Characterization of the metabolites of irisflorentin by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole/orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry

Herbal textual research of Belamcanda chinensis (L.) redouté and screening of quality-markers based on 'pharmacodynamics-substance'

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Belamcanda chinensis (L.) Redouté is widely distributed in East Asia, such as China, Russia and North Korea. Belamcandae Rhizoma is the sun-dried rhizome of B. chinensis and has a long history of traditional medicinal use. It was first recorded in the Shennong's Herbal Classic, and has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, eliminating phlegm and benefiting the pharynx.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To systematically study the source of Belamcandae Rhizoma, summarize the evolution of its medicinal properties, efficacy and the application history of its prescriptions, summarize its biological activity, phytochemistry, synthetic metabolic pathway and toxicology, and screen the Quality-Markers of Belamcandae Rhizoma according to the screening principle of traditional Chinese medicine Quality-Markers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All information available on Belamcandae Rhizoma was collected using electronic search engines, such as Pubmed, Web of Science, CNKI, WFO (www.worldfloraonline.org), MPNS (https://mpsn.kew.org), Changchun University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Library collections, Chinese Medical Classics.

RESULTS

The source of Belamcandae Rhizoma is B. chinensis of Iridaceae. It has a long history of application in China. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, eliminating phlegm and promoting pharynx. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that it has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, anti-tumor and other physiological activities, and is safe and non-toxic at normal application doses. At present, tectoridin, iridin, tectorigenin, irigenin and irisflorentin are identified as the Quality-Markers of Belamcandae Rhizoma.

CONCLUSIONS

As a traditional Chinese medicine, Belamcandae Rhizoma has a long history of application, and multifaceted studies have demonstrated that Belamcandae Rhizoma is a promising Chinese medicine with good application prospects. By reviewing and identifying the Quality-Markers of Belamcandae Rhizoma, this study can help to establish the evaluation procedure of it on the one hand, and identify the shortcomings research on the other hand. Currently, there are few studies on the anabolism and toxicology of it, and future studies may focus on its in vivo processes, toxicology and adverse effects.

Probiotic-fermented tomato with hepatic lipid metabolism modulation effects: analysis of physicochemical properties, bioactivities, and potential bioactive compounds

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NCUH001046 (LP)-fermented tomatoes exhibited the potential to alleviate obesity in our previous study. This subsequent study further delves deeper into the effects of LP fermentation on the physicochemical properties, bioactivities, and hepatic lipid metabolism modulation of tomatoes, as well as the analysis of potential bioactive compounds exerting obesity-alleviating effects. Results showed that after LP fermentation, viable bacterial counts peaked at 9.11 log CFU mL-1 and sugar decreased, while organic acids, umami amino acids, total phenols, and total flavonoids increased. LP fermentation also improved the inhibition capacities of three digestive enzyme activities and Enterobacter cloacae growth, as well as antioxidant activities. Western blot results indicated that fermented tomatoes, especially live probiotic-fermented tomatoes (LFT), showed improved effects compared to unfermented tomatoes in reducing hepatic lipid accumulation by activating the AMPK signal pathway. UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS-based untargeted metabolomics analysis showed that chlorogenic acid, capsiate, tiliroside, irisflorentin, and homoeriodictyol levels increased after fermentation. Subsequent cell culture assays demonstrated that irisflorentin and homoeriodictyol reduced lipid accumulation via enhancing AMPK expression in oleic acid-induced hyperlipidemic HepG2 cells. Furthermore, Spearman's correlation analysis indicated that the five phenols were positively associated with hepatic AMPK pathway activation. Consequently, it could be inferred that the five phenols may be potential bioactive compounds in LFT to alleviate obesity and lipid metabolism disorders. In summary, these findings underscored the transformative potential of LP fermentation in enhancing the bioactive profile of tomatoes and augmenting its capacity to alleviate obesity and lipid metabolism disorders. This study furnished theoretical underpinnings for the functional investigation of probiotic-fermented plant-based foods.

Comparative metabolism of fargesin in human, dog, monkey, mouse, and rat hepatocytes

Fargesin, a bioactive lignan derived from Flos Magnoliae, possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-melanogenic, and anti-apoptotic effects. This study compared the metabolic profiles of fargesin in human, dog, monkey, mouse, and rat hepatocytes using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. In addition, we investigated the human cytochrome P450 (CYP), UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT), and sulfotransferase (SULT) enzymes responsible for fargesin metabolism. The hepatic extraction ratio of fargesin among the five species ranged from 0.59 to 0.78, suggesting that it undergoes a moderate-to-extensive degree of hepatic metabolism. During metabolism, fargesin generates three phase 1 metabolites, including fargesin catechol (M1) and O-desmethylfargesin (M2 and M3), and 11 phase 2 metabolites, including O-methyl-M1 (M4 and M5) via catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT), glucuronides of M1, M2, M4, and M5, and sulfates of M1-M5. The production of M1 from fargesin via O-demethylenation is catalyzed by CYP2C9, CYP3A4, CYP2C19, and CYP2C8 enzymes, whereas the formation of M2 and M3 (O-desmethylfargesin) is catalyzed by CYP2C9, CYP2B6, CYP2C19, CYP3A4, CYP1A2, and CYP2D6 enzymes. M4 is metabolized to M4 glucuronide by UGT1A3, UGT1A8, UGT1A10, UGT2B15, and UGT2B17 enzymes, whereas M4 sulfate is generated by multiple SULT enzymes. Fargesin is extensively metabolized in human hepatocytes by CYP, COMT, UGT, and SULT enzymes. These findings help to elucidate the pharmacokinetics and drug interactions of fargesin.

Glycine-Alanine Dipeptide Repeat Protein from C9-ALS Interacts with Sulfide Quinone Oxidoreductase (SQOR) to Induce the Activity of the NLRP3 Inflammasome in HMC3 Microglia: Irisflorentin Reverses This Interaction

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal rare disease of progressive degeneration of motor neurons. The most common genetic mutation in ALS is the hexanucleotide repeat expansion (HRE) located in the first intron of the C9orf72 gene (C9-ALS). HRE can produce dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs) such as poly glycine-alanine (GA) in a repeat-associated non-ATG (RAN) translation. GA-DPR has been shown to be toxic to motor neurons in various biological models. However, its effects on microglia involved in C9-ALS have not been reported. Here, we show that GA-DPR (GA50) activates the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in a human HMC3 microglia model. MCC950 (specific inhibitor of the NLRP3) treatment can abrogate this activity. Next, using yeast two-hybrid screening, we identified sulfide quinone oxidoreductase (SQOR) as a GA50 interacting protein. SQOR knockdown in HMC3 cells can significantly induce the activity of the NLRP3 inflammasome by upregulating the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species and the cytoplasmic escape of mitochondrial DNA. Furthermore, we obtained irisflorentin as an effective blocker of the interaction between SQOR and GA50, thus inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activity in GA50-expressing HMC3 cells. These results imply the association of GA-DPR, SQOR, and NLRP3 inflammasomes in microglia and establish a treatment strategy for C9-ALS with irisflorentin.

Potential herb‒drug interactions between anti-COVID-19 drugs and traditional Chinese medicine

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread worldwide. Effective treatments against COVID-19 remain urgently in need although vaccination significantly reduces the incidence, hospitalization, and mortality. At present, antiviral drugs including Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (Paxlovid^TM), Remdesivir, and Molnupiravir have been authorized to treat COVID-19 and become more globally available. On the other hand, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used for the treatment of epidemic diseases for a long history. Currently, various TCM formulae against COVID-19 such as Qingfei Paidu decoction, Xuanfei Baidu granule, Huashi Baidu granule, Jinhua Qinggan granule, Lianhua Qingwen capsule, and Xuebijing injection have been widely used in clinical practice in China, which may cause potential herb-drug interactions (HDIs) in patients under treatment with antiviral drugs and affect the efficacy and safety of medicines. However, information on potential HDIs between the above anti-COVID-19 drugs and TCM formulae is lacking, and thus this work seeks to summarize and highlight potential HDIs between antiviral drugs and TCM formulae against COVID-19, and especially pharmacokinetic HDIs mediated by metabolizing enzymes and/or transporters. These well-characterized HDIs could provide useful information on clinical concomitant medicine use to maximize clinical outcomes and minimize adverse and toxic effects.

Characterization and identification of the metabolites of dihydromethysticin by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry

Dihydromethysticin, a natural component from Piper methysticum Forst, has been reported to display pharmacological effects in mental disorders and some malignant tumors. However, the metabolism of this component remained unknown. The goal of this work was conducted to discover the metabolic profiles of dihydromethysticin. The in vitro incubation was performed by incubating dihydromethysticin with rat, monkey, and human liver microsomes and hepatocytes. An analytical assay of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography combined with Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry was utilized to detect and identify the metabolites. With high resolution mass spectrometric determination, the accurate mass, elemental composition, and product ions of the metabolites were determined, which enabled structural characterization to become easy. Under the present conditions, four phase-I metabolites, as well as six phase-II metabolites, were detected and their tentative structures were characterized by mass spectra. M4 was found as the most abundant metabolite both in liver microsomes and hepatocytes. Cytochrome P450 1A2, 2C9, and 3A4 contributed to the formation of this metabolite by using human recombinant P450 enzymes. M4 can be oxidized into reactive ortho-quinone intermediate followed by conjugating with glutathione. M4 was also subject to glucuronidation (M1 and M2) and methylation (M5). Demethylenation, oxidation, hydroxylation, glucuronidation, glutathionylation, and methylation were the primary metabolic pathways of dihydromethysticin. This study provides in vitro metabolism data of dihydromethysticin, which is indispensable for understanding the disposition of this compound.

Anti-Nociceptive and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of the Ethyl Acetate Extract of Belamcanda chinensis (L.) Redouté in Raw 264.7 Cells in vitro and Mouse Model in vivo

Purpose

Inflammation and accompanying pain is a common global health problem that seriously affects human quality of life worldwide. Here, we aimed to investigate the anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of the ethyl acetate extract of B. chinensis (EAEBc) along with the underlying mechanisms of action.

Methods

The in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of EAEBc was explored using an LPS-induced RAW264.7 cell inflammatory model. Nitric oxide (NO) production, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 levels were evaluated. In vivo anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of EAEBc were assessed with the aid of classical experimental mouse models. In addition, LPS-induced biomarker contents (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, NO, iNOS, and PGE2) and formalin-induced serum inflammatory factors (NO, PGE2, 5-HT, β-EP, substance P, and NE) were determined in mice.

Results

In vitro, EAEBc significantly reduced LPS-induced NO generation and suppressed the production of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in RAW264.7 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. In vivo, EAEBc downregulated serum TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, NO, iNOS, and PGE2 contents in mice with LPS-induced inflammation in a dose-dependent manner. EAEBc displayed anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan-induced paw edema and xylene ear edema tests. Intragastric administration of EAEBc at test doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg led to inhibition of nociception and capillary permeability induced by acetic acid to varying degrees. Similarly, EAEBc exerted analgesic effects in the formalin and hot plate tests. In particular, the administration of EAEBc reversed the changes in the levels of inflammatory indicators NO, PGE2, 5-HT, β-EP, substance P, and NE in a mouse model of formalin-induced pain.

Conclusion

Our findings provide considerable evidence to support the extensive application of B. chinensis in traditional medicine and demonstrate the utility of this plant species as an effective candidate for prevention or treatment of various pain and inflammation-related conditions.