UPLC-Q-TOF/MS for Analysis of the Metabolites of Flavone Glycosides from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi by Human Fecal Flora in Vitro

The active ingredients of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, a valuable traditional Chinese medicine, are polyhydroxyflavones, namely baicalin, scutellarin and wogonoside. However, information about the metabolic routes, metabolites and even more the effect of chemical structure on the stability of the three has been limited. In this article, the three natural compounds were incubated with human fecal flora, respectively, and highly sensitive and specific ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry implementing the MetaboLynx? software method was used for the drug metabolism study. The chromatographic separation was performed on a 1.7-μm particle size Syncronis C₁₈ column using a gradient elution system. The components in the extract were identified and confirmed according to the mass spectrometric fragmentation mechanisms, MS/MS fragment ions and relevant literature by means of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in negative ion mode. With this method, a total of ten metabolites were identified based on MS and MS/MS data. The results indicated that hydrogenation, methylation and deglycosylation were the major metabolic pathways of the three flavone glycosides in vitro, and the metabolic stability was closely related to the chemical structure. This study will be helpful for fully understanding the impact of intestinal bacteria on these active components. Furthermore, this work demonstrated the potential of the ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry approach with MetaboLynx for quite rapid, simple, reliable and automated identification of metabolites of natural products.     

Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry for Rapid Determination of the Metabolites of Baicalin Produced by Human Intestinal Bacteria

Baicalin, mainly isolated from Scutllaria baicalensis, has been reported to possess a wide range of biological activities. However, the information about the metabolic route and metabolites of baicalin was limited to the role of the human intestinal bacterial mixture. In this paper, four strains of bacteria including Bacteroides sp. 33 and 56, and Veillonella sp. 23 and 71 were isolated from human intestinal bacterial mixture and studied for their abilities to convert baicalin to different metabolites. A highly sensitive and specific ultraperformance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) method combined with mass defect filtering (MDF) provides high throughput capabilities for drug metabolism study. The chromatographic separation was performed on a 1.7 µm particle size C 18 column using gradient elution system. The components in the extract were identified and confirmed according to the mass spectrometric fragmentation mechanisms, MS/MS fragment ions and relevant literature by means of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in negative ion mode. With this method, a total of 4 metabolites were identified based on MS and MS/MS data. The results indicated that hydrogenation, methylation, and deglycosylation were the major metabolic pathways of baicalin in vitro. The present study provides important information about the metabolism of baicalin which will be helpful for fully understanding the impact of the intestinal bacteria on this active component. Furthermore, this work demonstrated the potential of the ultraperformance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry approach for a rapid, simple, reliable, and automated identification of metabolites of natural products.     

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry for robust, high-throughput quantitative analysis of an automated metabolic stability assay, with simultaneous determination of metabolic data

The application of ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/TOFMS) for high-throughput analysis of a 96-well plate based metabolic stability assay has been investigated. Full-scan data were acquired, with run times of 2.5-3.5 min, from which narrow window extracted ion chromatograms were generated, producing quantitative data for the test compound equivalent to that obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric detection on a triple quadrupole instrument (HPLC/MS/MS). Sensitivity and mass accuracy were maintained over the analysis of >300 samples. Additionally, the UPLC/TOFMS datasets obtained gave access to metabolic route information, at no cost in terms of sensitivity for the test compound.     

Determination of Metabolism of Neohesperidin by Human Intestinal Bacteria by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS

Neohesperidin as the major isoflavonoid in Aurantii Fructus has been investigated intensively. However, the route and metabolites of neohesperidin by human intestinal bacteria are not well understood and its metabolites may accumulate and exert physiological effects. In this work, 5 strains including Clostridium sp.8, Bacteroides sp.15, Bacillus sp.46, and Enterobacter sp.41-1 and sp.73 were isolated and their abilities to convert neohesperidin were studied. Human fecal microflora were prepared from a healthy Chinese woman and then anaerobically incubated with neohesperidin sample at 37 °C for 48 h. A rapid and simple liquid–liquid extraction method was used for sample pretreatment. A highly sensitive and specific ultra performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry with MetaboLynx? method has been developed for the analysis of neohesperidin and related metabolites in the reaction samples. The chromatographic separation was performed on a 1.7 μm particle size Syncronis C₁₈ column using gradient elution system. The components in the extract were identified and confirmed according to the mass spectrometric fragmention mechanisms, MS/MS fragment ions and relevant literature by means of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in negative ion mode. With this method, a total of five metabolites were detected, the results indicated that hydrolysis, dehydroxylation, demethylation and acetylation were the major metabolism of neohesperidin. The present study provided important information about the metabolism of neohesperidin which will be helpful for fully understanding the impact of the intestinal bacteria on this active component. Furthermore, this work demonstrated the potential of the ultra performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry approach using MetaboLynx? for quite rapid, simple, reliable and automated identification of metabolites of natural product.     

Chemical profiling of Qingfei Paidu Decoction by triplex off-line two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Qingfei Paidu Decoction is a Chinese medicine formula that has been proved effective in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019. However, the comprehensive separation and characterization of Qingfei Paidu Decoction are of a great challenge due to the diversity of chemical components in a wide range of polarity. In this study, a triplex off-line two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry is developed for the analysis of Qingfei Paidu Decoction. One reversed-phase liquid chromatography×hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography system and two reversed-phase liquid chromatography×reversed phase liquid chromatography systems were constructed to separate polar components and weak-polar components in Qingfei Paidu Decoction, respectively. Benefiting from the good orthogonality of two-dimensional liquid chromatography and high sensitivity of quadrupole time-of-flight MS, chemical components with different polarities and content were discovered. A total of 749 peaks were detected in positive and negative ionization mode and presented as a four-dimensional data plot. Meanwhile, 498 compounds belonging to 14 categories were tentatively identified. These results provide good supplementary to elucidate the material basis of Qingfei Paidu Decoction. The triplex off-line two-dimensional liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry strategy can be a powerful and efficient tool for the separation and characterization of chemical substances in traditional Chinese medicine formulas.     

Rapid isolation of new furostanol saponins from fenugreek seeds based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry method was established to rapidly identify and guide the isolation of target saponins from fenugreek seeds. Based on the online screening performance, totally forty-six furostanol saponins were detected and elucidated. Among them, twenty compounds were predicted to be new. To rapidly obtain new furostanol saponins from these seeds, a further phytochemical study was carried out under the guidance of the ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. Finally, six new furostanol saponins, named as trigoneosides XIV (1), XV (2), XVI (3), XVIIa (4), XVIIb (5), and XIV (6), together with one known furostanol saponin, parvifloside (7), were rapidly obtained, and their definitive structures were determined by NMR and chemical evidence.     

Metabolism of olaquindox in rat and identification of metabolites in urine and feces using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Olaquindox (OLA), N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methyl-2-quinoxalincarboxamide-1,4-dioxide, is an antimicrobial and growth-promoting agent for animals, which has been banned or allowed only limited use for its potential toxicity. To thoroughly understand the metabolic pathways, metabolism of OLA in rat was studied using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry with MS(E) and mass defect filtering techniques. Twenty metabolites (M1-M20) were detected in rat feces and urine, of which nine phase I metabolites (M6, M7, M11-M16) and four phase II metabolites (M17-M20) were found in vivo for the first time. The structures of metabolites were reliably characterized on the basis of accurate mass and fragment ions in MS(E) spectra. The major metabolic pathways reported previously in pigs, including reduction of N→O groups, oxidation of the alcohol and hydrolysis, were also confirmed in this study. In addition, hydroxylation of the methyl group, N-dehydroxyethylation and glucuronidation were also proved to be the important metabolic pathways, which contribute to improving our knowledge about in vivo metabolism of OLA.     

Systematic characterization of components of Makyo-kanseki-to granule and serum metabolomics for exploring its protective mechanism against acute lung injury in lipopolysaccharide-induced rats

Makyo-kanseki-to has been used for the treatment of pneumonia, becoming a basic formula for coronavirus disease 2019. However, the chemical profile of Makyo-kanseki-to granule and its possible mechanism against acute lung injury from terminal metabolic regulation have been unclear. The aim of this study was to characterize the constituents in Makyo-kanseki-to granule and reveal the potential related mechanism of Makyo-kanseki-to granule treatment for acute lung injury using a rat model of lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury. Totally, 78 constituents were characterized based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Makyo-kanseki-to granule could alleviate acute lung injury through modulating rectal temperature, pulmonary edema, histopathology, and processes of inflammatory and oxidative stress. Twenty-two potential biomarkers in acute lung injury rats were identified by metabolomics based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole exactive high-field mass spectrometry. They were mainly involved in amino acids and glycerophospholipid metabolism, which were regulated by Makyo-kanseki-to granule. The present results not only increase the understanding of the chemical profile and molecular mechanism of Makyo-kanseki-to granule mediated protection against acute lung injury but also provide an experimental basis and new ideas for further development and clinical application of Makyo-kanseki-to granule.     

Metabolic Profiling of Klebsiella oxytoca: Evaluation of Methods for Extraction of Intracellular Metabolites Using UPLC/Q-TOF-MS

The global pool of intracellular metabolites is a reflection of all the metabolic functions of an organism. In the absence of in situ methods capable of directly measuring metabolite pools, intracellular metabolite measurements need to be performed after an extraction procedure. In this study, we evaluated the optimization of technologies for generation of a global metabolomics profile for intracellular metabolites in Klebsiella oxytoca. Intracellular metabolites of K. oxytoca were extracted at the early stationary phase using six different common extraction procedures, including cold methanol, boiling ethanol, methanol/chloroform combinations, hot water, potassium hydroxide, and perchloric acid. The metabolites were subsequently collected for further analysis, and intracellular metabolite concentration profiles were generated using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. During analysis, the stability of metabolites extracted using cold methanol was clearly higher than that obtained by other extraction methods. For the majority of metabolites, extracts generated in this manner exhibited the greatest recovery, with high reproducibility. Therefore, the use of cold ethanol was the best extraction method for attaining a metabolic profile. However, in another parallel extraction method, perchloric acid may also be required to maximize the range of metabolites recovered, particularly to extract glucose 1-phosphate and NADPH.     

Characterization of Ganstigmine metabolites in hepatocytes by low- and high-resolution mass spectrometry coupled with liquid chromatography

In order to deepen the understanding of the metabolism of Ganstigmine, a new acetylcholinesterase inhibitor under evaluation for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, samples obtained by incubating the drug with female rat hepatocytes were investigated by low-resolution liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The results confirmed the formation of most of the phase I metabolites already demonstrated, but also three new species. The combination of high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) LC/MS and LC/MS/MS measurements, and the evaluation of the more reasonable metabolic routes, allowed the identification of the new metabolites as Geneseroline-glucuronide and oxidized and rearranged Ganstigmine. Analogous investigations were made using hepatocytes from male rat and dog, and both gender monkeys and humans, to compare the metabolic patterns. The results did not indicate substantial differences in terms of numbers and abundances of detected metabolites among the considered species, and also between male and female hepatocytes within each species.     

Determination of two phototransformation products of bentazone using quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The transformation products 2-(isopropylcarbamoyl)phenylsulfamic acid and 2-(1-hydroxypropane-2-yl)-1,2-dihydroindazol-3-one could be determined during the photolysis of the herbicide bentazone. Degradation experiments were carried out with different types of water in a natural sunlight simulating system. Besides the anticipated hydroxylated bentazone, the second transformation product was identified by means of exact mass measurement using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/QqToF MS). Both phototransformation products occurred in all water types tested. The required irradiation time was matrix dependent. 2-(Isopropylcarbamoyl)phenylsulfamic acid was detected in a drainage channel in the Ebro river delta (Catalonia, Spain).     

Characterization of cyanide-trapped methylated metabonates formed during reactive drug metabolite screening in vitro

Reactive metabolites are estimated to be one of the main reasons behind unexpected drug-induced toxicity, by binding covalently to cell proteins or DNA. Due to their high reactivity and short lifespan, reactive metabolites are analyzed after chemical trapping with nucleophilic agents such as glutathione or cyanide. Recently, unexplained and uncharacterized methylated reaction products were reported in a human liver microsome based reactive metabolite trapping assay utilizing potassium cyanide as a trapping agent. Here, a similar assay was utilized to produce mono- or dimethylated and further cyanide-trapped reaction products from propranolol, amlodipine and ciprofloxacin, followed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/TOF-MS) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) experiments for their more detailed structural elucidation. Formation of all observed cyanide-trapped products was clearly NADPH-dependent and thus metabolism-mediated. The suggested reaction pathways included N-methylation leading to iminium formation in primary and/or secondary amines preceded by cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated reactions. As the methylation reaction was suggested to be involved in formation of the actual reactive iminium ion, the observed cyanide-trapped products were experimental artifacts rather than trapped reactive metabolites. The results stress that to avoid overestimating the formation of reactive metabolites in vitro, this methylation phenomenon should be taken into account when interpreting the results of cyanide-utilizing reactive metabolite trapping assays. This in turn emphasizes the importance of identification of the observed cyano conjugates during such studies. Yet, metabolite identification has a high importance to avoid overestimation of in vitro metabolic clearance in the cases where this kind of metabonate formation has a high impact in the disappearance rate of the compound.     

Rapid analysis of Saposhnikovia divaricate decoction metabolism in rats by UHPLC–Q-TOFMS and multivariate statistical analysis

Saposhnikovia divaricata is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine in treating various diseases such as pyrexia, rheumatism and headache. So far, there have been few reports on the metabolism of orally administered Saposhnikovia divaricate decoction (SDD), hindering further study on its bioactive components and their pharmacological characteristics. In the present study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC–Q-TOFMS) was used coupled with principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squared discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to rapidly discover and identify the metabolites of SDD. According to the result of PLS-DA, a total of 139 ions of interest including 87 positive ions and 52 negative ions were extracted as SDD-related xenobiotics in urine. Finally, 12 and 65 compounds were identified as absorbed parent components and metabolites of SDD, respectively. Among them, 40 new metabolites were reported for the first time. Our results suggested that hydrolysis, hydroxylation, glucuronidation and sulfation are the major metabolic pathways of chromones, while hydroxylation, hydrogenation and sulfation are the main metabolic pathways of coumarins. This study is the first to explore the absorption and metabolism of SDD using UHPLC–Q-TOFMS, with results providing a basis for further study of its pharmacokinetics and discovery of its bioactive components.     

Rapid identification and analysis of the major chemical constituents from the fruits of Sapindus mukorossi by HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS

Abstract

In the present work, high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) has been used for the identification of the major chemical constituents from the fruits of Sapindus mukorossi. A total of 31 peaks were identified based on their accurate masses and fragmentation characteristics. Among these 9 acyclic sesquiterpene oligoglycosides and 8 triterpenoid saponins were reported from the fruits of Sapindus mukorossi for the first time. This study demonstrates the potential of HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS for analysis and identification of acyclic sesquiterpene oligoglycosides and triterpenoid saponins.     

Identifying the chemical markers in raw and wine-processed Scutellaria baicalensis by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled with multiple statistical strategies

Herb processing is a typical pharmaceutical preparation process for traditional Chinese medicine. After processing, its clinical applications and pharmacological effects vary greatly, which is most commonly attributed to the changing chemical properties between raw herb and processed products. In this work, a total of 53 chemical compounds were detected, among which 17 compounds were identified as discriminatory chemicals between raw and wine-processed Scutellaria baicalensis, and 10 components were identified as chemical markers with a cumulative content contribution of 88.75%. In addition, this work revealed that the best wine-processed time was 18 min by investigating the changes of chemical markers in S. baicalensis during processing. This work demonstrated that ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled with multiple statistical strategies is an effective approach for screening and identifying discriminatory chemical markers in complex traditional Chinese medicine.     

A multi-evaluating strategy for raw and processed Veratrum nigrum L.: Fingerprinting combined with quantitative analysis based on multivariate chemometric methods

Veratrum nigrum L. (VN) is a well-known herbal medicine and rich in chemical components with multiple pharmacological activities including antihypertensive, anticancer, and antifungal effects. In the current experiment, the quality of VN from different habitats was evaluated based on combinative method of fingerprint, multi-component quantification and chemical pattern recognition. Fifteen batches of VN were collected, and intrinsic chemical composition were identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry, which is a method for analyzing the similarity between samples, coupled with fingerprint of traditional Chinese medicine. The fingerprint similarity model show that 22 common peaks were selected covering 15 batches of and the similarity > 0.963. The total of 22 joint components were tentatively identified by comparison with standard substances or literature. A ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry method for simultaneous determination of 8 compounds was established to evaluate the contents of raw and processed Veratrum nigrum L. Multivariate analysis was then applied to compare different batches of herbs based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry data. All raw and processed samples were classified by partial least squares discriminant analysis based on the 8 analyzed compounds. The findings suggested that veratramine and polydatin with a variable importance for the project (VIP) > 1 were identified as significant constituents, the presence of which can be used to differentiate between raw and processed Veratrum nigrum L. samples. These results indicate that processing methods show important effects on the composition of Veratrum nigrum L..     

Identification of the absorbed components and metabolites of modified Huo Luo Xiao Ling Dan in rat plasma by UHPLC‐Q‐TOF/MS/MS

To reveal the material basis of Huo Luo Xiao Ling Dan (HLXLD), a sensitive and selective ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐Q‐TOF/MS) method was developed to identify the absorbed components and metabolites in rat plasma after oral administration of HLXLD. The plasma samples were pretreated by liquid–liquid extraction and separated on a Shim‐pack XR‐ODS C₁₈ column (75 × 3.0 mm, 2.2 μm) using a gradient elution program. With the optimized conditions and single sample injection of each positive or negative ion mode, a total of 109 compounds, including 78 prototype compounds and 31 metabolites, were identified or tentatively characterized. The fragmentation patterns of representative compounds were illustrated as well. The results indicated that aromatization and hydration were the main metabolic pathways of lactones and tanshinone‐related metabolites; demethylation and oxidation were the major metabolic pathways of alkaloid‐related compounds; methylation and sulfation were the main metabolic pathways of phenolic acid‐related metabolites. It is concluded the developed UHPLC‐Q‐TOF/MS method with high sensitivity and resolution is suitable for identifying and characterizing the absorbed components and metabolites of HLXLD, and the results will provide essential data for further studying the relationship between the chemical components and pharmacological activity of HLXLD.     

Dual-bioactivity-based liquid chromatography-coupled quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry for NF-κB inhibitors and β2AR agonists identification in Chinese Medicinal Preparation Qingfei Xiaoyan Wan

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparations have been used as an effective multitarget strategy for the treatment of complex diseases; however, their bioactive constituents are undefined and difficult to identify. In this study, a simple and dual-target method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry combined with dual-bioactive (NF-κB and β₂-adrenergic receptor) luciferase reporter assay systems was developed for the rapid determination of various bioactive compounds of TCM preparations. Qingfei Xiaoyan Wan, a TCM preparation used for the clinical therapy of asthma, was analyzed with this method. Potential anti-inflammatory and spasmolytic constituents were screened using NF-κB and β₂-adrenergic receptor activity luciferase reporter assay systems and simultaneously identified according to the time-of-flight mass spectrometry data. One β₂-adrenergic receptor agonist (ephedrine) and four structural types of NF-κB inhibitors (arctigenin derivatives, cholic acid derivatives, chlorogenic acid, and sinapic acid) were characterized. Tracheloside was considered a new NF-κB inhibitor. Further cytokine and chemokine detection confirmed the anti-inflammatory effects of the potential NF-κB inhibitors. The integration of ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and dual-bioactive human cell functional evaluation systems proved to be a simple and effective strategy for the rapid screening of various bioactive compounds in TCM preparations used to treat complex diseases.     

超高效液相色谱-四极杆-飞行时间质谱检测和鉴定猪尿中氯丙那林的主要代谢产物

采用超高效液相色谱-四极杆-飞行时间质谱(UPLC/Q-TOF MS)检测和鉴定了猪尿中氯丙那林的主要代谢产物,并讨论了氯丙那林在猪体内的主要代谢途径。按10 mg/kg(b. w.)的剂量口服灌食氯丙那林,分别采集给药前及给药后的猪尿液样品。采用UPLC/Q-TOF MS对样品进行分析,并应用质量亏损过滤和离子色谱峰提取等数据处理技术,在给药后24 h内的猪尿中检测和鉴定了9种氯丙那林的代谢产物,其中,Ⅰ相代谢产物2种,Ⅱ相代谢产物7种。然后,根据氯丙那林原形和代谢产物的碎片离子特征,对代谢产物的结构进行鉴定。最后,根据所鉴定的代谢产物,推测氯丙那林在猪体内的代谢途径包括苯环羟基化、β -羟基和仲氨基的葡萄糖醛酸轭合、羟基化后的葡萄糖醛酸和硫酸轭合等。研究结果表明,羟基化氯丙那林及其轭合产物的相对含量大于60%,明显高于氯丙那林原形及其轭合产物,是尿液中的主要代谢产物。本研究将为确定氯丙那林在动物体内的残留标示物及加强对氯丙那林非法使用的监控提供科学依据。     

Characterization of chemical components of Periplocae Cortex and their metabolites in rats using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Periplocae Cortex, named Xiang-Jia-Pi in China, has been widely used to treat autoimmune diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis. However, the in vivo substances of Periplocae Cortex remain unknown yet. In this study, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used for profiling the chemical components and related metabolites of Periplocae Cortex. A total of 98 constituents were identified or tentatively characterized in Periplocae Cortex: 42 C21 steroidal glycosides, 10 cardiac glycosides, 23 organic acids, 4 aldehydes, 7 triterpenes, and 12 other types. Among them, 18 components were unambiguously identified by comparison with reference standards. In addition, 176 related xenobiotics (34 prototypes and 142 metabolites) were screened out and characterized in rats’ biosamples (plasma, urine, bile, and feces) after the oral administration of Periplocae Cortex. Moreover, the metabolic fate of periplocoside S-4a, a C21 steroidal glycoside, was proposed for the first time. In summary, phase II reactions (methylation, glucuronidation, and sulfation), phase I reactions (hydrolysis reactions, oxygenation, and reduction), and their combinations were the predominant metabolic reactions of Periplocae Cortex in rat. It is the first report to reveal the in vivo substances and metabolism feature of Periplocae Cortex. This study also provided meaningful information for further pharmacodynamics study of Periplocae Cortex, as well as its quality control research.