Identification and quantitative analysis of physalin D and its metabolites in rat urine and feces by liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Physalin D is known to show extensive bioactivities. However, no excretion study has elucidated the excretion of physalin D and its metabolites. This study investigates the excretion of physalin D and its metabolites in rats. Metabolites in rat urine and feces were separated and identified by liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. Furthermore, a validated high‐performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was developed to quantify physalin D, physalin D glucuronide, and physalin D sulfate in rat feces and urine after the intragastric administration of physalin D. The analyte showed good linearity over a wide concentration range (r  > 0.995), and the lower limit of quantification was 0.0532 μg/mL and 0.226 μg/g for urine and feces, respectively. Nine metabolites, including five phase I and four phase II metabolites, were identified and clarified after dosing in vivo. Only 4.0% of the gavaged dose, including physalin D and its phase II metabolites, was excreted in urine, whereas 10.8% was found in feces in the unchanged form. The results indicate that the extensive and rapid metabolism may be the main factors leading to the short half‐life of physalin D. These results can provide a basis for further studies on the structural modification and pharmacology of physalin D.     

Theoretische Aspekte der Untersuchung des Stickstoffmetabolismus mit 15N beim Menschen II. Probleme der Auswertung und Interpretation klinischer Untersuchungen

Klinische Untersuchungen zum menschlichen Stickstoffmetabolismus, die unter Verwendung des stabilen Stickstoffisotops ¹⁵N durchgeführt wurden, werden mit Hilfe eines 3-Compartmentmodells ausgewertet und interpretiert. Möglichkeiten zur Erweiterung dieses Modells werden diskutiert, und durch Computerstudien wird die Aussagekraft der aus Modellen gewonnenen Resultate überprüft.     

Crystal growth of calcium oxalate induced by the extracts of Semen Plantaginis and Folium Pyrrosiae

The crystallization of calcium oxalate (CaOxa) in aqueous solutions of the extracts of Semen Plantaginis and Folium Pyrrosiae has been investigated, focusing on the inhibition mechanism of some herbs on stone formation. It has been shown that in the presence of extracts of above two herbs, calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) crystals with typical morphologies of tetragonal bipyramids were obtained. This suggests that the extracts of Semen Plantaginis and Folium Pyrrosiae can promote the formation of thermodynamically unstable COD, and inhibit the formation of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM), a major component of urinary stone. The formation mechanism of COD crystals induced by Semen Plantaginis and Folium Pyrrosiae is also discussed, indicating that the bioorganic molecules in the extracts of the herbs can induce the nucleation and growth of COD crystals. This study can help us make clear the inhibition mechanism of some herbs on stone formation that is in favor of the prevention and treatment of urolithiasis. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Preclinical Bioavailability,Tissue Distribution,and Protein Binding Studies of Erinacine A,a Bioactive Compound from Hericium erinaceus Mycelia Using Validated LC-MS/MS Method

Erinacine A, derived from the mycelia of Hericium erinaceus, has attracted much attention due to its neuroprotective properties. However, very few studies have been conducted on the bioavailability, tissue distribution, and protein binding of erinacine A. This study aimed to investigate the bioavailability, tissue distribution, and protein binding of erinacine A in Sprague-Dawley rats. After oral administration (po) and intravenous administration (iv) of 2.381 g/kg BW of the H. erinaceus mycelia extract (equivalent to 50 mg/kg BW of erinacine A) and 5 mg/kg BW of erinacine A, respectively, the absolute bioavailability of erinacine A was estimated as 24.39%. Erinacine A was detected in brain at 1 h after oral dosing and reached the peak at 8 h. Protein binding assay showed unbound erinacine A fractions in brain to blood ratio is close to unity, supporting passive diffusion as the dominating transport. Feces was the major route for the elimination of erinacine A. This study is the first to show that erinacine A can penetrate the blood-brain barrier of rats by the means of passive diffusion and thus support the development of H. erinaceus mycelia for the improvement of neurohealth.     

Antibacterial effect of butyryl alkannin from Arnebia euchroma against vancomycin-resistant pathogens of Enterococcus faecalis causing urinary tract infections

This study was carried out to investigate the biomedicinal potential of a bioactive marker component, butyryl alkannin, isolated from n-hexane root extract of Arnebia euchroma against various vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) isolates of Enterococcus faecalis causing urinary tract infections. As a result, butyryl alkannin showed significant antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant E. faecalis pathogens of VRE as minimum inhibitory concentration values which were found in the range of 3.13 to 6.26 μg ml^? 1. The findings of this study justify biological and biomedicinal potential of butyryl alkannin compound as confirmed by its higher and significant antibacterial efficacy against VRE isolates of E. faecalis as compared to standard antibiotic vancomycin.     

乌梅提取液对草酸钙晶体生长的抑制作用研究

本文研究了水体系中加入乌梅提取液对草酸钙晶体生长的抑制作用,通过FTIR、SEM及XRD等测试方法对所得晶体进行表征。结果表明,不加乌梅提取液的体系中形成的晶体为一水合草酸钙(COM)晶体,加入乌梅提取液后,形成的是二水合草酸钙(COD)晶体,而且COD晶体的尺寸随着乌梅提取液浓度的增大而减小,直至消失,这说明乌梅提取液具有抑制草酸钙晶体生长的作用,且这种抑制作用随乌梅浓度的增大而增大。本文还通过电导率法研究了草酸钙晶体生长的动力学过程,发现乌梅提取液主要能抑制草酸钙晶体的成核过程。     

Multiple enzyme linked immunosorbent assay system on a capillary-assembled microchip integrating valving and immuno-reaction functions

Gastrodin is a bioactive constituent of rhizome in Gastrodia elata Blume (Orchidaceae) The aim of this study is to develop a rapid and sensitive liquid chromatographic method coupled to microdialysis sampling system to measure the unbound of gastrodin in rat blood, brain and bile. Microdialysis probes were simultaneously inserted into the jugular vein, brain striatum and bile duct of each anesthetized rat for sampling after the administration of gastrodin (100 or 300 mg kg⁻¹) through the femoral vein. Separation of unbound gastrodin from various biological fluids was applied to an RP-select B column (250 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 μm). The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile–50 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer–triethylamine (5:95:0.1, v/v/v, adjusted to pH 2.5 with orthophosphoric acid) with a flow rate of 1 mL min⁻¹. The UV detector wavelength was set at 221 nm. Fifteen minutes after the administration, the gastrodin reached the peak concentration in brain and bile. In addition, the results indicate that gastrodin penetrates the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and goes through hepatobiliary excretion.     

Challenges in quantitative analyses for volatile organic compounds bound to lipocalins

In this communication, I describe the challenges in quantitative analyses for volatile organic compounds in mouse urine, which are primarily caused by the presence of the major urinary proteins, a lipocalin subfamily, that sequester volatile ligands. The analyses of volatile compounds in mouse urine have been performed since the late 1970s. However, none of them considered the binding interactions of the quantified compounds with the urinary proteins. Some volatile ligands are tightly bound to the proteins and may not be extracted completely by organic solvents. The amounts of volatile ligands measured by external standard calibration represent those of the unbound ligands in the headspace, not the total amounts in urine. Addition of internal standards displaces ligands bound to the proteins, resulting in a completely different volatile profile. Normalization of volatile compounds using relative peak area (or height) ratios may not be used in the conditions where displacement of ligands bound to the proteins occurs. Because of the unique chemical properties of mouse urine, I have not been able to find a good quantification method for the volatile compounds released from mouse urine. I hope that the identification of these issues will stimulate others to come up with novel approaches.     

Quantitative and multicomponent analysis of prevalent urinary calculi using Raman spectroscopy

This study established a quantitative micro‐Raman spectroscopic (MRS) method for measuring multicomponents (binary and ternary compositions) of prevalent urine calculi extracted from the ureter after the ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URSL) procedure. The analysis used calibration curves of known mixtures of synthetically prepared calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM), hydroxyapatite (HAP), calcium oxalate dehydrate (COD), dicalcium phosphate dehydrate (DCPD), and uric acid. A variety of samples of binary and ternary mixtures including COM/HAP, COM/COD, COD/HAP, COM/uric acid, COD/uric acid, HAP/uric acid, HAP/DCPD, and COM/COD/HAP were prepared in various concentration ratios for use as the basis of the quantitative analysis. Intensities of the characteristic bands at 961 cm⁻¹ (I_HAP), 986 cm⁻¹ (I_DCPD), 1402 cm⁻¹ (I_UricAcid), 1462 cm⁻¹ (I_COM), and 1477 cm⁻¹ (I_COD) were used for the calculation. We derived a set of quantitative analysis equations for the ternary composition COD/COM/HAP group by combining two binary equations from the groups COM/COD and the HAP/COM. This study quantitatively measured 18 urine samples extracted from the 18 patients' ureters after the URSL procedure. Fifteen samples were binary mixtures, whereas three samples were ternary mixtures. This research successfully applied the quantitative MRS‐based analysis technique from bench to bedside. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.