Simultaneous determination and pharmacokinetic study of stachydrine and leonurine in rat plasma after oral administration of Herba Leonuri extract by LC-MS/MS

Stachydrine, a potential drug for the treatment of cardiovascular system and central nervous system diseases

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally and poses at significant challenge in terms of effective medical treatment. Leonurus japonicus Houtt, a traditional Chinese herb, is widely used in China for the treatment of obstetrical and gynecological disorders, including menstrual disorders, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, blood stasis, postpartum bleeding, and blood-related diseases such as CVD. Stachydrine, the main alkaloid component of Leonurus, has been shown to exhibit a wide range of biological activities including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-coagulant, anti-apoptotic, vasodilator, angiogenic promoter. Additionally, it has been demonstrated to have unique advantages in the prevention and treatment of CVD through regulation of various disease-related signaling pathways and molecular targets. In this comprehensive review, we examine the latest pharmacological effects and molecular mechanisms of Stachydrine in treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Our aim is to solid scientific basis for the development of new CVD drug formulations.

Natural products in drug discovery and development: Synthesis and medicinal perspective of leonurine

Natural products, those molecules derived from nature, have been used by humans for thousands of years to treat ailments and diseases. More recently, these compounds have inspired chemists to use natural products as structural templates in the development of new drug molecules. One such compound is leonurine, a molecule isolated and characterized in the tissues of Herb leonuri. This molecule has received attention from scientists in recent years due to its potent anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory properties. More recently researchers have shown leonurine to be useful in the treatment of cardiovascular and nervous system diseases. Like other natural products such as paclitaxel and artemisinin, the historical development of leonurine as a therapeutic is very interesting. Therefore, this review provided an overview of natural product discovery, through to the development of a potential new drug. Content will summarize known plant sources, the pathway used in the synthesis of leonurine, and descriptions of leonurine’s pharmacological properties in mammalian systems.

Stachydrine exhibits a novel antiplatelet property and ameliorates platelet-mediated thrombo-inflammation

BACKGROUND

Platelets are versatile anucleate cells involved in thrombosis as well as inflammation. Stachydrine (STA), a major bioactive compound extracted from Motherwort, has multiple pharmacological properties. Nevertheless, the significance of STA in platelet regulation and whether STA could ameliorate platelet-mediated thrombo-inflammation still remain elusive.

METHODS

Human platelets were used to assess the regulatory effects of STA on platelet activation and interactions with neutrophils in vitro. FeCl₃ injury-induced carotid/mesenteric thrombosis and collagen/epinephrine-induced pulmonary thromboembolism model were used to explore whether STA could regulate thrombosis in vivo. Furthermore, a cecal ligation and puncture-induced sepsis model was employed to investigate the role of STA in thrombo-inflammatory diseases.

RESULTS

STA markedly suppressed platelet activation represented by aggregation, secretion, αIIbβ3-mediated signaling events and calcium mobilization, etc. by inhibiting agonists-induced activation signaling and potentiating cGMP-dependent inhibitory signaling. Mice receiving STA-treated platelets were less susceptible to thrombosis in vivo. In addition, decreased platelet-neutrophil interactions including platelet-neutrophil aggregates and neutrophil extracellular traps, and alleviative sepsis-induced multiorgan damage were observed due to STA-mediated platelet inhibition.

CONCLUSION

This study suggested the potential therapeutic role of STA in thrombotic and thrombo-inflammatory disorders.

An UPLC-MS/MS Method for Simultaneous Quantification of the Components of Shenyanyihao Oral Solution in Rat Plasma

Objectives

To study the quantification of the components in rat plasma after oral administration of Shenyanyihao oral solution.

Methods

Shenyanyihao oral solution has been traditionally used for the treatments of chronic nephritis in clinics. Stachydrine, Danshensu, chlorogenic acid, protocatechuic acid, plantamajoside, aesculetin, isoquercitrin, ferulic acid, baicalin, and baicalein are regarded as the main compounds in Shenyanyihao oral solution. A sensitive, efficient, and precise UPLC-MS/MS method was established and validated for the quantification of the components in rat plasma after oral administration of Shenyanyihao oral solution.

Results

The main pharmacokinetic parameters of the components were acquired based on the analysis of the plasma sample by a noncompartmental method using the WinNonlin7.0 pharmacokinetic program. Danshensu, protocatechuic acid, isoquercitrin, and ferulic acid from Shenyanyihao oral solution were quickly absorbed, and their peak concentration occurred at less than 0.5 h. The pharmacokinetic parameter of the average t_1/2 from Danshensu was 3.91 h in rats, and it was the most rapid distribution and elimination among the components. In addition, the C_max of stachydrine and baicalin were revealed as the higher plasma concentrations in rats.

Conclusions

This pharmacokinetic study seems to be useful for a further clinical study of Shenyanyihao oral solution in the treatments of chronic nephritis.

Targeted ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric quantification of methylated amines and selected amino acids in biofluids

RATIONALE

Methylated amino compounds and basic amino acids are important analyte classes with high relevance in nutrition, physical activity and physiology. Reliable and easy quantification methods covering a variety of metabolites in body fluids are a prerequisite for efficient investigations in the field of food and nutrition.

METHODS

Targeted ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric (UHPLC/MS) analysis was performed using HILIC separation and timed ESI-MRM detection, combined with a short sample preparation. Calibration in urine and blood plasma was achieved by matrix-matched standards, isotope-labelled internal standards and standard addition. The method was fully validated and the performance was evaluated using a subset from the Karlsruhe Metabolomics and Nutrition (KarMeN) study.

RESULTS

Within this method, a total of 30 compounds could be quantified simultaneously in a short run of 9 min in both body fluids. This covers a variety of free amino compounds which are present in very different concentrations. The method is easy, precise and robust, and has a broad working range. As a proof of principle, literature-based associations of certain metabolites with dietary intake of respective foods were clearly confirmed in the KarMeN subset.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the method turned out to be well suited for application in nutrition studies, as shown for the example of food intake biomarkers in KarMeN. Application to a variety of questions such as food-related effects or physical activity will support future studies in the context of nutrition and health.

A review of pharmacological and pharmacokinetic properties of stachydrine

Stachydrine is extracted from the leaves of Leonurus japonicus Houtt (or Motherwort, "Yi Mu Cao" in Traditional Chinese Medicine) and is the major bioactive ingredient. So far, stachydrine has demonstrated various bioactivities for the treatment of fibrosis, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, uterine diseases, brain injuries, and inflammation. The pharmacological and pharmacokinetic properties of stachydrine up to 2019 have been comprehensively searched and summarized. This review provides an updated summary of recent studies on the pharmacological activities of stachydrine. Many studies have demonstrated that stachydrine has strong anti-fibrotic properties (on various types of fibrosis) by inhibiting ECM deposition and decreasing inflammatory and oxidative stress through multiple molecular mechanisms (including TGF-β, ERS-mediated apoptosis, MMPs/TIMPs, NF-κB, and JAK/STAT). The cardioprotective and vasoprotective activities of stachydrine are related to its inhibition of β-MHC, excessive autophagy, SIRT1, eNOS uncoupling and TF, promotion of SERCA, and angiogenesis. In addition to its anticancer action, regulation of the uterus, neuroprotective effects, etc. the pharmacokinetic properties of stachydrine are also discussed.

Integrated Metabolomics and Network Pharmacology Approach to Explain Possible Action Mechanisms of Xin-Sheng-Hua Granule for Treating Anemia

As a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, Xin-Sheng-Hua Granule (XSHG) has been applied in China for more than 30 years to treat postpartum diseases, especially anemia. However, underlying therapeutic mechanisms of XSHG for anemia were still unclear. In this study, plasma metabolomics profiling with UHPLC-QTOF/MS and multivariate data method was firstly analyzed to discover the potential regulation mechanisms of XSHG on anemia rats induced by bleeding from the orbit. Afterward, the compound-target-pathway network of XSHG was constructed by the use of network pharmacology, thus anemia-relevant signaling pathways were dissected. Finally, the crucial targets in the shared pathways of metabolomics and network pharmacology were experimentally validated by ELISA and Western Blot analysis. The results showed that XSHG could exert excellent effects on anemia probably through regulating coenzyme A biosynthesis, sphingolipids metabolism and HIF-1α pathways, which was reflected by the increased levels of EPOR, F2, COASY, as well as the reduced protein expression of HIF-1α, SPHK1, and S1PR1. Our work successfully explained the polypharmcological mechanisms underlying the efficiency of XSHG on treating anemia, and meanwhile, it probed into the potential treatment strategies for anemia from TCM prescription.

Quality assessment of Herba Leonuri based on the analysis of multiple components using normal- and reversed-phase chromatographic methods

A novel, improved, and comprehensive method for quality evaluation and discrimination of Herba Leonuri has been developed and validated based on normal- and reversed-phase chromatographic methods. To identify Herba Leonuri, normal- and reversed-phase high-performance thin-layer chromatography fingerprints were obtained by comparing the colors and R_f values of the bands, and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography fingerprints were obtained by using an Agilent Poroshell 120 SB-C18 within 28 min. By similarity analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis, we show that there are similar chromatographic patterns in Herba Leonuri samples, but significant differences in counterfeits and variants. To quantify the bio-active components of Herba Leonuri, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography was performed to analyze syringate, leonurine, quercetin-3-O-robiniaglycoside, hyperoside, rutin, isoquercitrin, wogonin, and genkwanin simultaneously by single standard to determine multi-components method with rutin as internal standard. Meanwhile, normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography was performed by using an Agilent ZORBAX HILIC Plus within 6 min to determine trigonelline and stachydrine using trigonelline as internal standard. Innovatively, among these compounds, bio-active components of quercetin-3-O-robiniaglycoside and trigonelline were first determined in Herba Leonuri. In general, the method integrating multi-chromatographic analyses offered an efficient way for the standardization and identification of Herba Leonuri.