Determination of scutellarin in Erigeron breviscapus extract by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A quantitative assay for scutellarin by LC-MS-MS (negative ion mode) was developed. The scutellarin was extracted from dry Erigeron breviscapus. Significant ion suppression was observed, which could be eliminated by increasing the turboionspray interface temperature to 350 degrees C and by 1000-fold dilution of the extract with solvent. The calibration curve of scutellarin showed excellent linearity over a wide concentration range (0.01-100 microg/ml) (r=0.998), and the limit of detection was 15 pg/ml using a 10-microl injection volume. The analysis time was 4 min/sample.     

Microwave-assisted extraction of scutellarin from Erigeron breviscapus Hand-Mazz and its determination by high-performance liquid chromatography

An efficient microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) technique has been developed to extract scutellarin from Erigeron breviscapus for rapid determination by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The maximum yield of scutellarin reached 1.02% in 40 min under the optimal MAE conditions with 80 °C of extraction temperature and 1:10 (w/v) of the solid/liquid ratio. The MAE showed obvious advantages in terms of short duration and high efficiency to extract scutellarin in comparison with heat-flux extraction. The mechanism of the enhanced extraction by microwave assistance was discussed by detecting particle size and specific surface area of plant materials and observing cell destruction of plant material by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the plant materials were significantly destroyed due to the cell rupture after MAE treatment. Afterward, the method validation for HPLC-UV analysis was developed. Calibration range was 0.1-100 μg mL⁻¹ for scutellarin, and correlation coefficient R was 0.9993. Limit of detection was less than 0.01 μg mL⁻¹. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of scutellarin detection ranged from 1.58% to 2.96% and from 3.32% to 4.19%, respectively. The recovery of the method for scutellarin ranged from 96.7% to 101.9%.     

Simultaneous determination of baicalin,baicalein, wogonoside,wogonin, scutellarin,berberine, coptisine,ginsenoside Rb1 and ginsenoside Re of Banxia xiexin decoction in rat plasma by LC–MS/MS and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A rapid and high‐sensitivity liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed for simultaneous determination of nine active constituents (baicalin, baicalein, wogonoside, wogonin, scutellarin, berberine, coptisine, ginsenoside Rb1 and ginsenoside Re) in rat plasma after oral administration of Banxia xiexin decoction (BXD). Biological samples were processed wtih acetone–ethyl acetate (4:1, v/v). The mobile phase consisted of methanol and water (containing 0.1% formic acid) with gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. Detection was performed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer using positive ion and negative ESI in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The calibration curves for all analytes had good linearity (r > 0.9933). The mean recovery of all the nine active ingredients was >75.2%, and the intra‐ and inter‐day precisions were within 12.0%; the accuracy was between 87.4 and 110.4%. This method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study after administration of BXD. The results of the pharmacokinetic study might be helpful for BXD reasonable clinical application and further studies on mechanism.     

Folic acid‐polyamine‐β‐cyclodextrin for targeted delivery of scutellarin to cancer cells

The efficient tumor targeting drug carrier was designed by bioconjugation of folic acid to β‐cyclodextrin through a polyamine cationic spacer. The characterization and inclusion complexation behavior of the inclusion complex of hydrophobic drug scutellarin with folic acid‐polyamine‐β‐cyclodextrin were investigated in both solution and solid state by means of phase‐solubility, nuclear magnetic resonance, X‐ray power diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. Besides, the solubilization efficiency and antitumor activity of the inclusion complex were tested by saturated solution and MTT (Thiazole blue) method. Solubility and antitumor activity studies showed higher solubilizing ability and antitumor activity of the inclusion complex in comparison to free scutellarin. The folic acid‐polyamine‐β‐cyclodextrin that is presented may be promising active tumor‐targeting carrier candidates via folate mediation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and physiochemical property evaluation of carbamate derivatives of scutellarin methyl ester

A series of carbamate prodrugs of scutellarin methyl ester (4a-4e) were prepared in the presence of bis(trichloromethyl) carbonate (BTC) with scutellarin methyl esters and L-amino acid tert-butyl ester hydrochloride as starting materials. In vitro stability and aqueous solubility of target compounds were evaluated. The results indicated that compounds 4d and 4e have higher solubility and in vitro stability than scutellarin respectively.     

Metabolism profile of scutellarin in urine following oral administration to rats by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Scutellarin, a flavone glucuronide of 5,6,4′-trihydroxyflavone-7-O-glucoronide, is the main active component of the traditional Chinese botanic drug Erigeron breviscapus (Vant.) Hand.-Mazz. In this study, a method based on ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (UPLC/TOF MS) was established and validated to profile the metabolites of scutellarin in Sprague-Dawley rat urine following oral administration of single dose of scutellarin at 80.8 mg/kg. The column utilized was an Acquity BEH C18 (150 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm). The mobile phase was 0.2% formic acid and acetonitrile with gradient condition. Two standard curves of scutellarin were obtained for the concentration range of 1.065-10.65 μg/mL and 10.65-63.92 μg/mL, respectively. By automating the data processing of the software Masslynx developed by Waters Ltd., 17 metabolites of scutellarin were found and determined in rat urine, with the corresponding reactions in vivo such as isomerism, reduction, methylation, glucuronide conjugation, hydroxylation, hydroxylation and methylation, etc., most of which were discovered for the first time. For most metabolites, the time (T_p) of peak excretion was 8-12 h. Calculated as scutellarin, the cumulative urine excretion rate of the metabolites was 1.93%.     

Microwave‐assisted extraction coupled with countercurrent chromatography for the rapid preparation of flavonoids from Scutellaria barbata D. Don

As a famous Chinese herb having good inhibitory effects on numerous human cancers both in vitro and in vivo, Scutellaria barbata D. Don attracts extensive attention worldwide. In this work, four flavonoids named scutellarin, baicalin, luteolin, and apigenin were simply and rapidly prepared from S. barbata by microwave‐assisted extraction coupled to countercurrent chromatography. Extraction conditions including irradiation time, extraction temperature, liquid/solid ratio, and microwave power were optimized using an orthogonal array design method. The extract of S. barbata was separated and purified with a two‐phase solvent system composed of hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/acetic acid/water (1:5:1.5:1:4, v/v/v/v/v) and 4.5 mg of scutellarin, 4.6 mg of baicalin, 1.1 mg of luteolin, 2.1 mg of apigenin were obtained from 2.0 g original sample in a single run. The purities of scutellarin, baicalin, luteolin, and apigenin determined by HPLC were 93.6, 97.3, 97.6, and 98.4%, respectively. The targeted compounds were identified by LC with MS and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The total time including extraction, separation, and purification was <300 min. Compared to traditional methods, microwave‐assisted extraction coupled to countercurrent chromatography method is more simple and rapid for the extraction, separation, and purification of flavonoid compounds from natural products.     

Synthesis and protective effect of scutellarein on focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats

Scutellarein, the main metabolite of scutellarin in vivo, has relatively better solubility, bioavailability and bio-activity than scutellarin. However, compared with scutellarin, it is very difficult to obtain scutellarein from Nature. Therefore, the present study focused on establishing an efficient route for the synthesis of scutellarein by hydrolyzing scutellarin. Neurological deficit score and cerebral infarction volume with the administration of scutellarein were then used to compare its neuroprotective effects on focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) with those of scutellarin. The results showed that scutellarein had better protective effect on focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion than scutellarin, which laid the foundation for further research and development of scutellarein as a promising candidate for ischemic cerebro-vascular disease.     

Simultaneous determination of ten flavonoids of crude and wine‐processed Radix Scutellariae aqueous extracts in rat plasma by UPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study

Radix Scutellariae (RS) is a herbal medicine with various pharmacological activities to treat inflammation, respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, etc. In this study, a rapid, sensitive and selective UPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS method was developed for simultaneous determination of 10 flavonoids – scutellarin, scutellarein, chrysin, wogonin, baicalein, apigenin, wogonoside, oroxylin A‐7‐O‐glucuronide, oroxylin A and baicalin – from RS aqueous extracts in rat plasma with propyl paraben as internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was achieved on a C₁₈ column using gradient elution with the mobile phase consisting of methanol and water (containing 0.1% formic acid) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The detection was performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode using electrospray ionization in negative mode. The validated method showed good linearity over a wide concentration range (r >0.9935). The intra‐ and interday assay variabilities were <9.5% and <12.4% for all analytes, respectively. The extraction recovery ranged from 71.2 to 89.7% for each analyte and IS. This method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic comparision after oral administration of crude and wine‐processed RS aqueous extracts. There were significant differences in some pharmacokinetic parameters of most analytes between crude and wine‐processed RS. This suggested that wine‐processing exerted effects absorption of most flavonoids. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A strategy for screening trypsin inhibitors from traditional Chinese medicine based on a monolithic capillary immobilized enzyme reactor coupled with offline liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry

A novel strategy was successfully developed for screening trypsin inhibitors in traditional Chinese medicines based on monolithic capillary immobilized enzyme reactors combined with liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry. Organic polymer based monolithic enzyme reactors were firstly prepared by covalently bonding trypsin to a poly(glycidyl methacrylate‐co‐poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate) monolith by the ring‐opening reaction of epoxy groups. The activity and kinetic parameters of the obtained monolithic trypsin reactors were systematically evaluated using micro‐liquid chromatography. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were also used to characterize the monolithic trypsin reactors. The resulting functional and denatured monolithic trypsin reactors were applied as affinity solid‐phase extraction columns, and offline coupled with a liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry system to construct a binding affinity screening platform. Subsequently, the proposed platform was applied for screening trypsin binders in a Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi extract. Three compounds, namely scutellarin, baicalin, and wogonoside were identified, and their inhibitory activities were further confirmed via an in vitro enzymatic inhibition assay. Additionally, molecular docking was also performed to study the interactions between trypsin and these three compounds.     

Synthesis and Characterization of PEG-scutellarin Conjugates, a Potential PEG Ester Prodrug for the Oral Delivery of Scutellarin

Scutellarin is the active ingredient extracted from Erigeron breviscapus, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Pharmacological study showed that scutellarin could significantly reduce the blood viscosity, improve the blood flow, decrease the vascular re…     

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of multiple components for quality control of Deng‐Zhan‐Sheng‐Mai capsules by ultra high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method coupled with chemometrics

Deng‐Zhan‐Sheng‐Mai capsules are a well‐known traditional Chinese patent medicine that was developed in China for the treatment of ischemic stroke. Its quality control focuses on Erigerontis Herba but ignores the contributions of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus, and Ophiopogonis Radix. To improve the quality standards for this medicine, this work reports the application of a systematic ultra high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric method coupled with chemometrics. Three qualitative and quantitative parameters are established for the evaluation of quality: chemical profiling, the relationship between the contents of 18 compounds and the antioxidant activity, and chemometric analysis. A total of 55 compounds, including 20 phenolic acids, 10 flavonoids, 15 saponins, and 10 lignans, were identified. The method for the quantitative determination of the aforementioned 18 compounds was validated. The limit of quantification ranged from 0.13 to 9.60 ng/mL. The overall recoveries ranged from 95.31 to 103.54%. Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis were applied to the data of 18 components in ten batches of samples. Nine compounds, including scutellarin, 3,5‐O‐dicaffeoylquinic acid, 4,5‐O‐dicaffeoylquinic acid, ginsenoside Rb1, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rg1, ophiopogonin D, schisandrin, and schisandrol B, are suggested as chemical markers for evaluating the quality.     

Chemical Components of Anaphalis Sinica Hance

Twenty components (including a new flavanone) were isolated and identified from the whole plant of Anaphalis sinica Hance. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectral analysis and chemical transformation. These components are 6‐[(5‐methyl‐6‐ethyl‐4‐hydroxy‐pyrone‐3‐yl)‐methylene]glabranine ( 1 ), kaempferol ( 2 ), tiliroside ( 3 ), quercetin ( 4 ), quercetin‐3‐O‐β‐D‐glucoside ( 5 ), scutellarin ( 6 ), 5,7‐dihydroxy‐8‐methoxyflavone ( 7 ), 5,7‐dihydroxy‐4′‐methoxy‐flavone‐7‐O‐α‐L‐rhamnopyranosyl(1→6)‐β‐D‐glucopyranoside ( 8 ), helipyrone ( 9 ), 4′‐hydroxydehydrokawain ( 10 ), panamin ( 11 ), ursolic acid ( 12 ), pomolic acid ( 13 ), 3‐acetyloleanolic acid ( 14 ), a mixture of N‐(2‐hydroxy‐acyl)‐4‐hydroxy‐8(E)‐ene‐sphingenine ( 15 ), O‐methyl‐D‐inositol ( 16 ), a mixture of β‐sitosterol ( 17 ) and stigmasterol ( 18 ) and a mixture of daucosterol ( 19 ) and stigmasterol‐β‐D‐glucoside ( 20 ). Among them, 6‐[(5‐methyl‐6‐ethyl‐4‐hydroxy‐pyrone‐3‐yl)‐methylene]glabranine ( 1 ) is a new compound, and ¹³C NMR data of panamin ( 11 ) is reported for the first time.     

反相高效液相色谱法测定肾复康胶囊中的野黄芩苷和芦丁

建立了肾复康胶囊中野黄芩苷和芦丁的反相高效液相色谱测定方法。以甲醇-水为提取溶剂,采用超声提取法对样品进行前处理。以0.02 mol/L磷酸二氢钾缓冲溶液(含1.0％（体积分数）冰醋酸)-甲醇（体积比为63∶37）为流动相,于330 nm波长下检测,肾复康提取液中野黄芩苷和芦丁可达基线分离,分析时间在20 min内。野黄芩苷和芦丁在10 ~300 mg/L内,其峰面积与浓度之间线性关系良好,目标物的加标回收率大于98％。该方法适用于肾复康胶囊及相关药材中野黄芩苷和芦丁黄酮类化合物的测定和质量控制。     

Synthesis,Characterization, Antimicrobial Screening,and Computational Studies of a Tripodal Schiff Base Containing Pyrimidine Unit

A novel tripodal Schiff base ligand, 5‐amino‐2,4,6‐tris(4‐carboxybenzimino)‐1,3‐pyrimidine (TTPS), was synthesized for the first time by the reaction of 2,4,5,6‐tetraaminopyrimidine with 4‐carboxybenzaldehyde. The ligand was characterized by means of ultraviolet–visible, Fourier transform infrared, one‐dimensional ¹H‐NMR, and one‐dimensional ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopies and elemental microanalysis. The Fourier transform infrared and NMR studies revealed that one of the NH₂ group in 2,4,5,6‐tetraaminopyrimidine is not involved in bonding. The in vitro antimicrobial activities of the ligand were investigated against Gram‐negative bacteria: Escherichia coli (ATCC 6749) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027), Gram‐positive bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538P) and Bacillus cereus (ATCC 14579), and fungi: Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger by the agar well diffusion technique. TTPS exhibits good activity against the test microorganisms. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of TTPS against S. aureus were compared with tetracycline and gentamicin, which are conventional bacterial drugs. The upper level of Lorke's method was used to determine the acute toxicity of the compound. The acute toxicity test indicates that TTPS is toxic at doses above 2154 mg/kg. The in vivo antimalarial assay was carried out on Plasmodium berghei based on the 4‐day suppressive method. The result shows a general dose‐dependent significant parasitemia inhibition compared with the negative control with TTPS having inhibition of 72.20% at 50 mg/kg and 65.81% at 25 mg/kg close to the value (87.22%) of the standard drug artesunate 5 mg/kg. Density functional theory method was used to complement this experimental investigation.     

Base‐promoted rearrangements of ester groups in 3a,7a‐dihydroindole‐2,3,3a,4‐tetraester

Tetramethyl 3a,7a‐dihydro‐1‐methyl‐1H‐indole‐2,3,3a,4‐tetracarboxylate which is an 1:2 adduct of 1‐methylpyrrole and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate underwent isomerization catalyzed by sodium methoxide to form a 5,7a‐dihydro‐1‐methyl‐1H‐indole‐2,3,4,5‐tetracarboxylate, its 5,6‐dihydro isomer, and a ring opening product which is an azonine derivative. Fully aromatized esters such as 1‐methylindole‐2,3,4‐triester, 1‐methylindole‐2,3,4,5‐tetraester and 1‐methyl‐2,3,4,6‐tetraester were also isolated. An indole compound which could be formed by conjugative addition of the methoxide ion was also isolated.     

Synthesis of some new five membered heterocycles,a facile synthesis of oxazolidinones

The synthesis and structural properties of two kinds of thiosemicarbazide derivatives ( 2a‐c and 3a‐c ) and one kind of semicarbazide derivatives ( 4a, 4b ) have been described. These compounds were synthesized by treating 2‐(4‐amino‐3‐alkyl‐5‐oxo‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐1,2,4‐triazol‐1‐yl)acetohydrazides ( 1a‐c ) with benzyl isothiocyanate, 3‐florophenyl isothiocyanate and benzylisocyanate, respectively. The synthesis of 4‐amino‐3‐alkyl‐1‐[(4‐alkyl‐5‐mercapto(or 5‐oxo)‐4H‐1,2,4‐triazol‐3‐yl)methyl]‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐1,2,4‐triazol‐5‐ones ( 5a‐c, 6a‐c and 7 ) have been performed from the reaction with sodium hydroxide. On the other hand, the acidic treatment of compounds 2b, 3b and 4b has afforded 4‐amino‐3‐(4‐chlorobenzyl)‐1‐[(5‐alkylamino‐1,3,4‐thidazol(or 1,3,4‐oxazol)‐2‐yl)methyl]‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐1,2,4‐triazol‐5‐ones ( 8, 9 and 10 ). The condensation of thiosemi(or semi)carbazide derivatives ( 2a‐c, 3c and 4b ) with 4‐chlorophenacylbromide have resulted in the formation of 2‐[4‐amino‐3‐alkyl‐5‐oxo‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐1,2,4‐triazol‐1‐yl]‐N′‐(3,4‐dialkyl‐1,3‐thiazol(or oxazol)‐2(3H)‐yliden]acetohydrazides ( 11a‐c, 12, 13 ), while their condensation with chloroacetic acid has produced 2‐[4‐amino‐3‐alkyl‐5‐oxo‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐1,2,4‐triazol‐1‐yl]‐N′‐[3‐(3‐alkyl)]‐4‐oxo‐1,3‐thiazolidin(or oxazolidin)‐2‐yliden}acetohydrazides ( 14, 15 and 16 ). The spectral data and elemental analyses have support the proposed structures.     

Chromatographic Resolution,Circular Dichroism Spectra,Absolute Configurations,and Crystal Structures of Bridged Biphenyls,Containing Sulfide,Sulfoxide, and Sulfone Groups in the Bridge

Four chiral 1,1′‐biphenyls with one or two sulfur‐containing bridges in 2,2′‐ or 2,2′‐ and 6,6′‐positions, viz. 1,11‐dimethyl‐5,7‐dihydrodibenzo[c,e]thiepin ( 1 ), its S‐oxide ( 2 ) and S,S‐dioxide ( 3 ), and the doubly bridged 10,12‐dihydro‐4H,6H‐[2]benzothiepino[6,5,4‐def][2]benzothiepin ( 4 ) have been studied by chromatography, CD spectroscopy, X‐ray crystallography, and empirical force‐field and CNDO/S calculations. The structures obtained by force‐field calculations showed good agreement with the crystal structures determined for 2 and 3 . Compounds 2 , 3 , and 4 , but not 1 , could be resolved into enantiomers by chromatography on swollen microcrystalline triacetylcellulose. The barrier for biphenyl inversion in 2 was found to be higher than 167 kJ⋅mol⁻¹ by an attempted thermal racemization. The CD spectra of the enantiomers of 2 – 4 were recorded and resolved into individual bands, and the corresponding rotational strengths were calculated. The transitions showed considerable similarity to those of a 1,1′‐biphenyl with hydrocarbon bridge (cf. 5 ), albeit with bathochromic shifts, which permitted the assignment of the absolute configurations of the enantiomers of 2 – 4 . The assignments were supported by comparison of the experimental CD spectra with spectra calculated by the CNDO/S method. All first‐eluted enantiomers were found to have the (S)‐configuration.     

Modeling ionomer swelling dynamics of a sulfonated polyphenylene,pentablock copolymers,and nafion

The water swelling behavior of Nafion, sulfonated poly(phenylene) (sPP), and poly[t‐butyl styrene‐b‐hydrogenated isoprene‐b‐sulfonated styrene‐b‐hydrogenated isoprene‐b‐t‐butyl styrene) was studied in order to understand microscopic molecular interactions. Ionomer swelling was modeled using the Flory‐Rehner relationship to predict solvent‐ionomer interaction parameter (χ ₁₂) and effective number of elastically active chains (n ). Water swollen PBC had a decreasing χ₁₂ from 1.146 to 0.516 when its ion‐exchange capacity (IEC) increased from 1.0 to 2.0. Nafion 117 and sPP χ ₁₂ values were 0.93 and 0.807 at an IEC of 0.91 and 1.8. Polymer water uptake was inversely dependent upon n and IEC or sulfonic acid‐group concentration. The following trend was noted for ionomer type, n , and water uptake: PBC‐2.0 (159 wt % and 7.89e‐4 mol/cm³) > sPP (48.6 wt % and 1.40e‐3 mol/cm³) > Nafion 117 (23 wt % and 1.24e‐3 mol/cm³). The ionomer's Gibb's total free change (ΔG_Tot ) due to water swelling for Nafion 117 was ?15.3 J, sPP was ?28.5 J, and PBC‐2.0 was ?53.2 J. An empirical equation was created to estimate a material's total solubility parameter (δ ); and dispersion (δ_d ), dipolar (δ_p ,), and hydrogen bonding (δ_h ) forces. The δ values for Nafion 117, sPP, and PBC‐2.0 were 19.9 (J/cm³)^1/2, 21.3 (J/cm³)^1/2, and 21.0 (J/cm³)^1/2. Idealized swelling within an ionomer due to solvent. Ion domains are comprised of fixed sulfonated acid groups (? SO₃H) along the polymer's backbone. These functional groups provide interaction sites for molecules to diffusion and swell chains. The total change in free energy ΔG is dominated by ΔG_mix that is attributed to hydrogen bonding and the concentration of elastically active chains n , which directly impacts its chemical potential Δμ . © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55 , 435–443