ABSTRACT
ObjectiveBased on ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MSE） technique， we identified qualitatively the metabolites of aristolochic acid（AAs） in rat in order to analyze the metabolic differences between water extract of Aristolochiae fructus（AFE） and Aristolochic acid Ⅰ（AAⅠ）. MethodSD rats were selected and administered AFE（110 g·kg-1·d-1） or AAⅠ（5 mg·kg-1·d-1） by oral for 5 days， respectively. Serum， urine and feces were collected after administration. Through sample pretreatment， ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column（2.1 mm×100 mm， 1.7 μm） was used with the mobile phase of 0.01% formic acid methanol（A）-0.01% formic acid water（B， containing 5 mmol·L-1 ammonium acetate） for gradient elution（0-1 min， 10%B； 1-7 min， 10%-75%B； 7-7.2 min， 75%-95%B； 7.2-10.2 min， 95%B； 10.2-10.3 min， 95%-10%B； 10.3-12 min， 10%B） at a flow rate of 0.3 mL·min-1. Positive ion mode of electrospray ionization（ESI+） was performed in the scanning range of m/z 100-1 200. In combination with UNIFI 1.9.4.053 system， the Pathway-MSE was used to qualitatively analyze and identify the AAs prototype and related metabolites in biological samples（serum， urine and feces）， and to compare the similarities and differences of metabolites in rats in the subacute toxicity test between AFE group and AAⅠ group. ResultCompared with AAⅠ group， 6， 10， 13 common metabolites and 14， 20， 30 unique metabolites were identified in biological samples（serum， urine and feces） of AFE group， respectively. Moreover， the main AAs components always followed the metabolic processes of demethylation， nitrate reduction and conjugation. Compared with common metabolites in AAⅠ group， prototype components of AAⅠ in serum and most metabolic derivatives of AAⅠ［AAⅠa， aristolochic lactam Ⅰ（ALⅠ）a， 7-OHALⅠ and its conjugated derivatives］ in biological samples were significantly increased in AFE group（P<0.05， P<0.01）， except that the metabolic amount of ALⅠ in feces of AFE group was remarkably lowed than that of AAⅠ group（P<0.01）. In addition， a variety of special ALⅠ efflux derivatives were also identified in the urine and feces of the AFE group. ConclusionAlthough major AAs components in AFE all show similar metabolic rules as AAⅠ components in vivo， the coexistence of multiple AAs components in Aristolochiae Fructus may affect the metabolism of AAⅠ， and achieve the attenuating effect by increasing the metabolic effection of AAⅠ and ALⅠ.
ABSTRACT
Objective:In order to systematically clarify the chemical composition of Jiechangyan Qixiao granules， the main chemical components in this preparation were rapidly identified and assigned by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q-TOF/MS<sup>E</sup>）. Method:ACQUITY UPLC BEH C<sub>18</sub> column （2.1 mm×100 mm， 1.8 μm） was employed for UPLC analysis with the mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution （A）-acetonitrile （B） for gradient elution （0-2 min， 5%B； 2-16 min， 5%-21%B； 16-30 min， 21%-95%B； 30-33 min， 95%B； 33-34 min， 95%-5%B； 34-37 min， 5%B）. The flow rate was 0.3 mL·min<sup>-1</sup>， the column temperature was 30 ℃， and the volume of sample injection was 2 μL. Electrospray ionization （ESI） was applied for scanning under positive and negative ion modes with the scanning range of <italic>m</italic>/<italic>z</italic> 60-1 200. MS<sup>E</sup> mode was used to collect mass spectral data. The ion peaks were identified by comparing with the information of control substances， literature references and self-built database. Result:A total of 102 chemical components were separated and identified in Jiechangyan Qixiao granules， including organic acids， flavonoids and its glycosides， triterpenes， phenylethanoid glycosides， tannins， iridoid glycosides and other components， among which flavonoids and its glycosides were from Drynariae Rhizoma and Crataegi Fructus， phenylethanoid glycosides and iridoid glycosides were from Plantaginis Semen， triterpenoids and tannins were from Crataegi Fructus and Chebulae Fructus. Among the identified chemical constituents， there were 28 from Drynariae Rhizoma， 31 from Plantaginis Semen， 53 from Chebulae Fructus and 58 ingredients from Crataegi Fructus. Conclusion:The established UPLC-Q-TOF/MS<sup>E</sup> can comprehensively and rapidly analyze the chemical constituents in Jiechangyan Qixiao granules， and preliminarily elucidates the chemical composition profile of this granules， which can lay a foundation for further research on the pharmacodynamic material basis and quality control of Jiechangyan Qixiao granules.