Metabolomic analysis reveals the changing trend and differential markers of volatile and nonvolatile components of Artemisiae argyi with different aging years.

INTRODUCTION: Artemisia argyi Folium (AAF) is a traditional medicinal herb and edible plant. Analyzing the differential metabolites that affect the efficacy of AAF with different aging years is necessary. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the changing trend and differential markers of volatile and nonvolatile metabolites of AAF from different aging years, which are necessary for application in clinical medicine. METHODOLOGY: Metabolites were analyzed using a widely targeted metabolomic approach based on ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS). RESULTS: A total of 153 volatile metabolites and 159 nonvolatile metabolites were identified. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) could clearly distinguish AAF aged for 1 year (AF-1), 3 years (AF-3), and 5 years (AF-5). Seven flavonoids and nine terpenoids were identified as biomarkers for tracking the aging years. CONCLUSIONS: The metabolomic method provided an effective strategy for tracking and identifying biomarkers of AAF from different aging years. This study laid the foundation for analysis of the biological activity of Artemisia argyi with different aging years.

Quality Evaluation of Peony Petals Based on the Chromatographic Fingerprints and Simultaneous Determination of Sixteen Bioactive Constituents Using UPLC-DAD-MS/MS.

In this study, a validated quality evaluation method with peony flower fingerprint chromatogram combined with simultaneous determination of sixteen bioactive constituents was established using UPLC-DAD-MS/MS. The results demonstrated that the method was stable, reliable, and accurate. The UPLC chemical fingerprints of 12 different varieties of peonies were established and comprehensively evaluated by similarity evaluation (SE), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and quantification analysis. The results of SE indicated that similar chemical components were present in these samples regardless of variety, but there were significant differences in the content of chemical components and material basis characteristics. The results of HCA and PCA showed that 12 varieties of samples were divided into two groups. Four flavonoids (11, 12, 13, and 16), five monoterpenes and their glycosides (3, 4, 6, 14, and 15), three tannins (7, 9, and 10), three phenolic acids (1, 2, and 5), and one aromatic acid (8) were identified from sixteen common peaks by standards and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The simultaneous quantification of six types of components was conducted with the 12 samples, it was found that the sum contents of analytes varied obviously for peony flower samples from different varieties. The content of flavonoids, tannins, and monoterpenes (≥19.34 mg/g) was the highest, accounting for more than 78.45% of the total compounds. The results showed that the flavonoids, tannins, and monoterpenes were considered to be the key indexes in the classification and quality assessment of peony flower. The UPLC-DAD-MS/MS method coupled with multiple compounds determination and fingerprint analysis can be effectively applied as a feature distinguishing method to evaluate the compounds in peony flower raw material for product quality assurance in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Moreover, this study provides ideas for future research and the improvement of products by these industries.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of polyphenols in camelina seed and theirs antioxidant activities.

Camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] seed has long been consumed as a source of food in Canada. But limited information is available concerning the systematical evaluation of the composition, content, and antioxidant activity of Camelina seed polyphenol extract (CSPE). Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify, quantify and evaluate the antioxidant activity of CSPE. The result showed that eight compositions were identified and determined by the UPLC-DAD-ESI-MS2 analysis. CSPE has potent free radical scavenging capacity. CSPE treatment significantly increased the activities of the antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and catalase) and glutathione content in a dose-dependent manner in RAW264.7 cells with oxidative injury and also reduced malondialdehyde content (P < 0.01). It may be concluded that CSPE has a strong antioxidant activity as depicted by the in vitro experiments and thus possesses the potential to be developed as food antioxidants or as an ingredient in functional foods.

Experimental study of Forsythoside A on prevention and treatment of avian infectious bronchitis.

Forsythoside A is the main active ingredient in the Chinese medicine Forsythia suspensa, which has antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidation, and immunoregulatory effects. It is reported that Forsythoside A can significantly inhibit the replication of the avian infectious bronchitis virus(IBV) in cells, but there is no report in chickens. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Forsythoside A on IBV-M41, experiments were designed using 120 chickens at 12 days of age. The chickens were randomly divided into eight groups: Forsythoside A high-, medium-, and low-dose prevention groups, Forsythoside A high-, medium-, and low-dose treatment groups, model control group and normal control group. All chickens, except the normal control group, were inoculated with 0.2 ml of IBV-M41 at 15 days of age.The antiviral effects were evaluated by clinical signs, weight, histopathology, T-,B-lymphocyte proliferation, T-lymphocyte subsets and cytokine levels.The results showed that the infection rate in each Forsythoside A prevention group was significantly lower than that in the treatment group and model control group (P < 0.05). The recovery rate in each Forsythoside A treatment group was significantly higher than that in the model control group (P < 0.05), and the recovery rate in high- and medium-dose treatment group was the highest, at up to 86.67%. Lymphocytic transformation ability significantly improved in the prevention and treatment groups. Forsythoside A significantly improved the CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T-lymphocyte of infected chickens. The cytokine level was able to maintain high concentrations of IL-2 and IFN-α for a long time and maintain a dynamic IL-4-concentration balance. A number of results showed that Forsythoside A had both preventive and therapeutic effects in IBV-M41-infected chickens, among which the high-dose (80 mg/kg/d) prevention group，the high- (80 mg/kg/d) and medium (40 mg/kg/d) -dose treatment group had significant effects.