Mass spectrometry imaging: new eyes on natural products for drug research and development.

Natural products (NPs) and their structural analogs represent a major source of novel drug development for disease prevention and treatment. The development of new drugs from NPs includes two crucial aspects. One is the discovery of NPs from medicinal plants/microorganisms, and the other is the evaluation of the NPs in vivo at various physiological and pathological states.

An integrated strategy for comprehensive characterization of metabolites and metabolic profiles of bufadienolides from Venenum Bufonis in rats.

Comprehensive characterization of metabolites and metabolic profiles in plasma has considerable significance in determining the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in vivo. However, this process is usually hindered by the insufficient characteristic fragments of metabolites, ubiquitous matrix interference, and complicated screening and identification procedures for metabolites. In this study, an effective strategy was established to systematically characterize the metabolites, deduce the metabolic pathways, and describe the metabolic profiles of bufadienolides isolated from Venenum Bufonis in vivo.

Simple and robust differentiation of Ganoderma species by high performance thin-layer chromatography coupled with single quadrupole mass spectrometry QDa.

In this study, a high performance thin-layer chromatography/single quadrupole mass spectrometry QDa (HPTLC-QDa) method for robust authentication of Ganoderma lucidum, a popular and valuable herbal medicine, has been developed. This method is simple and practical, which allows direct generation of characteristic mass spectra from the HPTLC plates automatically with the application of in situ solvent desorption interface. The HPTLC silica gel plates were developed with toluene-ethyl formate-formic acid (5 : 5 : 0.

[Quality evaluation of Salvianolate for Injection by quantitative analysis of multi-components with single-marker].

Developing high-quality standard is useful for promoting the quality of traditional Chinese medicine injections, which could be evaluated by establishing the comprehensive quality control method. A method for simultaneous determination of salvianolic acid B, rosmarinic acid and lithospermic acid in Salvianolate for Injection was developed for quantitative analysis of multi-components with single-marker(QAMS). ZORBAX Eclipse Plus C_(18) chromatographic column was adopted, with 0.

Active constituents and mechanisms of Respiratory Detox Shot, a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, for COVID-19 control and prevention: Network-molecular docking-LC-MS analysis.

Objective: Lung-toxin Dispelling Formula No. 1, referred to as Respiratory Detox Shot (RDS), was developed based on a classical prescription of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the theoretical understanding of herbal properties within TCM. Therapeutic benefits of using RDS for both disease control and prevention, in the effort to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), have been shown.

A novel neutral loss/product ion scan-incorporated integral approach for the untargeted characterization and comparison of the carboxyl-free ginsenosides from Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and Panax notoginseng.

Differentiated composition in precursor ions for different subclasses of ginsenosides in the negative electrospray-ionization mode has been reported, which lays a foundation for the sorted and untargeted identification of ginsenosides. Carboxyl-free ginsenosides simultaneously from Panax ginseng, P. quinquefolius, and P.

Simultaneous determination of resibufogenin and its eight metabolites in rat plasma by LC-MS/MS for metabolic profiles and pharmacokinetic study.

Background: Resibufogenin is one of the main active compounds of Venenum Bufonis and exhibits diverse pharmacological activities. It is brought into focus for its potency in heart failure and cancer therapy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish a convenient and effective method which was used to simultaneously determine the resibufogenin and its metabolites in rat plasma for further understanding the metabolic profiles of resibufogenin in vivo and pharmacokinetic study by LC-MS/MS.

Venenum bufonis: An overview of its traditional use, natural product chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and toxicology.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The animal medicine of Venenum Bufonis (VB), a product of the secretions of Bufo gargarizans Cantor or B. melanostictus Schneider, has long been used as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of sunstroke and faint, acute filthy disease - abdominal pain or vomiting and diarrhea, etc. AIM OF THE REVIEW: This review is aimed at providing the comprehensive and up-to-date information of VB as regards its ethnopharmacological uses, constituents and their metabolism, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology and toxicology, all of which could be used as fundamental data for future research as well as development of new drugs.

Exploring lipid markers of the quality of coix seeds with different geographical origins using supercritical fluid chromatography mass spectrometry and chemometrics.

Background: Lipids, a group of primary metabolites, could be used as quality markers of Traditional Chinese medicine.

Purpose: The present study was designed to develop a research method to explore lipid markers of the quality of coix seeds with different geographical origins.

Study Design: The geographical origins of coix seeds were divided into three regions based on the latitude.

Global profiling combined with predicted metabolites screening for discovery of natural compounds: Characterization of ginsenosides in the leaves of Panax notoginseng as a case study.

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) guided isolation is a favored strategy to quickly and efficiently explore the chemical diversity of herbal medicines. In this study, two methods were adopted to improve the performance of the strategy, including offline two-dimensional (2D) LC to extend the peak capacities and predicted metabolites screening (PMS) to automatically screen the targets with expanded databases. Ginsenosides in the leaves of Panax notoginseng (PNL) were taken as a case.

Green Quantification Strategy Combined with Chemometric Analysis for Triglycerides in Seeds Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Triglycerides are the primary constituents of some seed kernels used in traditional Chinese medicine. Quality control of seed kernels containing multiple components with an environmentally friendly method is indispensable for establishing their quality standards (called monographs) in pharmacopeia. Using coix seeds (Semen Coicis) as an example, a green quantification strategy was proposed by combining C core-shell particles with single standard to determine multicomponent technologies to quantify seven triglycerides simultaneously.

Anti-proliferation activity of terpenoids isolated from Euphorbia kansui in human cancer cells and their structure-activity relationship.

Euphorbia kansui is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of edema, pleural effusion, and asthma, etc. According to the previous researches, terpenoids in E. kansui possess various biological activities, e.

A feasible, economical, and accurate analytical method for simultaneous determination of six alkaloid markers in Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata from different manufacturing sources and processing ways.

Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (Fuzi) is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine in clinic for its potency in restoring yang and rescuing from collapse. Aconiti alkaloids, mainly including monoester-diterpenoidaconitines (MDAs) and diester-diterpenoidaconitines (DDAs), are considered to act as both bioactive and toxic constituents. In the present study, a feasible, economical, and accurate HPLC method for simultaneous determination of six alkaloid markers using the Single Standard for Determination of Multi-Components (SSDMC) method was developed and fully validated.

Development of specific and quantitative methods for the quality control of the polysaccharides from sea-tangle and sargassum.

Polysaccharides from numerous traditional Chinese medicines have been proven as the bioactive ingredients and are hence used as the quality control markers. However, the assessment criteria always show a poor specificity, due to the lack of systematic comparison among the analogous herbs. In the present study, two similar materials, namely sea-tangle and sargassum, were selected as the model herbs to develop more specific methods for quality control.

A Strategy Combining Higher Energy C-Trap Dissociation with Neutral Loss- and Product Ion-Based MS Acquisition for Global Profiling and Structure Annotation of Fatty Acids Conjugates.

Fatty acids conjugates (FACs) are ubiquitous but found in trace amounts in the natural world. They are composed of multiple unknown substructures and side chains. Thus, FACs are difficult to be analyzed by traditional mass spectrometric methods.

Nontargeted metabolomic analysis and "commercial-homophyletic" comparison-induced biomarkers verification for the systematic chemical differentiation of five different parts of Panax ginseng.

A key segment in authentication of herbal medicines is the establishment of robust biomarkers that embody the intrinsic metabolites difference independent of the growing environment or processing technics. We present a strategy by nontargeted metabolomics and "Commercial-homophyletic" comparison-induced biomarkers verification with new bioinformatic vehicles, to improve the efficiency and reliability in authentication of herbal medicines. The chemical differentiation of five different parts (root, leaf, flower bud, berry, and seed) of Panax ginseng was illustrated as a case study.

Venenum Bufonis induces rat neuroinflammation by activiating NF-κB pathway and attenuation of BDNF.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Venenum Bufonis (VB), also called toad venom, has been widely used in clinic as a cardiotonic, anohyne and antineoplastic agents both in China and other Asian countries. However, its neurotoxicity and cardiotoxicity limit its wide clinical application. Compared with extensive attention attracted with cardiotoxicity, the toxic effect of VB on Central Nervous System (CNS) is much less studied.

TXNIP/TRX/NF-κB and MAPK/NF-κB pathways involved in the cardiotoxicity induced by Venenum Bufonis in rats.

Venenum Bufonis (VB) is a widely used traditional medicine with serious cardiotoxic effects. The inflammatory response has been studied to clarify the mechanism of the cardiotoxicity induced by VB for the first time. In the present study, Sprague Dawley (SD) rats, were administered VB (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) intragastrically, experienced disturbed ECGs (lowered heart rate and elevated ST-segment), increased levels of serum indicators (creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB (CK-MB), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST)) and serum interleukin (IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α) at 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h, 24 h, and 48 h, which reflected that an inflammatory response, together with cardiotoxicity, were involved in VB-treated rats.

Anticonvulsant and sedative-hypnotic activity screening of pearl and nacre (mother of pearl).

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Pearl and nacre are valuable traditional medicines to treat palpitations, convulsions or epilepsy in China for thousands of years. However, the active ingredients are not clear till now.

Aim Of The Study: The main purpose of the current investigation was to assess the anticonvulsant and sedative-hypnotic activity of pearl powder and nacre powder, including their corresponding 6 protein extracts.

Colon-derived uremic biomarkers induced by the acute toxicity of Kansui radix: A metabolomics study of rat plasma and intestinal contents by UPLC-QTOF-MS(E).

Kansui radix (KR) is a poisonous Chinese herbal medicine recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and the acute toxicity obstructs its clinical applications. To explore its acute toxicity mechanism to enhance clinical safety, a metabolomics study based on UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS(E) was performed. Wistar rats were exposed for 4h to the aqueous and ethyl acetate extracts prepared from KR at a high dose (25g/kg).

An efficient and target-oriented sample enrichment method for preparative separation of minor alkaloids by pH-zone-refining counter-current chromatography.

An efficient and target-oriented sample enrichment method was established to increase the content of the minor alkaloids in crude extract by using the corresponding two-phase solvent system applied in pH-zone-refining counter-current chromatography. The enrichment and separation of seven minor indole alkaloids from Uncaria rhynchophylla (Miq.) Miq.

Simultaneous quantitation of five Panax notoginseng saponins by multi heart-cutting two-dimensional liquid chromatography: Method development and application to the quality control of eight Notoginseng containing Chinese patent medicines.

Current China Pharmacopoeia (ChP) standards employ diversified and case-dependent assay methods to evaluate the quality of different Chinese patent medicines (CPMs) that contain Panax notoginseng as the monarch drug. These conventional, HPLC-based approaches, utilizing a complex sample preparation procedure, can easily result in low analytical efficiency and possible component loss. Here, a "monomethod-heterotrait matrix" (MHM) strategy is proposed, that is, developing a universal multi heart-cutting two-dimensional liquid chromatography (MHC-2D-LC) approach that facilitates the simultaneous quantitation of five P.

HPLC/qTOF-MS-oriented characteristic components data set and chemometric analysis for the holistic quality control of complex TCM preparations: Niuhuang Shangqing pill as an example.

The quality control of Da-Fu-Fang (DFF), referring to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparations comprising more than 10 TCMs, is challenging due to their extreme chemical complexity. In this study, a strategy is proposed for the holistic quality control of DFFs based on HPLC/qTOF-MS-oriented characteristic components data set (CCDS) and chemometric analysis. Niuhuang Shangqing pill (NHSQP), composed of 19 TCMs, is used to illustrate this strategy.

A single, multi-faceted, enhanced strategy to quantify the chromatographically diverse constituents in the roots of Euphorbia kansui.

Kansui radix is a famous poisonous traditional Chinese medicine. However, due to its different types of constituents with broad polarity, a variety of UV absorptions and lack of the reference standards, it was difficult to simultaneously determine the main component in kanui radix. A single, multi-faceted, enhanced strategy, exogenous reference standard - single standard to determine multi-components method (ERS-SSDMC), was proposed.