The analysis of active compounds in Flos Chrysanthemi Indici by UHPLC Q exactive HF hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap MS and comprehensive quality assessment of its preparation

Comprehensive quality control of silkworm chrysalis using chemical fingerprints combined with antioxidant activity and acetylcholine content

In recent years, some insects have become foods due to their high nutritional value. In order to solve the problem of the lack of quality control methods for insect foods, this study proposes a comprehensive control model using silkworm chrysalis (SC) as an example. Firstly, five-wavelength mean fusion fingerprints (FWMFF) and UV quantum fingerprints of 21 batches of SC were established. And the 21 batches of SC were classified into different grades from different perspectives by using the comprehensive linear quantified fingerprint method (CLQFM) as a quality evaluation method for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Secondly, this paper fully considered the issue of the reliability of fingerprint evaluation, which guaranteed the accuracy of the evaluation results. On this basis, the antioxidant capacity of the samples was used in vitro 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazylradical (DPPH) scavenging assay using IC50. The relationship between fingerprints and antioxidant activity was also discussed. Finally, the content of endogenous neurotransmitter (ACh) in SC determined by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) in the range of 0.25-2.11μg/g. Overall, the present study proposes a comprehensive quality control strategy for functional foods based on the quality assessment of SC.

In vitro simulated saliva, gastric, and intestinal digestion followed by faecal fermentation reveals a potential modulatory activity of Epimedium on human gut microbiota

Herba Epimedii, known for its rich array of bioactive ingredients and widespread use in ethnopharmacological practices, still lacks a comprehensive understanding of its gastrointestinal biotransformation. In this study, we qualitatively explored the dynamic changes in Epimedium sagittatum components during in vitro simulated digestions, with a quantitative focus on its five major flavonoids. Notably, significant metabolism of E. sagittatum constituents occurred in the simulated small intestinal fluid and colonic fermentation stages, yielding various low molecular weight metabolites. Flavonoids like kaempferol glycosides were fully metabolized in the simulated intestinal fluid, while hyperoside digestion occurred during simulated colon digestion. Colonic fermentation led to the production of two known bioactive isoflavones, genistein, and daidzein. The content and bioaccessibility of the five major epimedium flavonoids-icariin, epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C, and baohuoside I-significantly increased after intestinal digestion. During colon fermentation, these components gradually decreased but remained incompletely metabolized after 72 h. Faecal samples after E. sagittatum fermentation exhibited shift towards dominance by Lactobacillus (Firmicutes), Bifidobacterium (Actinobacteria), Streptococcus (Firmicutes), and Dialister (Firmicutes). These findings enhance our comprehension of diverse stages of Herba Epimedii constituents in the gut, suggesting that the primary constituents become bioaccessible in the colon, where new bioactive compounds may emerge.

Integrated serum pharmacochemistry and investigation of the anti-influenza A virus pneumonia effect of Qingjin Huatan decoction

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Qingjin Huatan Decoction (QJHTT) consists of 11 herbal medicines: Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, Gardenia jasminoides J. Ellis, Platycodon grandiflorus (Jacq.) A. DC., Ophiopogon japonicus (Thunb.) Ker Gawl., Morus alba L., Fritillaria thunbergii Miq., Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge, Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim., Citrus reticulata Blanco, Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. As a traditional Chinese medicinal formula, QJHTT has been used for more than 400 years in China. It has shown promising results in treating influenza A virus (IAV) pneumonia.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To elusive the specific pharmacological constituents and mechanisms underlying its anti-IAV pneumonia effects.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The components in QJHTT were analyzed through the use of a serum pharmacology-based ultra high-performance liquid chromatography Q- Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q Exactive Orbitrap-MS) method. Simultaneously, the dynamic changes in IAV-infected mouse lung viral load, lung index, and expression of lung inflammation factors were monitored by qRT-PCR.

RESULTS

We successfully identified 152 chemical components within QJHTT, along with 59 absorbed chemical prototype constituents found in the serum of mice treated with QJHTT. 43.45% of these chemical components and 43.10% of the prototype constituents were derived from the monarch drugs, namely Huangqin and Zhizi, aligning perfectly with traditional Chinese medicine theory. Notably, our analysis led to the discovery of 14 compounds within QJHTT for the first time, three of which were absorbed into the bloodstream. Simultaneously, we observed that QJHTT not only reduced the viral load but also modulated the expression of inflammation factors in the lung tissue including TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ, and IL17A. A time-effect analysis further revealed that QJHTT intervention effectively suppressed the peak of inflammatory responses, demonstrating a robust anti-IAV pneumonia effect.

CONCLUSIONS

We comprehensively analyzed the pharmacological material basis of QJHTT by a highly sensitive and high-resolution UHPLC-Q Exactive Orbitrap-MS method, and demonstrated its efficacy in combating IAV pneumonia by reducing lung viral load and inflammatory factors. This study has significant importance for elucidating the pharmacological basis and pharmacological mechanism of QJHTT in combating IAV pneumonia.

An Efficient Workflow for Quality Control Marker Screening and Metabolite Discovery in Dietary Herbs by LC-Orbitrap-MS/MS and Chemometric Methods: A Case Study of Chrysanthemum Flowers

LC-MS is widely utilized in identifying and tracing plant-derived food varieties but quality control markers screening and accurate identification remain challenging. The adulteration and confusion of Chrysanthemum flowers highlight the need for robust quality control markers. This study established an efficient workflow by integrating UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS/MS with Compound Discoverer and chemometrics. This workflow enabled the systematic screening of 21 markers from 10,540 molecular features, which effectively discriminated Chrysanthemum flowers of different species and cultivars. The workflow incorporated targeted and untargeted methods by employing diagnostic product ions, fragmentation patterns, mzCloud, mzVault, and in-house databases to identify 206 compounds in the flowers, including 17 screened markers. This approach improved identification accuracy by reducing false positives, eliminating in-source fragmentation interference, and incorporating partial verification utilizing our established compound bank. Practically, this workflow can be instrumental in quality control, geolocation determination, and varietal tracing of Chrysanthemum flowers, offering prospective use in other plant-derived foods.

Establishing an integrated, four-dimensional quality assessment system for traditional Chinese medicine: A case study of Shuanghuanglian oral liquid

The quality of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is the premise to ensure its safety and effectiveness in clinical application. In this study, a complete quality control system for four-dimensional fingerprinting of TCM was innovatively constructed based on multiple detection techniques, and the quality of Shuanghuanglian oral liquid (SHL) was evaluated. Electrochemical fingerprinting (ECFP) as an emerging method without pretreatment provides rich and quantifiable information for SHL samples. The first quantitative ECFP of SHL was developed by the B-Z oscillation system. Eight characteristic parameters were analyzed and a good linear relationship was found between the oscillation lifetime and sample volume, by which the calculated values of the added sample volume (VL) showed different fluctuations between samples. What is more, high-performance liquid chromatography five-wavelength fusion fingerprint (HPLC-FWFP), GC fingerprint (GC-FP), and UV quantum fingerprint (UV-QFP) was established. Meanwhile, the purity of the peaks of the HPLC-FWFP was verified by the dual-wavelength absorption coefficient ratio spectrum (DWAR). Equal weighted ratio quantitative fingerprinting method (EWRQFM) was successfully proposed to extract all potential features for the overall quality assessment of the samples. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation strategy was proposed, namely the variation coefficient weighting algorithm (VCWA). The results of qualitative and quantitative evaluation of HPLC-FWFP, GC-FP, electrochemical quantum fingerprints (EC-QFP), and UV-QFP were integrated by this method. The established evaluation system is also a suitable strategy to control the quality of other TCM preparations.

Rapid analysis of the chemical constituents in Qiangli Dingxuan tablets using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

Qiangli Dingxuan (QLDX) tablet is a widely recognized traditional Chinese medicine formula that has been extensively used in China for decades to treat vertigo, tinnitus, and dizziness owing to its outstanding therapeutic outcomes. However, the complexity of the chemical components in this tablet makes it challenging to separate and identify these components. This study presented an effective and sensitive strategy for the rapid separation and simultaneous structural identification of QLDX tablet components using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry and the UNIFI platform. Based on retention times, accurate masses, fragment ions, related literature, and authentic standards, 119 compounds were identified or tentatively characterized; these included 9 iridoids, 12 lignans, 21 phenylpropanoids, 27 flavonoids, 7 phthalides, and 43 others. Among them, 36 were confirmed using reference standards. The representative compounds with various chemical structures were studied by analyzing their fragmentation patterns and characteristic ions. In conclusion, this study established a rapid approach for characterizing the chemical constituents in QLDX tablet. The proposed approach provides a basis for qualitative analysis and quality control in the manufacturing process and is beneficial for advancing investigations into the efficacy and mechanism of action of this tablet.

Dual control system for comprehensive evaluation of quality consistency of herbal preparations

This study was undertaken to establish an integrated quality control method based on the fingerprint of different testing instruments and a four-dimensional antioxidant activity profile. Firstly, the comprehensive ratio quantitative fingerprint method was used to rapidly calculate the similarity of GC fingerprint, UV-vis quantized fingerprint, HPLC fingerprint and ATR-FT-IR quantized fingerprint. In addition, a comprehensive evaluation strategy was proposed using the variation coefficient weighting algorithm, incorporating four complementary inputs, to achieve highly accurate analysis. At the same time, multi-markers assay by monolinear method was used for the first time for the quantitative analysis of multiple components. Based on this, the fingerprint-efficacy relationship was investigated, and substances that might be biologically active and the wavelength range of their distribution were predicted using the online-HPLC-DPPH-FIA method in conjunction with a PLS model built from individual and combined data matrices. The results showed that all 20 batches of samples were within 1-3 grades, with good quality consistency. According to index E, the samples' overall antioxidant capacity was also highly correlated with the year of production. The four-dimensional antioxidant activity profile also led to the conclusion that variations in antioxidant characteristics were caused by differences in the concentration and volatility of particular bioactive chemicals. Finally, mid-level data fusion produced better classification results than a single technique, further demonstrating the synergistic effects that may occur when the four types of data were combined. This study demonstrated that the combination of GC, UV-vis, ATR-FT-IR and HPLC can be used for the consistency control of herbal preparations and can elucidate the potential in predicting the antioxidant capacity of herbal preparations.

Chemical Antioxidant Quality Markers of Chrysanthemum morifolium Using a Spectrum-Effect Approach

Traditionally, the quality evaluation of Chrysanthemum morifolium (CM) cv. (Juhua) attributes its habitats and processing methods, however, this strategy of neglecting bioactive ingredients usually results in deviation of quality evaluation. This study aims to explore the quality marker (Q-marker) based on spectrum-effect relationship and quality control strategy of CMs. The chromatographic fingerprint of 30 flower head samples of CMs from five different habitats including Hang-baiju, Gongju, Huaiju, Taiju and Boju were constructed by high performance liquid chromatography and analyzed through chemometrics methods such as similarity analysis (SA), cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA). The common peaks were quantified by external standard method and relative correction factor method. The in-vitro radical scavenging capacity assays of DPPH·, ·OH and ABTS were carried out. The Q-marker was explored by the correlation analysis between the contents of common peaks and in-vitro radical scavenging capacity, and then used to evaluate the quality of 30 flower head samples of CMs. A total of eight common peaks were appointed in 30 flower head samples of CMs, and their similarities ranged from 0.640 to 0.956. CA results showed that 30 flower head samples of CMs could be divided into five categories with reference to the Euclidean distance of 5. PCA results showed that common peaks played a major role in differential contribution of CMs. The quantification of common peaks hinted that their contents possessed significant variation whether for different accessions or the same accessions of CMs. The correlation analysis showed that chlorogenic acid, 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, unknown peak 1, 4,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside could be used as the Q-markers for the quality evaluation of 30 flower head samples of commercially available CMs. The analysis strategy that combines chromatographic fingerprint analysis, multiple ingredients quantification, in-vitro chemical anti-oxidant activity evaluation and spectrum-effect relationship analysis clarified the therapeutic material basis and discovered the Q-markers, which possibly offers a more comprehensive quality assessment of CMs.