Identifying the intervention mechanisms of polydatin in hyperuricemia model rats by using UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap mass spectroscopy metabonomic approach

Introduction

Polydatin is a biologically active compound found in mulberries, grapes, and Polygonum cuspidatum, and it has uric acid-lowering effects. However, its urate-lowering effects and the molecular mechanisms underlying its function require further study.

Methods

In this study, a hyperuricemic rat model was established to assess the effects of polydatin on uric acid levels. The body weight, serum biochemical indicators, and histopathological parameters of the rats were evaluated. A UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry-based metabolomics approach was applied to explore the potential mechanisms of action after polydatin treatment.

Results

The results showed a trend of recovery in biochemical indicators after polydatin administration. In addition, polydatin could alleviate damage to the liver and kidneys. Untargeted metabolomics analysis revealed clear differences between hyperuricemic rats and the control group. Fourteen potential biomarkers were identified in the model group using principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis. These differential metabolites are involved in amino acid, lipid, and energy metabolism. Of all the metabolites, the levels of L-phenylalanine, L-leucine, O-butanoylcarnitine, and dihydroxyacetone phosphate decreased, and the levels of L-tyrosine, sphinganine, and phytosphingosine significantly increased in hyperuricemic rats. After the administration of polydatin, the 14 differential metabolites could be inverted to varying degrees by regulating the perturbed metabolic pathway.

Conclusion

This study has the potential to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms of hyperuricemia and demonstrate that polydatin is a promising potential adjuvant for lowering uric acid levels and alleviating hyperuricemia-related diseases.

Studies on effect of Tongfengxiaofang in HUM model mice using a UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF/MS metabolomic approach

Hyperuricemia (HUM) is a major risk factor for the development of gout. The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) complex prescription Tongfengxiaofang (TFXF) is composed of a variety of TCMs. To study the therapeutic effect of TFXF on HUM mice and the mechanisms by which it exerts a therapeutic effect, the biochemical indices were measured and qPCR technique was used. In addition, plasma metabolomics analysis was carried out based on UPLC-Q-TOF/MS to evaluate the characteristics of the metabolic spectrum changes. TFXF significantly downregulated the contents of uric acid, urea nitrogen and creatinine in serum and the concentration of xanthine oxidase in liver of HUM mice. In addition, TFXF significantly inhibited the overexpression of uric acid transporter 1 and glucose transporter 9 and upregulated the expression of organic anion transporter 1 in the kidney. A total of 152 metabolites were identified and 11 key biomarkers were further selected from these pathways to understand the mechanism of TFXF on the arginine biosynthesis, galactose metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, tryptophan metabolism and the citrate cycle (TCA cycle). The results of this confirmed the effect of TFXF on HUM and revealed the metabolic activity mechanism.

Revealing synergistic mechanism of multiple components in Stauntonia brachyanthera Hand.-Mazz. for gout by virtual screening and system pharmacological approach

Stauntonia brachyanthera Hand.-Mazz. (SB), reported as a traditional Chinese medicine, displays a wide spectrum of interesting bioactivities, such as anti-inflammatory and analgesia. It is noteworthy that anti-gout effects of the components in SB have been reported. Hence, this study contributes to the prediction of promising active compounds and mechanisms for the treatment of gout. The active compounds with better oral bioavailability, and drug-likeness of SB were selected for further investigation by the approach of network pharmacology, molecular docking, gene ontology (GO) analysis, and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, respectively. A total of 34 predicted targets and 98 compounds in SB were obtained. Sorted by structure types of compounds, phenylethanoid glycosides exhibited the best anti-gout activity, followed by phenolics and flavonoids. What's more, it was shown in the network analysis that Serine/threonine-protein kinase mTOR (mTOR), Mitogen-activated protein kinase 12 (MAPK12), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), Integrin alpha-4 (ITGA4) and Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit gamma (PIK3CG) were the key targets with intensely interaction, which should be attached more attention for further study. The functional enrichment analysis indicated that SB probably produced the anti-gout effects by synergistically regulating many biological pathways, such as MAPK signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway and NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, etc. In addition, C61, C67, C68 and C81 might be promising leading compounds with good molecular docking score. As a consequence, the active constituents and mechanisms based on data analysis were holistically illuminated, which was of vital importance to the development of new drugs for gout.

Preparation of two-dimensional magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers based on boron nitride and a deep eutectic solvent for the selective recognition of flavonoids

Two-dimensional (2D) boron nitride (BN) were developed as a 2D scaffold material in preparation of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs).

Identification of absorbed constituents and evaluation of the pharmacokinetics of main compounds after oral administration of yindanxinnaotong by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and UPLC-QqQ-MS

Yindanxinnaotong capsule (YDXNT), a traditional Chinese formula, has been used to treat cardio-cerebrovascular diseases for several decades. Previous research has focused on evaluating the pharmacological properties and main compounds of YDXNT in vitro and in vivo. However, the multiple bioactive compounds in vivo remain poorly understood. In the present research, an integrative strategy using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS combined with UPLC-QqQ-MS was employed to detect the absorbed constituents and investigate the pharmacokinetics of main compounds in the plasma after oral administration of YDXNT. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was developed to detect the absorbed constituents and their metabolites in the plasma after oral administration in rats. A total of 52 constituents, including 44 prototype compounds and 8 metabolites, were identified or tentatively characterized. Then, nine main compounds (quercetin, isorhamnetin, kaempferol, ginkgolide A, ginkgolide B, ginkgolide C, bilobalide, tanshinone IIA, and salvianolic acid B) were chosen to further investigate the pharmacokinetic behavior of YDXNT using UPLC-QqQ-MS. The concentration of nine main constituents were in the range of 27.85–76.54 ng mL⁻¹. This research provides a systematic approach for rapid qualitative analysis of absorbed constituents and for evaluating the pharmacokinetics of the main ingredients of YDXNT following its oral administration. More importantly, this work provides key information on the identification of bioactive compounds and the clarification of their action mechanisms, as well as on the pharmacological actions of YDXNT.

Yindanxinnaotong capsule (YDXNT), a traditional Chinese formula, has been used to treat cardio-cerebrovascular diseases for several decades.