A strategy for identifying effective and risk compounds of botanical drugs with LC-QTOF-MS and network analysis: A case study of Ginkgo biloba preparation

Global Profiling of the Antioxidant Constituents in Chebulae Fructus Based on an Integrative Strategy of UHPLC/IM-QTOF-MS, MS/MS Molecular Networking, and Spectrum-Effect Correlation

An integrative strategy of UHPLC/IM-QTOF-MS analysis, MS/MS molecular networking (MN), in-house library search, and a collision cross-section (CCS) simulation and comparison was developed for the rapid characterization of the chemical constituents in Chebulae Fructus (CF). A total of 122 Constituents were identified, and most were phenolcarboxylic and tannic compounds. Subsequently, 1,3,6-tri-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose, terflavin A, 1,2,6-tri-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose, punicalagin B, chebulinic acid, chebulagic acid, 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose, and chebulic acid, among the 23 common constituents of CF, were screened out by UPLC-PDA fingerprinting and multivariate statistical analyses (HCA, PCA, and OPLS-DA). Then, Pearson's correlation analysis and a grey relational analysis were performed for the spectrum-effect correlation between the UPLC fingerprints and the antioxidant capacity of CF, which was finally validated by an UPLC-DPPH• analysis for the main antioxidant constituents. Our study provides a global identification of CF constituents and contributes to the quality control and development of functional foods and preparations dedicated to CF.

The Potential of Ginkgo biloba as a Source of Biologically Active Compounds-A Review of the Recent Literature and Patents

Ginkgo biloba is a relict tree species showing high resistance to adverse biotic and abiotic environmental factors. Its fruits and leaves have high medicinal value due to the presence of flavonoids, terpene trilactones and phenolic compounds. However, ginkgo seeds contain toxic and allergenic alkylphenols. The publication revises the latest research results (mainly from 2018-2022) regarding the chemical composition of extracts obtained from this plant and provides information on the use of extracts or their selected ingredients in medicine and food production. A very important section of the publication is the part in which the results of the review of patents concerning the use of Ginkgo biloba and its selected ingredients in food production are presented. Despite the constantly growing number of studies on its toxicity and interactions with synthetic drugs, its health-promoting properties are the reason for the interest of scientists and motivation to create new food products.

Studies on Chemical Characterization of Ginkgo Amillaria Oral Solution and Its Drug–Drug Interaction With Piceatannol 3′-O-β-D-Glucopyranoside for Injection

Ginkgo Amillaria oral solution (GAO) is commonly used for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in China. Piceatannol-3′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside for injection (PGI) is mainly used for the prevention and treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular diseases. With the spread of cerebrovascular disease, the possibility of combining the two drugs has increased; however, there is no research on the drug–drug interaction (DDI) between these two medicines. In this paper, an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole–orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-Orbitrap MS) method was established to characterize the chemical constituents of GAO first; 62 compounds were identified or tentatively identified based on their retention time (RT), MS, and MS/MS data. Nine main compounds were determined by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-QQQ-MS). Furthermore, incubation with liver microsomes in vitro was fulfilled; the results showed that GAO had a significant inhibitory effect on UGT1A9 and UGT2B7 (p < 0.05), and PGI was mainly metabolized by UGT1A9. The identification results of in vivo metabolites of PGI showed that PGI mainly undergoes a phase II binding reaction mediated by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) and sulfotransferase (SULT) in vivo. Therefore, pharmacokinetic studies were performed to investigate the DDI between GAO and PGI. The results showed that the AUC (p < 0.05) and T_1/2 (p < 0.05) of PGI in vivo were significantly increased when administered together with GAO, whereas the CL was significantly decreased (p < 0.05). The exploration of in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that there was a DDI between GAO and PGI.

Integrated molecular networking strategy enhance the accuracy and visualization of components identification: A case study of Ginkgo biloba leaf extract

Molecular networking (MN) is an efficient tool for natural product research. However, single MN might lead to false annotation due to the limited information, and the importance of combining MN with chromatogram is always ignored. In this study, we proposed a comprehensive MN strategy combining feature-based molecular networking (FBMN) and dual ionization mode MS/MS to improve the annotation accuracy and to achieve structural feature visualization in a chemotaxonomic chromatogram. Three steps were taken: (1) employing FBMN and dual ionization mode MS/MS to distinguish isomers and improve components' identification accuracy. (2) Using a 3-level initiative supported by in-house database to evaluate the annotation confidence. As a result, 95 compounds were successfully identified from Ginkgo biloba leaf extract (GBE) and Ginkgo biloba leaf (GBL), and 70 compounds mainly consisting of flavonoid glycosides, ginkgolides, and lignan glycosides were assigned as high-confidence molecules. (3) Building color-dependent chemotaxonomic chromatograms, to achieve component visualization by connecting FBMN with chromatogram in which the peaks of the same color indicated the compounds with similar structural features. Our research provided a new and efficient strategy for component identification and visualization of herbal medicine.

A preparation of Ginkgo biloba L. leaves extract inhibits the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons in post-stroke mice via regulating the expression of Bax/Bcl-2 and Caspase-3

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Shuxuening injection (SXNI) is a Chinese medicine of Ginkgo biloba L. leaves extract (GBE), which is widely used clinically for cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and myocardial infarction, but the pharmacological mechanism of its therapeutic effect is not fully understood.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Preclinical studies suggested that inhibition of neuronal apoptosis effectively improves brain damage after ischemic stroke. The purpose of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of SXNI on neuronal apoptosis in post-stroke mice and its underlying mechanism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A mouse cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) model was constructed by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and treated with 3 mL/kg SXNI. TUNEL and immunohistochemistry experiments were performed on brain slices on the 7th day after stroke. The protein was extracted from the hippocampus region of the brain for western-blot assay. To simulate the in vivo ischemia-reperfusion process, the hippocampal neuron cell line HT-22 was subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) in vitro, and 200 μg/mL SXNI was administered. The HT-22 cells were then studied by RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry.

RESULTS

In vivo, SXNI treatment significantly reduced hippocampal neuronal apoptosis. Immunohistochemistry showed that SXNI inhibited the activation of Caspase-3 protein in the hippocampus after ischemic stroke. Western blot analysis further confirmed that SXNI regulated the expression of the antagonizing protein pair Bax and Bcl-2 to exert anti-apoptotic effect in addition to reducing the expression of Cleaved-Caspase-3 in the hippocampus. In vitro, 200 μg/mL SXNI treatment significantly improved HT-22 apoptosis caused by OGD/R. Further RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry study showed that 200 μg/mL SXNI inhibited apoptosis of hippocampal neurons by regulating the mRNA and protein expressions of apoptotic molecules Bax, Bcl-2 and Caspase-3.

CONCLUSIONS

CIRI can induce hippocampal neuronal apoptosis, which is inhibited by SXNI via regulating Bax/Bcl-2 and blocking Caspase-3 activation. Therefore, SXNI may be a promising treatment strategy to improve the prognosis of ischemic stroke.

Recovery of post-stroke cognitive and motor deficiencies by Shuxuening injection via regulating hippocampal BDNF-mediated Neurotrophin/Trk Signaling

A mild ischemic stroke may cause both debilitating locomotor and cognitive decline, for which the mechanism is not fully understood, and no therapies are currently available. In this study, a nonfatal stroke model was constructed in mice by a modified middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) procedure, allowing an extended recovery period up to 28 days. The extended MCAO model successfully mimicked phenotypes of a recovery phase post-stroke, including locomotor motor and cognitive deficiencies, which were effectively improved after Shuxuening injection (SXNI) treatment. Tissue slices staining showed that SXNI repaired brain injury and reduced neuronal apoptosis, especially in the hippocampus CA3 region. Transcriptomics sequencing study revealed 565 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the ischemic brain after SXNI treatment. Integrated network pharmacological analysis identified Neurotrophin/Trk Signaling was the most relevant pathway, which involves 15 key genes. Related DEGs were further validated by RT-PCR. Western-blot analysis showed that SXNI reversed the abnormal expression of BDNF, TrkB, Mek3 and Jnk1after stroke. ELISA found that SXNI increased brain level of p-Erk and Creb. At sub-brain level, the expression of BDNF and TrkB was decreased and GFAP was increased on the hippocampal CA3 region in the post-stroke recovery phase and this abnormality was improved by SXNI. In vitro experiments also found that oxygen glucose deprivation reduced the expression of BDNF and TrkB, which was reversed by SXNI. In summary, we conclude that SXNI facilitates the recovery of cognitive and locomotor dysfunction by modulating Neurotrophin/Trk Signaling in a mouse model for the recovery phase of post-ischemic stroke.