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Zhang XY, Xia KR, Wang YN, Liu P, Shang EX, Liu CY, Liu YP, Qu D, Li WW, Duan JA, Chen Y, Zhang HQ. Unraveling the pharmacodynamic substances and possible mechanism of Trichosanthis Pericarpium in the treatment of coronary heart disease based on plasma pharmacochemistry, network pharmacology and experimental validation. J Ethnopharmacol 2024; 325:117869. [PMID: 38342153 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.117869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a chronic disease that seriously threatens people's health and even their lives. Currently, there is no ideal drug without side effects for the treatment of CHD. Trichosanthis Pericarpium (TP) has been used for several years in the treatment of diseases associated with CHD. However, there is still a need for systematic research to unravel the pharmacodynamic substances and possible mechanism of TP in the treatment of coronary heart. AIM OF THE STUDY The purpose of current study was to explore the pharmacodynamic substances and potential mechanisms of TP in the treatment of CHD via integrating network pharmacology with plasma pharmacochemistry and experimental validation. MATERIALS AND METHODS The effect of TP intervention in CHD was firstly assessed on high-fat diet combined with isoprenaline-induced CHD rats and H2O2-induced H9c2 cells, respectively. Then, the LC-MS was utilized to identify the absorbed components of TP in the plasma of CHD rats, and this was used to develop a network pharmacology prediction to obtain the possible active components and mechanisms of action. Molecular docking and immunohistochemistry were used to explore the interaction between TP and key targets. Subsequently, the efficacy of the active ingredients was investigated by in vitro cellular experiments, and their metabolic pathways in CHD rats were further analyzed. RESULTS The effects of TP on amelioration of CHD were verified by in vivo and in vitro experiments. Plasma pharmacochemistry and network pharmacology screened six active components in plasma including apigenin, phenylalanine, quercetin, linoleic acid, luteolin, and tangeretin. The interaction of these compounds with potential key targets AKT1, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and VEGFA were preliminarily verified by molecular docking. And immunohistochemical results showed that TP reduced the expression of AKT1, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and VEGFA in CHD rat hearts. Then cellular experiments confirmed that apigenin, phenylalanine, quercetin, linoleic acid, luteolin, and tangeretin were able to reduce the ROS level in H2O2-induced HUVEC cells and promote the migration and tubule formation of HUVEC cells, indicating the pharmacodynamic effects of the active components. Meanwhile, the metabolites of TP in CHD rats suggested that the pharmacological effects of TP might be the result of the combined effects of the active ingredients and their metabolites. CONCLUSION Our study found that TP intervention in CHD is characterized by multi-component and multi-target regulation. Apigenin, phenylalanine, linoleic acid, quercetin, luteolin, and tangeretin are the main active components of TP. TP could reduce inflammatory response and endothelial damage by regulating AKT1, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and VEGFA, reduce ROS level to alleviate the oxidative stress situation and improve heart disease by promoting angiogenesis to regulate endothelial function. This study also provides an experimental and scientific basis for the clinical application and rational development of TP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Yu Zhang
- Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Third Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210028, China
| | - Kai-Rou Xia
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, National and Local Collaborative Engineering Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization and Formulae Innovative Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Ya-Ni Wang
- Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Third Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210028, China
| | - Pei Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, National and Local Collaborative Engineering Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization and Formulae Innovative Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Er-Xin Shang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, National and Local Collaborative Engineering Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization and Formulae Innovative Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Cong-Yan Liu
- Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Third Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210028, China
| | - Yu-Ping Liu
- Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Third Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210028, China
| | - Ding Qu
- Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Third Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210028, China
| | - Wei-Wen Li
- Institute of Horticulture, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China
| | - Jin-Ao Duan
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, National and Local Collaborative Engineering Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization and Formulae Innovative Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Yan Chen
- Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Third Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210028, China.
| | - Huang-Qin Zhang
- Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Third Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210028, China.
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Zhao L, Qian S, Wang X, Si T, Xu J, Wang Z, Sun Q, Yang Y, Rong R. UPLC-Q-Exactive/MS based analysis explore the correlation between components variations and anti-influenza virus effect of four quantified extracts of Chaihu Guizhi decoction. J Ethnopharmacol 2024; 319:117318. [PMID: 37838293 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2023.117318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Chaihu Guizhi decoction (CGD) is a classic Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) prescription for the treatment of influenza and fever, composes of Bupleuri Radix (Chaihu), Cinnamomi Ramulus (Guizhi), Scutellariae Radix (Huangqin), Codonopsis Radix (Dangshen), Glycyrrhizae Radix Et Rhizoma Praeparata Cum Melle (Zhigancao), Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum (Fabanxia), Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens (Shengjiang), Paeoniae Radix Alba (Baishao) and Jujubae Fructus (Dazao) in the ratio of 12:4.5:4.5:4.5:3:6:4.5:4.5:4. The efficacy of TCM, if there are differences, depends on the different extraction methods and extracted components. AIM OF THE STUDY This study was to evaluate the anti-influenza virus effect of CGD extracts with different extraction methods, analyze the components and explore their correlation. MATERIALS AND METHODS CGD were prepared with four extraction methods respectively, the traditional decoction (TD), two steps alcohol-water extraction (AWE), alcohol reflux extraction (AE) and water reflux extraction (WE). Based on the influenza mouse model, the efficacy of anti-influenza virus in vivo of the four CGD extracts were evaluated with the therapeutic index of body weight, rectal temperature, lung index, thymus index and lung viral load of mice. The chemical components in four CGD extracts, and compounds absorbed in rats blood with prototypes or metabolites were identified by UPLC-Q-Exactive/MS. The partial least squares (PLS) method was used to explore the correlation between the components variation in CGD extracts and the comprehensive efficacy index. The potential effective components were further accessed by molecular docking. RESULTS Comparing with the other three extracts, AWE has the best anti-influenza effect. It could ameliorate the symptoms caused by influenza virus infection in mice, increase body weight and rectal temperature, reduce the lung index and virus load in lung tissue. 129, 144, 140 and 129 components were identified from TD, AWE, AE, and WE respectively. The identified components were mainly including flavonoids, terpenoids, organic acids, phenylpropanoids, amino acids, nucleosides, phenols, alkaloids, etc. 43 prototypes and 49 metabolites of CGD were detected in rat plasma after oral administration. Seven components, cinnamaldehyde, wogonoside, baicalin, baicalein, gallic acid, oroxylinA-7-O-glucuronide and coumarin, showed significant correlation with anti-influenza effects, all of which had good binding activity with NA, IL-6, STAT3, AKT1, EGFR and TNF. CONCLUSION Two steps alcohol-water extraction was optimal for CGD preparation. Cinnamaldehyde, wogonoside, oroxylinA-7-O-glucuronide, coumarin, gallic acid, baicalein and baicalin play a certain essential role in anti-influenza effects and may be taken as a potential maker compounds for quality evaluation of CGD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liangxin Zhao
- College of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250355, China
| | - Shensi Qian
- College of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250355, China
| | - Xu Wang
- College of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250355, China
| | - Tiantian Si
- College of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250355, China
| | - Jinke Xu
- Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinan, 250014, Shandong, China
| | - Zhengtao Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Compound Chinese Medicines, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Qihui Sun
- College of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250355, China.
| | - Yong Yang
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Antiviral Traditional Chinese Medicine in Shandong Province, Jinan, 250355, China; Experimental Center, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250355, China.
| | - Rong Rong
- College of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250355, China; Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Classical Theory, Ministry of Education, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250355, China.
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Zhou K, Lu D, You J, Liu T, Sun J, Lu Y, Pan J, Li Y, Liu C. Integrated plasma pharmacochemistry and network pharmacology to explore the mechanism of Gerberae Piloselloidis Herba in treatment of allergic asthma. J Ethnopharmacol 2022; 298:115624. [PMID: 35970314 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2022.115624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Gerberae Piloselloidis Herba (GPH), a commonly used traditional medicine in China, is derived from Gerbera piloselloides (Linn.) Cass. It is featured by its special bioactivities as antitussive, expectorant, anti-asthma, anti-bacterial, anti-tumor, uterine analgesia, and immunity-enhancing. With a long history of medication in ethnic minority areas in China, it is often used as an effective treatment for cough and sore throat as well as allergic asthma. Although our previous investigation also has discovered GPH performed effective treatment on allergic asthma, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY This research aims to reveal the pharmacological mechanism of GPH in the treatment for allergic asthma through combination of plasma pharmacology and network pharmacology. MATERIALS AND METHODS Firstly, the components of GPH in blood samples were identified using UHPLC- Q-Orbitrap HRMS. An interaction network of "compound-target-disease" was constructed based on the compounds confirmed in blood and on their corresponding targets of allergic asthma acquired from disease gene databases, predicting the possible biological targets and potential signal pathways of GPH with the network pharmacology analysis. Then, a molecular docking between the blood ingredients and the core targets was carried out using the Autodock Vina software. Subsequently, after establishing a mouse model with allergic asthma induced by ovalbumin (OVA), the effect of GPH on allergic asthma was evaluated by analyzing a series of indicators including behavior, lung pathological changes, inflammatory factors in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Finally, the key pathway and targets predicted by network pharmacology and molecular docking were further verified using Western blot analysis. RESULTS Eleven chemical constituents (such as arbutin, neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, etc.) were identified through the analysis of plasma samples, on which basis a total of 142 genes intersecting GPH and allergic asthma were collected by network pharmacology. After performing enrichment analysis of these genes in gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG), it was found that arbutin-related targets mainly focused on phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signal pathway, while luteolin and marmesin -related targets tended to locate at Interleukin-17 (IL-17) signal pathway. Meanwhile, the findings of molecular docking suggested that such components as arbutin, luteolin and marmesin entering into blood had good binding with the core targets related to PI3K/Akt and IL-17 pathways. In addition, GPH improved the OVA-induced asthma symptoms, the alveolar septa thickening and the infiltration of inflammatory cell around bronchi and bronchioles as well as reduced the levels of IgE, IL-8 and TNF-α in serum or BALF. Furthermore, GPH could inhibit the phosphorylation level of Akt and the expression of PI3K, an efficacy supported by the findings by way of Western blot which suggests that GPH in the treatment of allergic asthma was linked to PI3K/Akt signal pathway. CONCLUSION In this study, a comprehensive strategy to combine the UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS with network pharmacology was employed to clarify the mechanism of GPH against allergic asthma, a finding where GPH may inhibit PI3K/Akt signal pathway to protect mice from OVA-induced allergic asthma. This study provides a deeper understanding of the pharmacological mechanism of GPH in treatment of asthma, offering a scientific reference for further research and clinical application of GPH in terms of allergic asthma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM (Ministry of Education), Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550025, China
| | - Dingyan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM (Ministry of Education), Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, China
| | - Jingrui You
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM (Ministry of Education), Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550025, China
| | - Ting Liu
- Guizhou Provincial Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutics, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, China
| | - Jia Sun
- Guizhou Provincial Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutics, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, China
| | - Yuan Lu
- Guizhou Provincial Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutics, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, China
| | - Jie Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM (Ministry of Education), Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, China
| | - Yongjun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM (Ministry of Education), Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, China.
| | - Chunhua Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM (Ministry of Education), Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, China.
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Lin TF, Qiu JN, Zhang S, Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Sun M, Zhang JH, Liu B, Cheng FF, Jiang YY. Screening out the anti-insomnia components from Prunella vulgaris L. based on plasma pharmacochemistry combined with pharmacodynamic experiments and UPLC-MS/MS analysis. J Ethnopharmacol 2021; 279:114373. [PMID: 34181959 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2021.114373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Prunella vulgaris L. (P. vulgaris) is a medicinal plant belonging to the Labiatae family, and its dried spikes is called as Xiakucao in China, which is a common traditional Chinese medicine with the activities of clearing the liver and expelling fire, improving eyesight, dispersing nodules and detumescence. Modern pharmacological studies have proved that P. vulgaris has various pharmacological activities such as immunomodulatory, antiviral, antibacterial and anti-insomnia activities. AIMS OF THIS REVIEW P. vulgaris have been reported to have anti-insomnia effects. Nevertheless, the pharmacodynamic substance basis of this anti-insomnia effect is still unclear. The aim of this study was to identify the active components responsible for evoking the anti-insomnia effect of P. vulgaris and to evaluate its anti-insomnia effect. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, we proposed a method combined with pharmacodynamic experiments, extraction and enrichment of chemical components, and the plasma pharmacochemistry to screen out the anti-insomnia components of P. vulgaris. Firstly, the active eluted fraction of the ethanol extract was screened out based on pharmacodynamic tracing method, and then the chemical composition was analyzed systematically by UPLC-MS/MS. Thirdly, pharmacodynamic tracing method and silica gel column chromatography were employed to screen out the active fraction of 70% ethanol eluted fraction, and its bioactive components in vitro and in vivo were identified by UPLC-MS/MS. Finally, screening out the anti-insomnia components of P. vulgaris by comparing the difference between in vivo and in vitro components, and three potentially bioactive ingredients were validated experimentally. RESULTS It was confirmed that the fraction eluted with 70% ethanol from macroporous adsorption resin column was responsible for the anti-insomnia efficacy, and 55 compounds were identified or preliminarily identified. Then totally 9 compounds in vitro and 12 compounds in vivo from the active fraction of 70% ethanol eluted fraction were tentatively identified. Among them, mangiferin, rosmarinic acid and salviaflaside were the prototype components of P. vulgaris, which indicated that the three compounds might play the key role in the anti-insomnia activities. In vivo, compared to blank control group, the three compounds significantly shortened the sleeping latency and prolonged the sleeping time produced by pentobarbital sodium. CONCLUSIONS This study clarified that mangiferin, rosmarinic acid and salviaflaside were considered as the anti-insomnia components of P. vulgaris. This is the first study on screening out the active ingredients responsible for evoking the anti-insomnia effect of P. vulgaris. The three compounds of P. vulgaris may help develop one or more drugs to prevent or treat insomnia. Further investigations are recommended to define the mechanism of the anti-insomnia activity of P. vulgaris.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian-Feng Lin
- School of Chinese Pharmacy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China
| | - Jun-Na Qiu
- School of Chinese Pharmacy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China
| | - Shuang Zhang
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China
| | - Yan Zhang
- School of Chinese Pharmacy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China
| | - Yu Zhang
- School of Chinese Pharmacy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China
| | - Meng Sun
- School of Chinese Pharmacy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China
| | - Jin-Hua Zhang
- School of Chinese Pharmacy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China
| | - Bin Liu
- School of Chinese Pharmacy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China
| | - Fa-Feng Cheng
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China.
| | - Yan-Yan Jiang
- School of Chinese Pharmacy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China.
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Ying X, Liu M, Liang Q, Jiang M, Wang Y, Huang F, Xie Y, Shao J, Bai G, Luo G. Identification and analysis of absorbed components and their metabolites in rat plasma and tissues after oral administration of 'Ershiwuwei Shanhu' pill extracts by UPLC-DAD/Q-TOF-MS. J Ethnopharmacol 2013; 150:324-338. [PMID: 24012529 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2013.08.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2013] [Revised: 07/24/2013] [Accepted: 08/26/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE 'Ershiwuwei Shanhu' pill (ESP), a classical and famous prescription of traditional Tibetan medicine, has a long history of empirical clinical use for the treatment of cerebrovascular and neurological diseases, but the absence of scientific evidence for its effect restricted its clinical application and further development. MATERIALS AND METHODS The methodology of plasma pharmacochemistry was adopted to analyze the potentially bioactive components in ESP extracts. A method based on UPLC-DAD/Q-TOF-MS was established to identify herb components in ESP extracts and analyze the absorbed components of ESP and their metabolites in rat plasma, brain, heart, liver and kidney samples after oral administration of ESP extracts. RESULTS A total of 61 herb components were detected and identified in ESP extracts, while 35 absorbed components-including 19 prototype compounds and 16 metabolites-were discovered as potentially bioactive components in rat plasma and tissues by comparative analysis of the UV and MS chromatograms of ESP extracts, blank biosamples and dosed biosamples. CONCLUSIONS The potentially bioactive components of ESP extracts identified from rat plasma and tissues provide useful information for further study of the pharmacology and mechanism of action of ESP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuhui Ying
- College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, People's Republic of China; Analysis Center, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
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