties for the treatment of pain and inflammation. A selective and sensitive quantitative method for the determination of [6]-gingerol by HPLC-ESI/MS/MS was developed. The method consisted of a protein precipitation extraction followed by analysis using liquid chromatography electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. The chromatographic separation was achieved using a Thermo 100 × 2.1 mm C(8) column combined with an isocratic mobile phase composed of acetonitrile, water and formic acid (80:20:0.1) at a flow rate of 250 μL/min. The mass spectrometer was operating in SRM mode and an analytical range set at 20-5000 ng/mL was used to construct a calibration curve in rat plasma. The interbatch precision (%CV) and accuracy (%NOM) observed were 2.9-10.8% and 98.1-102.1% in rat plasma. Similarly, precision and accuracy in rat liver microsomal suspension were also evaluated at nominal concentrations of 1, 25 and 100 μm; the precision (%CV) was <3.4% and the accuracy (%NOM) observed ranged from 89.7 to 109.4%. An in vitro metabolic stability study using rat liver microsomes was performed to determine intrinsic clearance of [6]-gingerol. The results show slow degradation with a T(1/2) of 163 min and relatively low intrinsic clearance suggesting that phase I metabolism may not be a major contributor of the drug clearance. Further analyses were performed to characterize in vitro and in vivo metabolites. Three main phase I metabolites and four phase II metabolites were identified by HPLC-MS/MS and HPLC-MSD TOF. However, the results suggest that glucuronidation of hydroxylated [6]-gingerol is the primary metabolite excreted in rat urine.

Characterization of constituents in Sini decoction and rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC/DAD/TOFMS) method was established to clarify the chemical composition of Sini decoction (SND) and rat plasma after oral administration of SND. With dynamic adjustment of fragmentor voltage in TOFMS, an efficient transmission of the ions was achieved to obtain the best sensitivity for providing the molecular formula for each analyte and abundant fragment ions for structural information. By accurate mass measurements within 5 ppm error for each molecular ion and subsequent fragment ions, 53 compounds including diterpenoid alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenoids and gingerol-related compounds were identified in SND. Major compounds identified from SND were further assigned in the three individual herbs. After oral administration of SND, 33 compounds and five metabolites in rat plasma were detected and identified by comparing and contrasting the compounds measured in SND with those in the plasma samples by HPLC/DAD/TOFMS. The results provided helpful chemical information for further pharmacology and active mechanism research on SND.

Molecular targets of [6]-gingerol: Its potential roles in cancer chemoprevention

A wide variety of phenolic compounds derived from spices possess potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and anticarcinogenic activities. [6]-gingerol (1-[4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl]-5-hydroxy-3-decanone) is the major pungent principle of ginger, with numerous pharmacological properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammation, and antitumor promoting properties. It could decrease inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) expression through suppression of I-kappaB alpha (IkappaBalpha) phosphorylation, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) nuclear translocation. Other antiproliferative mechanisms of [6]-gingerol include the release of Cytochrome c, Caspases activation, and increase in apoptotic protease-activating factor-1 (Apaf-1) as mechanism of apoptosis induction. Taken together, the chemopreventive potentials of [6]-gingerol present a promising future alternative to therapeutic agents that are expensive, toxic, and might even be carcinogenic.