Determination of rhein and physcion in rhubarb by microchip capillary electrophoresis in mixed hydro-organic solvent combined with laser-induced fluorescence detection

Microchip capillary electrophoresis in mixed hydro-organic solvent combined with laser-induced fluorescence detection was developed for the separation and detection of physcion and rhein in rhubarb. In contrast to the conventional capillary electrophoresis method, ammonium acetate-dimethyl sulfoxide was used as the basic buffer system in this method. The effects of background buffer, buffer apparent pH*, buffer concentration, water ratio, sample preparation method, and separation voltage on separation and detection were investigated. Optimized separation and detection conditions were obtained: the buffer consisted of 20 mmol/L of ammonium acetate in hydro-organic solvent composed dimethyl sulfoxide, formamide, and water mixed at 60/20/20 (v/v/v) ratio. The separation voltage was 1.9 kV. Under these conditions, the physcion, rhein, and other components of rhubarb can be completely separated within 150 s. Under the methodological verification, good linearity (R ≥ 0.9995) for physcion and rhein, and low limits of detection (0.085 μg·mL⁻¹ and 0.077 μg·mL⁻¹, respectively), satisfactory peak area precisions, migration time precisions (1.74%–3.09%), and accuracy (recovery rate 97.8% and 101.4%) were achieved. It is shown that the proposed method is simple, efficient, fast, sensitive, simple instrument, consumes few samples, has low operating cost, and is linear.     

In vitro and in vivo identification of metabolites of magnoflorine by LC LTQ‐Orbitrap MS and its potential pharmacokinetic interaction in Coptidis Rhizoma decoction in rat

Magnoflorine, an important aporphine alkaloid in Coptidis Rhizoma, is increasingly attracting research attention because of its pharmacological activities. The in vivo and in vitro metabolism of magnoflorine was investigated by LC LTQ‐Orbitrap MS. In vivo samples including rat urine, feces, plasma and bile were collected separately after both oral (50 mg kg^?1) and intravenous administration (10 mg kg^?1) of magnoflorine, along with in vitro samples prepared by incubating magnoflorine with rat intestinal flora and liver microsome. As a result, 12 metabolites were found in biological samples. Phase I metabolites were identified in all biological samples, while phase II metabolites were mainly detected in urine, plasma and bile. In a pharmacokinetic study, rats were not only dosed with magnoflorine via oral (15, 30 and 60 mg kg^?1) and intravenous administration (10 mg kg^?1) but also dosed with Coptidis Rhizoma decoction (equivalent to 30 mg kg^?1 of magnoflorine) by intragastric administration to investigate the interaction of magnoflorine with the rest of compounds in Coptidis Rhizoma. Studies showed that magnoflorine possessed lower bioavailability and faster absorption and elimination. However, pharmacokinetic parameters altered significantly (p < 0.05) when magnoflorine was administered in Coptidis Rhizoma decoction. Oral gavage of Coptidis Rhizoma decoction decreased the absorption and elimination rates of magnoflorine, which revealed that there existed pharmacokinetic interactions between magnoflorine and the rest of ingredients in Coptidis Rhizoma. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

GC–MS combined with chemometric techniques for the quality control and original discrimination of Curcumae longae rhizome: Analysis of essential oils

Curcumae longae rhizome is a widely used traditional herb in many countries. Various geographical origins of this herb might lead to diversity or instability of the herbal quality. The objective of this work was to establish the chemical fingerprints for quality control and find the chemical markers for discriminating these herbs from different origins. First, chemical fingerprints of essential oil of 24 C. longae rhizome from four different geographical origins in China were determined by GC–MS. Then, pattern recognition techniques were introduced to analyze these abundant chemical data in depth; hierarchical cluster analysis was used to sort samples into groups by measuring their similarities, and principal component analysis and partial least‐squares discriminate analysis were applied to find the main chemical markers for discriminating these samples. Curcumae longae rhizome from Guangxi province had the highest essential oil yield (4.32 ± 1.45%). A total of 46 volatile compounds were identified in total. Consistent results were obtained to show that C. longae rhizome samples could be successfully grouped according to their origins, and turmerone, ar‐turmerone, and zingiberene were the characteristic components for discriminating these samples of various geographical origins and for quality control. This finding revealed that fingerprinting analysis based on GC–MS coupled with chemometric techniques could provide a reliable platform to discriminate herbs from different origins, which is a benefit for quality control.     

Screening epidermal growth factor receptor antagonists from Radix et Rhizoma Asari by two‐dimensional liquid chromatography

Radix et Rhizoma Asari is a traditional Chinese medicine, and has many pharmacological effects, such as calming, analgesia, anti‐inflammation, antiarrhythmic, antihypertensive, antivirus, etc. But few studies have screened the active compounds from extracts of Radix et Rhizoma Asari for tumor therapy. In this study, a two‐dimensional liquid chromatography system was built to screen active compounds acting on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) from Radix et Rhizoma Asari. The screening result showed that asarinin from Radix et Rhizoma Asari was the targeted component that could act on EGFR specificity. The competitive binding assay and molecular docking assay results showed asarinin binding with EGFR in similar manner as with gefitinib, which was used as a positive control drug. Then the antitumor effect of asarinin was studied through cell growth assay in vitro. The results showed that gefitinib and asarinin could inhibit highly expressed EGFR cell growth in a dose‐dependent manner in the range of dose from 0.10 to 102.4 μM. This two‐dimensional liquid chromatography system will be a useful method in drug discovery from natural medicinal herbs for searching potential antitumor candidates.     

超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法定性和高效液相色谱法定量分析天南星中氨基酸成分

为建立中药材中氨基类极性非紫外活性成分的定性与定量分析方法,以中药材天南星为研究对象,采用柱前衍生化技术,以异硫氰酸苯酯(PITC)为衍生化试剂,经C₁₈色谱柱(100 mm×2.1 mm, 3.5 μm)分离和超高效液相色谱-串联质谱(UHPLC-MS/MS)分析,共解析了天南星中20个成分,包括18个氨基酸和2个胺类化合物。经优化衍生化条件,应用高效液相色谱法(HPLC),以Diamonsil C₁₈色谱柱(250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm)分离,以乙腈和0.05 mol/L醋酸铵-醋酸缓冲液(pH 6.5)为流动相,梯度洗脱,在254 nm下检测,建立了同时测定15种氨基酸含量的方法,经方法学考察符合含量测定要求。谷氨酸、色氨酸在2~100 mg/L范围内、精氨酸在6~300 mg/L范围内、其余各氨基酸在0.8~40 mg/L范围内均呈良好的线性关系,相关系数均不小于0.9995;平均回收率在95%~105%之间,RSD均小于3%;并成功应用于12批中药材的测定。本方法简便、灵敏、准确,具有可操作性,可用于快速鉴定中药中的氨基类成分以及进行含量测定。     

Application of non-ionic surfactant in the microwave-assisted extraction of alkaloids from Rhizoma Coptidis

The feasibility of employing non-ionic surfactant oligoethylene glycol monoalkyl ether (Genapol X-080) as an alternative and effective solvent for the microwave-assisted extraction of alkaloids from Rhizoma Coptidis was demonstrated. When compared with commonly used solvents, 5% Genapol X-080 enhanced the extraction efficiency. Under optimal conditions, i.e. 5% acidified Genapol X-080 (v/v), microwave-assisted extraction for 10 min at 100 °C, the extraction recovery of alkaloids reached 92.8% in a one-step extraction. The efficiency of cloud-point preconcentration of three alkaloids was in the range 93.6-94.7% with relative standard deviation lower than 3.3% by the proposed procedure. Furthermore, the combination of microwave-assisted extraction and cloud-point extraction was shown to be a green, rapid and effective approach for alkaloids preconcentration of Rhizoma Coptidis samples.     

应用电化学指纹图谱优化黄连水提取工艺的研究

以黄连提取液中的总成分为定量指标,应用电化学振荡技术获取不同提取工艺的电化学指纹图谱.根据电化学指纹图谱特征参数诱导时间来考察其水溶性有效成分含量的高低,与高效液相色谱含量测定方法对照,验证了该方法的可靠性,确定黄连提取的最佳工艺为:采用12倍量的水,提取1.5 h,提取2次.结果表明利用电化学指纹图谱的诱导时间优化中药水溶性有效成分的提取工艺是可行的.     

微量热法比较黄连中四种生物碱的抗菌作用

采用微量热法研究和比较中药黄连中四种生物碱(BAs)的抗菌(大肠杆菌)作用。这四种生物碱分别为小檗碱、黄连碱、巴马汀和药根碱。用LKB-2277生物活性检测系统,以停留法测定了37 ℃时大肠杆菌在BAs作用下的热流功率-时间曲线,并记录生长速率常数k, 指数生长期和稳定期的最大热功率Pm, log、Pm, stat, 生长抑制率I, 传代时间tg,指数生长期的总产热量Qt, log,半数抑菌浓度IC50等热动力学参数。结果显示这四种生物碱具有相异的抗大肠杆菌生长代谢的作用,k, Pm, log和Qt, log值随BAs浓度的增加而相应的减少。综合分析k, Pm, log, Qt, log, I 和IC50值可以看出,BAs抑制大肠杆菌生长代谢强度按小檗碱、黄连碱、巴马汀、药根碱的顺序依次减弱。构效关系研究表明,母环C-2和C-3上连接的亚甲二氧基比甲氧基更能显著增强相应化合物的抗菌作用,而C-9和C-10上连接的亚甲二氧基或甲氧基对这种抗菌作用影响不大。     

水蒸气蒸馏提取与顶空进样GC-MS分析高良姜挥发性成分

比较了水蒸气蒸馏法和顶空加热法提取高良姜挥发性成分的方法,并进行GC-MS分析。结果表明,两种提取方法无论在成分还是其相对含量均存在一定的差异。采用顶空进样技术可鉴定出31个挥发性化学成分,采用水蒸气蒸馏法可鉴定出31个挥发性化学成分,两种方法共有成分为16种。两种样品采集方法分别提供了高良姜不同沸点挥发物的化学信息,运用这两种方法可以建立更全面的高良姜挥发性成分GC-MS表征体系。     

Urinary biomarker and treatment mechanism of Rhizoma Alismatis on hyperlipidemia

Rhizoma Alismatis (RA), a diuretic in Asia and Europe, was found to possess anti‐hyperlipidemic activity. Since the biomarkers and mechanisms of RA in the treatment of hyperlipidemia are inadequate, ultra‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight synapt high‐definition mass spectrometry and multivariate data analysis were employed to investigate the urinary metabolomics of RA on hyperlipidemic rats induced by high‐fat diet. The metabolic profile of RA‐treated hyperlipidemic group located between control and diet‐induced hyperlipidemic groups. Nineteen metabolites with significant fluctuations were identified as potential biomarkers related to the hyperlipidemia and anti‐hyperlipidemia of RA using partial least‐squares‐discriminate analysis, heatmap analysis and correlation coefficient analysis. The fluctuations of these biomarkers represented disturbances in amino acid metabolism, purine metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism and energy metabolism. After RA treatment, these perturbed metabolites were restored to normal or nearly normal levels. RA can alleviate high‐fat diet‐induced dysfunctions in these metabolic pathways.