ABSTRACT
Polyphyllin Ⅰ(PPⅠ)and polyphyllin Ⅱ(PⅡ)are the main active substances in the Paris polyphylla.However,liver toxicity of these compounds has impeded their clinical application and the potential hepatotoxicity mechanisms remain to be elucidated.In this work,we found that PPⅠ and PⅡ exposure could induce significant hepatotoxicity in human liver cell line L-02 and zebrafish in a dose-dependent manner.The results of the proteomic analysis in L-02 cells and transcriptome in zebrafish indicated that the hepa-totoxicity of PPⅡ and PⅡwas associated with the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway disorders,which were alleviated by the cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitor lovastatin.Additionally,3-hydroxy-3-methy-lglutaryl CoA reductase(HMGCR)and squalene epoxidase(SQLE),the two rate-limiting enzymes in the choles-terol synthesis,selected as the potential targets,were confirmed by the molecular docking,the over-expression,and knockdown of HMGCR or SQLE with siRNA.Finally,the pull-down and surface plasmon resonance technology revealed that PPⅠ could directly bind with SQLE but not with HMGCR.Collectively,these data demonstrated that PPⅠ-induced hepatotoxicity resulted from the direct binding with SQLE protein and impaired the sterol-regulatory element binding protein 2/HMGCR/SQLE/lanosterol synthase pathways,thus disturbing the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway.The findings of this research can contribute to a better understanding of the key role of SQLE as a potential target in drug-induced hepatotoxicity and provide a therapeutic strategy for the prevention of drug toxic effects with similar structures in the future.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveBy comparing the difference of volatile components of the decoction pieces before and after being processed by braising method of Jianchangbang and steaming method included in the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia， the influence of processing methods on the flavor formation of Polygoni Multiflori Radix （PMR） was compared. MethodHeadspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （HS-GC-MS） was used to detect the volatile components of 30 batches of PMR samples from 3 origins with 3 processing methods. The GC was performed under programmed temperature （starting temperature of 40 ℃， rising to 150 ℃ at 5 ℃·min-1， and then rising to 195 ℃ at 10 ℃·min-1） with high purity helium as carrier gas and the split ratio of 10∶1. Mass spectrometry conditions were electron impact ion source （EI） and the detection range of m/z 50-650， the peak area normalization method was used to calculate the relative mass fraction of each component. The chromaticity values of different processed products were measured by a precision colorimeter， the relationship between chromaticity values and relative contents of volatile components was investigated by OriginPro 2021， principal component analysis （PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis （OPLS-DA） were performed on the sample data by SIMCA14.1. The differential components of different processed products of PMR were screened according to the principle of variable importance in the projection （VIP） value>1.5， and the material basis of different odor formation of PMR and its processed products was explored. ResultA total of 59 volatile components were identified， among which 34 were raw products， 33 were braised products， and 27 were steamed products. PCA and OPLS-DA results showed that there were significant differences between the three， but there was no significant difference between samples from different origins of the same processing method. Color parameters of a*， b*， E*ab had no significant correlation with contents of volatile components， while L* was negatively correlated with contents of 2-methyl-2-butenal， 2-methyltetrahydrofuran-3-one and 2，3-dihydro-3，5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4（H）-pyran-4-one （P<0.05）. The contents of pungent odor components such as caproic acid， nonanoic acid and synthetic camphor decreased after processing， while the contents of sweet flavor components such as 2-methyl-2-butenal， furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural increased after processing， and the contents of furfural， 5-methyl-2-furanmethanol， 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and other aroma components in the braised products were significantly higher than that in the steamed products. ConclusionHS-GC-MS can quickly identify the volatile substance basis that causes the different odors of PMR and its processed products. The effect of processing methods on the odor is greater than that of origin. There is a significant correlation between the color parameter of L* and contents of volatile components， the "raw" taste of PMR may be related to volatile components such as caproic acid， pelargonic acid and synthetic camphor， the "flavor" after processing may be related to the increase of the contents of 2-methyl-2-butenal， furfural， 5-hydroxymethylfurfural， methyl maltol and furfuryl alcohol.