Profiling the metabolic differences of anthraquinone derivatives using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry with data‐dependent acquisition

This work concentrates on the in vitro metabolism of anthraquinone derivatives from rhubarb. Different metabolic reactions for anthraquinone derivatives were dependent on the substituent group in the skeleton. Monohydroxylation in the exocyclic methyl group was the major metabolic modification for emodin. Aloe‐emodin containing a hydroxymethyl group was mainly metabolized through a methylation reaction. For rhein, both hydrogenation and methyl substitution on the benzene ring were the major metabolic reactions. Hydroxyl substitution on the benzene ring was the predominant metabolic reaction for chrysophanol. For physcion, demethylation of the exocyclic methoxy group was the most important metabolic reaction. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pharmacokinetics of anthraquinones in rat plasma after oral administration of a rhubarb extract

A sensitive and specific LC‐MS/MS method was developed for simultaneous determination of aloe‐emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol and physcion and their conjugates in rat plasma. The lower limit of quantitation of each anthraquinone was 0.020–0.040 µm . Intra‐day and inter‐day accuracies were 90.1–114.3% and the precisions were <14.6%. The matrix effects were 104.0–113.2%. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study in rats receiving a rhubarb extract orally. The area under the concentration–time curve (AUC_0–t) and peak concentration (C_max) of free aloe‐emodin and emodin in rat plasma were much lower than those of rhein. The amounts of chrysophanol and physcion were too low to be continuously detected. After treating the plasma samples with β‐glucuronidases, each anthraquinone was detectable throughout the experimental period (36 h) and showed much higher plasma concentrations and AUC_0–t. The free/total ratios of aloe‐emodin, rhein and emodin were 6.5, 49.0 and 1.7% for C_max and 3.7, 32.5 and 1.1% for AUC_0–t, respectively. The dose‐normalized AUC_0–t and C_max of the total of each anthraquinone were in the same descending order: rhein > emodin > chrysophanol > physcion > aloe‐emodin. These findings reveal phase II conjugates as the dominant in vivo existing forms of rhubarb antharquinones and warrant a further study to evaluate their contribution to the herbal activity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High-performance thin layer chromatography method for quantitative determination of four major anthraquinone derivatives in Rheum emodi

A high-performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for the rapid and simple quantification of the four major anthraquinone derivatives i.e. physcion, chrysophanol, emodin and chrysophanol glycoside in Rheum emodi is described. HPTLC of anthraquinone derivatives was performed on pre-coated RP-18 F254S HPTLC plates. For achieving good separation, the mobile phase of methanol-water-formic acid (80:19:1, v/v/v) was used. The densitometric determination of anthraquinone derivatives was carried out at 445 nm in reflection/absorption mode. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 20-100 ng for physcion, 80-400 ng for chrysophanol and emodin, and 200-1000 ng for chrysophanol glycoside. The method was found to be reproducible and convenient for quantitative analysis of anthraquinone derivatives in the methanolic extract of rhizomes of R. emodi collected from three different locations of Western Himalaya, India.     

Isolation and identification of anthraquinones of Caloplaca cerina and Cassia tora

Five hydroxyanthraquinone derivatives physcion, emodin, fallacinal, teloschistin, and 1,3-dimethoxy-8-hydroxy-6-methyl-9,10-anthraquinone were isolated from the lichen Caloplaca cerina growing in Serbia. Three anthraquinone derivatives, namely physcion, emodin, and rhein were isolated and identified from the Thai medicinal plant Cassia tora. Presented at the 33rd International Conference of the Slovak Society of Chemical Engineering, Tatranské Matliare, 22–26 May 2006.     

Application of an efficient strategy based on liquid–liquid extraction,high‐speed counter‐current chromatography,and preparative HPLC for the rapid enrichment,separation, and purification of four anthraquinones from Rheum tanguticum

This study presents an efficient strategy based on liquid–liquid extraction, high‐speed counter‐current chromatography, and preparative HPLC for the rapid enrichment, separation, and purification of four anthraquinones from Rheum tanguticum. A new solvent system composed of petroleum ether/ethyl acetate/water (4:2:1, v/v/v) was developed for the liquid–liquid extraction of the crude extract from R. tanguticum. As a result, emodin, aloe‐emodin, physcion, and chrysophanol were greatly enriched in the organic layer. In addition, an efficient method was successfully established to separate and purify the above anthraquinones by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography and preparative HPLC. This study supplies a new alternative method for the rapid enrichment, separation, and purification of emodin, aloe‐emodin, physcione, and chrysophanol.     

Separation of three anthraquinone glycosides including two isomers by preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography and high‐speed countercurrent chromatography from Rheum tanguticum Maxim. ex Balf

Anthraquinone glycosides, such as chrysophanol 1‐O‐β‐d‐ glucoside, chrysophanol 8‐O‐β‐d‐ glucoside, and physion 8‐O‐β‐d‐ glucoside, are the accepted important active components of Rheum tanguticum Maxim. ex Balf. due to their pharmacological properties: antifungal, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and antioxidant activities. However, an effective method for the separation of the above‐mentioned anthraquinone glycosides from this herb is not currently available. Especially, greater difficulty existed in the separation of the two isomers chrysophanol 1‐O‐β‐d‐ glucoside and chrysophanol 8‐O‐β‐d‐ glucoside. This study demonstrated an efficient strategy based on preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography and high‐speed countercurrent chromatography for the separation of the above‐mentioned anthraquinone glycosides from Rheum tanguticum Maxim.ex Balf.     

Anthraquinone profile, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of bark extracts of Rhamnus catharticus and R. orbiculatus

The anthraquinone profile, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities as well as the total phenol and total flavonoid contents were determined in methanol extracts of the barks of Rhamnus catharticus L. and R. orbiculatus Bornm. The most abundant anthraquinone derivatives in R. catharticus were physcion (67.8%) and emodin (26.2%), while R. orbiculatus contained mostly physcion (81.3%) and chrysophanol (14.6%). R. catharticus displayed better activity in the beta-carotene-linoleic acid assay, as well as chelating activity, whereas its activity in the reducing power assay was significantly lower than that of R. orbiculatus. Both methanol extracts showed antimicrobial activity against all microbial species tested (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Microsporum gypseum) with MIC values either equal to or lower than 2.50 mg/mL. R. catharticus and R. orbiculatus contained several anthranoid aglycones and their bark extracts demonstrated notable antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The results obtained indicate the medicinal potential of these two species.     

Application of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium-based ionic liquids as background electrolyte in capillary zone electrophoresis for the simultaneous determination of five anthraquinones in Rhubarb

A capillary zone electrophoresis method using only 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium-based ionic liquids as background electrolyte for the simultaneous determination of five anthraquinone derivatives including aloe-emodin, emodin, chrysophanol, physcion and rhein in Rhubarb species was described. Ion association constants, K_ass, between anthraquinone anions and imidazolium cations were determined by analyzing the electrophoretic mobility change of anthraquinone anions using a non-linear least-squares method and factors contributing to ion associability were systematically clarified. For method optimization, several parameters such as ionic liquids concentration, background electrolyte pH and applied voltage, on the separation were evaluated and the optimum conditions were obtained as follows: 90 mM 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (pH 11.0) with an applied voltage of 20 kV. Under these conditions, the method has been successfully applied to the determination of anthraquinones in extracts of two kinds of Rhubarb plants (R. palmatum and R. hotaoense) within 12 min. The method proposed herein was shown to be much simpler than the previously reported methods.     

蒽醌类药物与人血清白蛋白相互作用的研究

介绍了自行组装的波长检测型表面等离子体子共振(SPR)传感装置的原理和构造。应用此SPR传感器研究了三种蒽醌类药物与人血清白蛋白的相互作用,并分别计算了它们作用的动力学常数、热力学常数及结合百分率。结果表明,这些蒽醌类药物与人血清白蛋白都有不同程度的结合。     

Phytochemistry,Ethnopharmacological Uses,Biological Activities,and Therapeutic Applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: A Comprehensive Review

Cassia obtusifolia L., of the Leguminosae family, is used as a diuretic, laxative, tonic, purgative, and natural remedy for treating headache, dizziness, constipation, tophobia, and lacrimation and for improving eyesight. It is commonly used in tea in Korea. Various anthraquinone derivatives make up its main chemical constituents: emodin, chrysophanol, physcion, obtusifolin, obtusin, au rantio-obtusin, chryso-obtusin, alaternin, questin, aloe-emodin, gluco-aurantio-obtusin, gluco-obtusifolin, naphthopyrone glycosides, toralactone-9-β-gentiobioside, toralactone gentiobioside, and cassiaside. C. obtusifolia L. possesses a wide range of pharmacological properties (e.g., antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective properties) and may be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer. In addition, C. obtusifolia L. contributes to histamine release and antiplatelet aggregation. This review summarizes the botanical, phytochemical, and pharmacological features of C. obtusifolia and its therapeutic uses.     

Simultaneous determination of eight adulterants in weight management supplements and herbs by HPLC–DAD and LC–MS/MS

An efficient HPLC–DAD method was developed for simultaneous determination of eight adulterants in weight management supplements and herbs. The eight adulterants were phenolphthalein, sibutramine, nuciferine, and five anthraquinone compounds including aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol, and physcion. The analytes were ultrasonically extracted with 70% (v/v) methanol aqueous solution followed by centrifugation. The supernatant was subjected to HPLC analysis. A Phenomenex Luna C18 column was applied for chromatographic separation. The mobile phase was consisted of methanol and aqueous solution of 0.05% (v/v) phosphoric acid–0.025% (m/v) sodium dodecyl sulfonate. The flow rate of mobile phase was 0.8?ml?min^?1 with gradient elution. Clenbuterol and ibuprofen were used as internal standards. The retention times and the characteristic UV spectrograms were used for qualitative analysis. Quantifications were based on the internal standard curves. Good linearities (r?>?0.9996) for all analytes were obtained with the intra- and inter-day precision (n?=?6) ranging from 0.76 to 5.9% and 0.90 to 8.1%, respectively. The average recoveries from the spiked samples with different matrices varied from 73.4 to 114%. Validations were subsequently performed using LC–MS/MS. The proposed method successfully determined the target adulterants in eight commercial weight management supplements and five weight reducing herbs with satisfactory results.     

高效液相色谱/电喷雾-离子阱-飞行时间质谱分析鉴定中药虎杖中的主要化学成分

建立了快速、准确鉴别中药虎杖中化学成分的液相色谱-质谱法。采用高效液相色谱/电喷雾-离子阱-飞行时间质谱(HPLC/ESI-IT-TOF MS)对蒽醌类以及羟基二苯乙烯类对照品,包括大黄素、大黄酚、大黄素甲醚、大黄酸、芦荟大黄素和虎杖苷进行了分析,总结其多级裂解规律。建立了虎杖甲醇提取物的液相色谱分离条件及质谱检测条件,根据负离子模式下获得的各组分多级质谱数据,对比对照品碎裂特征并参考文献,对主要色谱峰进行指认,共鉴别了10个化合物,包括白藜芦醇-4′-O-葡萄糖苷、虎杖苷、大黄素-8-O-葡萄糖苷、白藜芦醇、决明松-8-O-葡萄糖苷、大黄素-1-O-葡萄糖苷、决明松-8-O-(6′-乙酰基)葡萄糖苷、大黄素甲醚-8-O-葡萄糖苷、大黄素甲醚-8-O-(6′-乙酰基)葡萄糖苷和大黄素,其中决明松-8-O-(6′-乙酰基)葡萄糖苷和大黄素甲醚-8-O-(6′-乙酰基)葡萄糖苷为虎杖中新发现的成分。研究结果表明,在中药化学成分研究工作中,采用电喷雾-离子阱-飞行时间质谱可提高中药化学成分的分析效率并有利于新化合物的发现和鉴别。     

Chinese hamster ovary‐sphingomyelin synthase2 biospecific extraction and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry analysis for the prediction of bioactive components of Rhizoma Polygoni Cuspidati

A novel strategy for predicting bioactive components in traditional Chinese medicines using Chinese hamster ovary‐sphingomyelin synthase2 (CHO‐SMS₂) cell biospecific extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection and tandem mass spectrometry analysis was proposed. The hypothesis is that when cells are incubated with the extract of traditional Chinese medicines, the potential bioactive components in the traditional Chinese medicines should selectively combine with the cells, while the cell‐combining components would be detectable in the extract of denatured cells. The identities of the cell‐combining components could be determined by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Using the proposed approach, the potential bioactive components of Rhizoma Polygoni Cuspidati, a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for atherosclerosis, were detected and identified. Eight compounds in the extract of Rhizoma Polygoni Cuspidati were detected as the components selectively combined with CHO‐SMS₂ cells, which is a stable cell line that highly expresses sphingomyelin synthases, it was found that piceid, resveratrol, emodin‐8‐β‐d‐ glucoside, physcion‐8‐β‐d‐ glucoside, emodin, physcion, 3,5,4‘‐trihydroxystilbene‐3‐O‐(6“‐galloyl)‐glucoside, and emodin‐1‐O‐glucoside combined specifically with CHO‐SMS₂ cells. The results indicate that the proposed approach may be applied to predict the bioactive candidates in traditional Chinese medicines.     

Simultaneous quantification of five anthraquinones in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method with fluorescence detection (excitation 435 and emission 515 nm) was established and validated for quantification of five anthraquinones (aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol and physcion) in rat plasma. Following a single-step liquid-liquid extraction, the analytes and internal standard (1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone) were separated on a reversed-phase C(18) column with water-phosphoric acid-methanol as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The linear ranges of the calibration curves were 6.5-1300 ng/mL for aloe-emodin, 20-4000 ng/mL for rhein, 40-8000 ng/mL for emodin, 15-3000 ng/mL for chrysophanol and 13-2600 ng/mL for physcion. The lower limit of quantification was 6.5 ng/mL for aloe-emodin, 20 ng/mL for rhein, 40 ng/mL for emodin, 15 ng/mL for chrysophanol and 13 ng/mL for physcion. The mean accuracy was 94.3-105.1% for aloe-emodin, 90.3-108.8% for rhein, 92.6-106.7% for emodin, 95.8-103.8% for chrysophanol and 98.7-101.2% for physcion. The within-batch and between-batch precisions were < or = 5.5% and < or = 13.4%, respectively. This method is suitable for determining the five anthraquinones in plasma simultaneously and thus investigating the pharmacokinetics of anthraquinones from Xiexin decoction in rats.     

Simultaneous determination of anthraquinones in radix Polygoni multiflori by capillary gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection

A rapid, accurate and reliable analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of five major anthraquinones, aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, emodin, physcion, and rhein, in radix Polygoni multiflori, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The method comprises a fast ultrasonic extraction with methanol and derivatization with N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA)+1% trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) followed by capillary gas chromatographic (GC) separation. The effect of reaction time on the derivatization of anthraquinones was examined. A baseline separation of the anthraquinone and internal standard derivatives was achieved in 15min. The detection limits range from 0.22 to 0.60microg/mL for the five anthraquinones. The calibration curves are linear over the concentration range studied (from the detection limits to 40.0microg/mL) with the squares of correlation coefficients, R2, greater than 0.998. The developed method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of anthraquinones in radix P. multiflori samples. The peak identification was confirmed using GC-MS. The contents of anthraquinones in radix P. multiflori samples studied were 27.41, 289.6, 64.22, 202.1, 288.6microg/g for chrysophanol, emodin, aloe-emodin, physcion, rhein, respectively. All relative standard deviations are less than 3.2%. The recoveries range from 80.2% to 119.3% for the five analytes. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first GC method reported for the simultaneous determination of the five anthraquinones in radix P. multiflori.     

Veronicosid,ein neues Iridoidglucosid aus Veronica officinalisL.(Scrophulariaceae)

Veronicoside, a new iridoid glucoside from Veronica officinalis L. (Scrophulariaceae) A new iridoid glucoside, Veronicoside ( 1 ) has been isolated from Veronica officinalis L. The structure of 1 has been determined by chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis as 6-benzoylcatalpol.     

Structure elucidation of a sodium salified anthraquinone from the seeds of Cassia obtusifolia by NMR technique assisted with acid–alkali titration

A new sodium salt of anthraquinone named sodium emodin‐1‐O‐β‐gentiobioside, together with nine known compounds, viz. rubrofusarin‐6‐O‐β‐D ‐gentiobioside, chrysophanol‐1‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl‐(1–3)‐β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl‐(1–6)‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside, obtusifolin‐2‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside, aurantio‐obtusin‐6‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside, physcion‐8‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside, 1‐hydroxyl‐2‐acetyl‐3,8‐dimethoxy‐6‐O‐β‐D ‐apiofuranosyl‐(1–2)‐β‐D ‐glucosylnaphthalene, toralactone‐9‐O‐β‐D ‐gentiobioside, aurantio‐obtusin, rubrofusarin‐6‐O‐β‐D ‐apiofuranosyl‐(1–6)‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside, was isolated from the seeds of Cassia obtusifolia and its structure was elucidated by ¹H and ¹³C NMR technique assisted with acid–alkali titration. The change of chemical shifts of sodium emodin‐1‐O‐β‐gentiobioside before and after acid–alkali titration was also characterized. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination and locational variations in the quantity of hydroxyanthraquinones and their glycosides in rhizomes of Rheum emodi using high-performance liquid chromatography

Locational variations in the quantity of five hydroxyanthraquinone derivatives (emodin glycoside (1), chrysophanol glycoside (2), emodin (3), chrysophanol (4) and physcion (5)) in the rhizomes of Rheum emodi are described. A simple and reliable method was developed for quantitation of compounds (1-5) in the methanolic extract of rhizomes of R. emodi using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with photo-diode array detector (PDA). The separation was carried out using a Purospher((R))-Star RP-18 e column (4.6mm i.d.x 250 mm, 5 microm) under the following conditions: acetonitrile:methanol (95:5, v/v) (solvent A) and water:acetic acid (99.9:0.1, v/v) (solvent B) as mobile phase with a linear gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. The detection wavelength was set at 290 nm. Regression equation revealed a linear relationship (r(2)>0.9901) between the mass of hydroxyanthraquinone derivatives injected and the peak areas. The detection limits (S/N=3) ranged from 0.56 to 3.50 ng/mL and the recoveries ranged from 95.7 to 103.5% for five hydroxyanthraquinone derivatives. Compound 2 was found in maximum quantity (up to 2.23%) in the rhizomes from all the three locations (L(1), L(2) and L(3)) while compound 5 was found in the least quantity (up to 0.19%).     

An Efficient Route to Emodic Amine and Analogous O-Methyl Protected Derivatives Starting from Emodin

Emodic amine could be synthesized in a five-step approach in excellent overall yield by following a modified Curtius rearrangement strategy, starting from the naturally occurring emodin. This unique emodin derived 6-amino substituted polyhydroxylated anthraquinone may serve as a promising synthon for a new class of amino functionalized photodynamically active hypericin derivatives. In addition, the partially O-methyl protected 6-amino- and 6-carboxy-anthraquinones could be synthesized in high yields via selective O-methyl ether cleavage from the corresponding tri-O-methyl derivatives.     

大黄蒽醌衍生物在杯[8]芳烃键合固定相上色谱行为的研究

研究了药用掌叶大黄中5种蒽醌衍生物在对-叔丁基杯[8]芳烃硅胶键合固定相上的高效液相色谱行为,并与ODS固定相进行了比较。研究发现这类化合物与杯[8]芳烃固定相之间存在多种相互作用,除疏水作用外,分离过程中还存在与ODS不同的色谱分离机制。杯芳烃键合相与溶质之间的氢键作用、包容络合作用改变了杯芳烃固定相对它们的选择性。