HPLC-DAD-ELSD Combined Pharmacodynamics and Serum Medicinal Chemistry for Quality Assessment of Huangqi Granule

Spectrum-Effect Relationship in Chinese Herbal Medicine: Current Status and Future Perspectives

The quality of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) directly impacts clinical efficacy and safety. Fingerprint technology is an internationally recognized method for evaluating the quality of CHM. However, the existing quality evaluation models based on fingerprint technology have blocked the ability to assess the internal quality of CHM and cannot comprehensively reflect the correlation between pharmacodynamic information and active constituents. Through mathematical methods, a connection between the "Spectrum" (fingerprint) and the "Effect" (pharmacodynamic data) was established to conduct a spectrum-effect relationship (SER) of CHM to unravel the active component information associated with the pharmacodynamic activity. Consequently, SER can efficiently address the limitations of the segmentation of chemical components and pharmacodynamic effect in CHM and further improve the quality evaluation of CHM. This review focuses on the recent research progress of SER in the field of CHM, including the establishment of fingerprint, the selection of data analysis methods, and their recent applications in the field of CHM. Various advanced fingerprint techniques are introduced, followed by the data analysis methods used in recent years are summarized. Finally, the applications of SER based on different research subjects are described in detail. In addition, the advantages of combining SER with other data are discussed through practical applications, and the research on SER is summarized and prospected. This review proves the validity and development potential of the SER and provides a reference for the development and application of quality evaluation methods for CHM.

Quality evaluation methods of chinese medicine based on scientific supervision: recent research progress and prospects

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is increasingly getting attention worldwide, as it has played a very satisfactory role in treating COVID-19 during these past 3 years, and the Chinese government highly supports the development of TCM. The therapeutical theory and efficacies of Chinese medicine (CM) involve the safety, effectiveness and quality evaluation of CM, which requires a standard sound system. Constructing a scientific and reasonable CM quality and safety evaluation system, and establishing high-quality standards are the key cores to promote the high-quality development of CM. Through the traditional quality control methods of CM, the progress of the Q-marker research and development system proposed in recent years, this paper integrated the research ideas and methods of CM quality control and identified effective quality parameters. In addition, we also applied these effective quality parameters to create a new and supervision model for the quality control of CM. In conclusion, this review summarizes the methods and standards of quality control research used in recent years, and provides references to the quality control of CM and how researchers conduct quality control experiments.

Simultaneous Determination and Pharmacokinetic Study of Six Components in Beagle Dog Plasma by UPLC-MS/MS after Oral Administration of Astragalus Membranaceus Aqueous Extract

Astragalus Membranaceus (AM) is widely applied in Chinese herbal compound formulas for treating various kinds of diseases. However, relative pharmacokinetics (PK) data on AM in non-rodents is still lacking. Here, an UPLC-MS/MS method for determining six main compounds of AM was developed. The chromatographic separation was carried out by a Waters Acquity UPLC HSS T3 column (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm) with gradient elution of water - formic acid (99.98:0.02, v/v), and acetonitrile - formic acid (99.98:0.02, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min within 11 min. Analyses of all compounds were conducted in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with a positive/negative (P/N) ion-switching mode of electrospray ionization (ESI) source in a single run. The analytical method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, stability, etc. The method showed excellent linearity (r > 0.999) over certain concentration ranges. The intra-day and inter-day precisions were evaluated, and the RSD values were less than 12.4%. Furthermore, the validated method was successfully applied to determine the six components in plasma after oral administration of AM aqueous extract to beagle dogs and obtained pharmacokinetic parameters. Together, this study provides a reference for medication in the clinical practice of AM.

RRLC-QTOF/MS-Based Metabolomics Reveal the Mechanism of Chemical Variations and Transformations of Astragali Radix as a Result of the Roasting Process

Astragali Radix (AR), which is extensively used as a healthy food supplement and medicinal herb, contains two forms of products corresponding to raw Astragalus Radix (RAR) and processed Astragali Radix (PAR), which was obtained by roasting. In this study, a non-targeted rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RRLC-Q/TOF-MS) based metabolomics approach was developed to investigate the chemical changes of AR due to roasting. A total of 63 compounds were identified or tentatively identified. Among them, 23 isoflavonoids (composed of 12 isoflavones, eight pterocarpans, and three isoflavans) and six cycloastragenols were characterized as differential metabolites. Heatmap visualization and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array and evaporative light scattering detector (HPLC–PDA-ELSD) quantitative analysis revealed that malonyl isoflavonoids or cycloastragenols were at higher levels in RAR. These might be converted to corresponding acetyl isoflavonoids and cycloastragenols and related isoflavonoid glycosides during roasting. To prove this prediction, chemical conversion experiments on malonyl isoflavonoids and cycloastragenols were performed to confirm and clarify the chemical transformation mechanism.

Major bioactive chemical compounds in Astragali Radix samples from different vendors vary greatly

The worldwide traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbs sales figures have increased considerably to 50 billion US$ (2018). Astragali Radix (AR) is amongst the most often sold TCM herbs; sales in the European Union (EU) need European Medicines Agency (EMA) approval. However, comparisons of characteristic bioactive molecules concentrations in AR from different EU vendors are lacking. This study uses liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with standard addition to evaluate the influence of different sample and preparation types and ammonia treatment on bioactive molecules concentrations in AR. We also compare AR samples from different EU-vendors. Astragaloside IV (AG-IV), ononin and calycosin 7-O-β-D-glucoside concentrations were higher in root powder samples when extracted with boiled water than with ultrasonication using 70% methanol. AG-IV content was by far the highest in granulates from vendor 1 (202 ± 35 μg/g) but very low in hydrophilic concentrates from vendor 1 (32 ± 7 μg/g) and granulates from vendor 4 (36 ± 3 μg/g). Ammonia-treatment significantly increased AG-IV concentrations in all samples (e.g., to 536 ± 178 μg/g in vendor 1 granulates). Comparable effects were found for most other bioactive molecules. AG-IV and other bioactive molecules concentrations differed strongly depending on sample types, extraction processes, ammonia treatment-or-not and especially between different vendors samples. Ammonia-treatment is debatable, as it is supposed to convert other astragalosides, to AG-IV. The results indicate that routine quantitative analysis of major bioactive compounds present in AR, helps in quality control of AR and to guarantee the quality of commercial products.

Quality Control of Radix Astragali (The Root of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus) Along Its Value Chains

Radix Astragali (RA), the root of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus (Bunge) P.K. Hsiao, known as "Huangqi" in Chinese, has been used as a traditional herbal medicine or food in China for more than 2,000 years and is now consumed globally. Unfortunately, the increasing demand for RA has led to the overexploitation of its wild stock, as well as quality problems, including adulteration and contamination. Therefore, the sustainable cultivation of RA is urgently needed. In the present research, semi-structured interviews and key informant interviews were conducted, over a 2-year period, to collect data from stakeholders in the main production areas; moreover, a targeted chemical analysis-based quality assessment strategy was applied to understand the quality of RA. Accordingly, 10 different types of value chains (VCs) were identified in RA production; meanwhile, the contents of the main active ingredients (astragaloside and calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside) were analyzed by HPLC-ELSD-UV and the yield of medicinal material was demined and further analyzed using k-means clustering analysis. The results show that the tight relationship between quality of the RA and stakeholders' revenues among the VCs, which reflects a more general trend in the production system. Over the past few decades, vertical coordination has emerged increasingly in VCs of RA, which leads to a more coherent traceability system and rigorous regulations in the supply chains. Daodi herbs can be considered to be a standard that is distinctive with good quality characteristics that emphasize the origins of the medicinal plants. We find that the suitability of geographical areas and vertical integration can improve the VCs of RA, which further contributes to its quality control, as well as its sustainable production.

Metabolomics analysis of serum reveals the effect of Danggui Buxue Tang on fatigued mice induced by exhausting physical exercise

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), believed to invigorate 'Qi' (vital energy) and nourish 'Blood' (body circulation), is a traditional Chinese medicine formula. In this study, a metabolomics approach with gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry combined with pattern recognition was adopted to investigate the underlying mechanism of the antifatigue effect of DBT on fatigue of mice induced by weight-loaded forced swimming. Fourteen endogenous metabolites, up-regulated or down-regulated, were identified in the model mice by analysis tools of partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and XCMS online software. Furthermore, the metabolites were reversed by DBT treatment, offering evidence for the antifatigue effect. In addition, intervention of DBT changed the levels of biochemical parameters. DBT showed obvious efficacy on the fatigued mice possibly by regulating the pathways of phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan metabolism, glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, and TCA cycle. This study demonstrated that DBT has a good antifatigue effect and that metabolomics is a powerful means to gain insights into the therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine formulas.