Metabolites identification of Huo Luo Xiao Ling Dan in rat urine by UPLC coupled with electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Huo Luo Xiao Ling Dan (HLXLD), a Chinese herbal formula, is used in folk medicine for the treatment of arthritis and other chronic inflammatory diseases. However, the in vivo integrated metabolism of its multiple components remains unknown. In this paper, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) method was developed for detection and identification of HLXLD metabolites in rat urine at high and normal clinical dosages. The prototype constituents and their metabolites in urine were analyzed. The mass measurements were accurate within 8 ppm, and subsequent fragment ions offered higher quality structural information for interpretation of the fragmentation pathways of various compounds. A total of 85 compounds were detected in high dosages urine samples by a highly sensitive extracted ion chromatograms method, including 31 parent compounds and 54 metabolites. Our results indicated that phase 2 reactions (e.g. glucuronidation, glutathionidation and sulfation) were the main metabolic pathways of lactones, alkaloids and flavones, while phase I reactions (e.g. hydrogenation and hydroxylation) were the major metabolic reaction for coumarins, paeoniflorin and iridoids. This investigation provided important structural information on the metabolism of HLXLD and provided scientific evidence to obtain a more comprehensive metabolic profile.

In vivo metabolism study of bergenin in rats by HPLC-QTOF mass spectrometry.

Bergenin is the major component of Ardisia creanta sims and Rodgersia sambucifolia hemsl with many biological activities. Although bergenin has been used to treat human diseases in China for man years, there is no report regarding its metabolism. This is the first report to separate and identify the metabolites of bergenin in vivo. In the study, HPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS was used to investigate the metabolites of bergenin in vivo by analyzing the rat body fluid and feces samples. Three metabolites of bergenin were finally identified by the TIC chromatograms, and the structures were also confirmed by their MS(2) spectra.

Excretion of the lignans enterolactone and enterodiol and of equol in omnivorous and vegetarian postmenopausal women and in women with breast cancer.

Dietary studies and assays of urinary lignans in postmenopausal women showed that lignan excretion is significantly lower in urine of women with breast cancer than in normal omnivorous and vegetarian women and confirmed that there is a significant correlation between fibre intake and lignan excretion. It is suggested that the precursors of the human lignans enterolactone and enterodiol formed by the intestinal microflora are to be found in fibre-rich foods such as grains, nuts, and legumes. Excretion of equol, which has antioestrogenic properties, was similar in all groups studied and did not correlate with fibre intake, but occasional high values were found in some subjects.