A mannitol-modified emodin nano-drug restores the intestinal barrier function and alleviates inflammation in a mouse model of DSS-induced ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory disease of the colon that is characterized by mucosal ulcers. Given its increasing prevalence worldwide, it is imperative to develop safe and effective drugs for treating UC. Emodin, a natural anthraquinone derivative present in various medicinal herbs, has demonstrated therapeutic effects against UC. However, low bioavailability due to poor water solubility limits its clinical applications. METHODS: Emodin-borate nanoparticles (EmB) were synthesized to improve drug solubility, and they modified with oligomeric mannitol into microgels (EmB-MO) for targeted delivery to intestinal macrophages that express mannose receptors. UC was induced in a mouse model using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), and different drug formulations were administered to the mice via drinking water. The levels of inflammation-related factors in the colon tissues and fecal matter were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Intestinal permeability was evaluated using fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran. HE staining, in vivo imaging, real-time PCR, and western blotting were performed to assess intestinal barrier dysfunction. RESULTS: Both EmB and EmB-MO markedly alleviated the symptoms of UC, including body weight loss, stool inconsistency, and bloody stools and restored the levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. However, the therapeutic effects of EmB-MO on the macroscopic and immunological indices were stronger than those of EmB and similar to those of 5-aminosalicylic acid. Furthermore, EmB-MO selectively accumulated in the inflamed colon epithelium and restored the levels of the gut barrier proteins such as ZO-1 and Occludin. CONCLUSIONS: EmB-MO encapsulation significantly improved water solubility, which translated to greater therapeutic effects on the immune balance and gut barrier function in mice with DSS-induced UC. Our findings provide novel insights into developing emodin-derived drugs for the management of UC.

Metal-organic framework grafted with melamine for the selective recognition and miniaturized solid phase extraction of aristolochic acid â from traditional Chinese medicine.

Aristolochic acid Ⅰ is a nephrotoxic compound and exist in some traditional Chinese medicines at trace level. Up to now, specific enrichment of aristolochic acid Ⅰ remains important procedure and key problem in its analysis. In this study, melamine was proposed as the recognition unit and grafted on the surface of metal-organic framework to fabricate a specific material for aristolochic acid Ⅰ. This material was prepared by using a two-step strategy and the preparation process was optimized. The physical and chemical properties were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transfer infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption-desorption techniques. Adsorption properties were evaluated by binding experiments. The melamine modified material exhibited a uniform morphology, high specific surface area (460.20 m2 g-1), high adsorption capacity (25.57 mg g-1), fast mass transfer rate and excellent selectivity. Further, a specific and sensitive method was established by using this material as adsorbent of mini-solid phase extraction. The limit of detection was as low as 0.02 µg mL-1. Therefore, melamine modified metal-organic framework is an ideal adsorbent for the recognition and enrichment of aristolochic acid Ⅰ.

Berberine improves colitis by triggering AhR activation by microbial tryptophan catabolites.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are kind of recurrent inflammatory issues that occur in the gastrointestinal tract, and currently clinical treatment is still unideal due to the complex pathogenesis of IBD. Basically, gut barrier dysfunction is triggered by gut microbiota dysbiosis that is closely associated with the development of IBD, we thus investigated the therapeutic capacity of berberine (BBR) to improve the dysregulated gut microbiota, against IBD in rats, using a combinational strategy of targeted metabolomics and 16 s rDNA amplicon sequencing technology. Expectedly, our data revealed that BBR administration could greatly improve the pathological phenotype, gut barrier disruption, and the colon inflammation in rats with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. In addition, 16S rDNA-based microbiota analysis demonstrated that BBR could alleviate gut dysbiosis in rats. Furthermore, our targeted metabolomics analysis illustrated that the levels of microbial tryptophan catabolites in the gastrointestinal tract were significantly changed during the development of the colitis in rats, and BBR treatment can significantly restore such changes of the tryptophan catabolites accordingly. At last, our in vitro mechanism exploration was implemented with a Caco-2 cell monolayer model, which verified that the modulation of the dysregulated gut microbiota to change microbial metabolites coordinated the improvement effect of BBR on gut barrier disruption in the colitis, and we also confirmed that the activation of AhR induced by microbial metabolites is indispensable to the improvement of gut barrier disruption by BBR. Collectively, BBR has the capacity to treat DSS-induced colitis in rats through the regulation of gut microbiota associated tryptophan metabolite to activate AhR, which can greatly improve the disrupted gut barrier function. Importantly, our finding elucidated a novel mechanism of BBR to improve gut barrier function, which holds the expected capacity to promote the BBR derived drug discovery and development against the colitis in clinic setting.

Comparative pharmacokinetics of verapamil and norverapamil in normal and ulcerative colitis rats after oral administration of low and high dose verapamil by UPLC-MS/MS.

In this study, UC rat model was established by administration of 5% (w/v) dextran sulfate sodium, and the pharmacokinetics of verapamil and norverapamil were evaluated in normal and UC rats using UPLC-MS/MS after oral administration of 5 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg verapamil.The peak concentration (Cmax) and the area under plasma concentration-time curves (AUC) of verapamil in UC rats after oral administration of 5 mg/kg were significantly greater (2.5 times and 2 times, respectively) than those in normal rats, but the clearance rate (Cl) was significantly lower (by 50%). For norverapamil, Cmax and AUC were significantly greater (2.8 times and 2.5 times, respectively), and Cl was significantly lower (by 45%). But, pharmacokinetic parameters of verapamil and norverapamil after oral administration of 50 mg/kg were no significant differences between UC and normal rats.The better absorption and poor excretion for low-dose verapamil may be attributed to down-regulation of P-gp expression in the intestine and kidney. No significant differences of pharmacokinetic parameters for high-dose verapamil may be explained as the saturation of an efflux mechanism.The findings of this study suggested that in UC patients, doses of verapamil should be decreased when low-dose verapamil was orally administrated.

Phosphate Binder, Ferric Citrate, Attenuates Anemia, Renal Dysfunction, Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Fibrosis in 5/6 Nephrectomized CKD Rats.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes anemia and impairs intestinal iron absorption. However, use of the phosphate binder ferric citrate (FC) increases body iron stores and hemoglobin levels in CKD patients. By intensifying oxidative stress and inflammation iron overload resulting from excessive use of intravenous iron can accelerate CKD progression. The present study explored the route of absorption and tissue distribution of iron with FC administration and its effect on renal function, histology, and inflammatory, oxidative, and fibrosis pathways in CKD rats. Male Sprague Dawley rats were randomized to sham-operated control (CTL) group and 5/6 nephrectomized (CKD) groups fed either regular or 4% FC-supplemented diets for 6 weeks. Animals were then sacrificed, and blood and target tissues were harvested and processed. The untreated CKD rats exhibited anemia, hypertension, upregulation of renal tissue inflammatory, oxidative, and fibrotic pathways, impaired nuclear translocation, and downregulation of Nrf2's target gene products and depletion of colonic epithelial tight junction proteins. FC administration raised serum iron, improved anemia, attenuated hyperphosphatemia, partially improved renal function, reduced oxidative stress, inflammation, and fibrosis, and restored colonic epithelial zonula occludens-1 protein abundance. Tissue iron staining detected presence of iron in epithelial cells and subepithelium of colon and in renal proximal tubules. In conclusion ferric citrate administration resulted in modest amelioration of renal function and histology and partial improvements of fibrosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress in the kidney tissues of CKD rats.

Ginseng polysaccharides enhanced ginsenoside Rb1 and microbial metabolites exposure through enhancing intestinal absorption and affecting gut microbial metabolism.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Polysaccharides and small molecules commonly co-exist in decoctions of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Our previous study outlined that ginseng polysaccharides (GP) could interact with co-existing ginsenosides to produce synergistic effect in an over-fatigue and acute cold stress model via gut microbiota involved mechanisms. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to verify the interactions by examining the impact of GP on oral pharmacokinetics of ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1), the dominant protopanoxadiol (PPD)-type ginsenoside in Ginseng, on a dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) induced experimental colitis model which was characterized by gut dysbiosis, and to delineate the underlying mechanisms in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rats received drinking water (normal group), 5% DSS (UC group), or 5% DSS plus daily oral administration of GP (GP group) for 7 days and fecal samples were collected on day -3, 0 and 6. On day 7 all animals received an oral dosage of Rb1 and blood samples were withdrawn for pharmacokinetic study. The in vitro metabolism study of Rb1 in gut microbiota from normal and UC rats and the transport study of Rb1 across Caco-2 cell monolayer were carried out in presence/absence of GP. Rb1 and its bacterial metabolites ginsenoside Rd (Rd), ginsenoside F2 (F2), Compound K (CK) and PPD were determined using LC-MS/MS. Total and target bacteria in fecal samples were determined by using 16S rRNA-based RT-PCR. ß-Glucosidase activity was determined by measuring 4-nitrophenol formed from 4-nitrophenyl-ß-D-glucopyranoside hydrolysis. RESULTS: DSS induction did not alter AUC0-t and Cmax of Rb1, which, however, were doubled together with elevated AUC0-t of the metabolites, in particular Rd and CK, in GP group. GP influenced the microbial composition and showed a prebiotic-like effect. Accordingly, GP treatment could partially restore the ß-glucosidase activity which was reduced by DSS induction. The presence of GP resulted in quicker microbial metabolism of Rb1 and higher Rd formation in first 8 h of incubation, while the impact on F2 and CK formation/conversion became obvious after 8 h. More interestingly, GP slightly stimulated Caco-2 cell growth and facilitated Rb1 transport across the Caco-2 monolayer in both directions, increasing the Papp of Rb1 from 10-7 cm/s to 10-6 cm/s. CONCLUSIONS: GP alleviated DSS-induced colitis-like symptoms and enhanced the systemic exposure of Rb1 through enhancing microbial deglycosylation and intestinal epithelial absorption of Rb1. These findings further demonstrated the important role of gut microbiota in the multifaceted action of polysaccharides in the holistic actions of traditional decoction of TCMs.

On-Line two dimensional liquid chromatography based on skeleton type molecularly imprinted column for selective determination of sulfonylurea additive in Chinese patent medicines or functional foods.

Substandard and counterfeit anti-diabetic medicines directly influence the health and impose a great danger to individual patients and to public health. Counterfeiting has become a serious and underreported problem in the pharmaceutical industry. There are a large number of counterfeit medicines flooded in anti-diabetic markets which effect human health directly and indirectly. Therefore, some novel analytical techniques are necessary to be established for detecting these counterfeit drugs. In this study, a novel skeleton type molecularly imprinted column was successfully prepared. Based on the column, a simple, fast and reliable two-dimensional chromatography analytical system was established for selective determination of the illegal sulfonylurea additive in traditional Chinese patent medicines and functional foods. The developed method was validated. The linearitiesof the method were tested with calibration curves using ten calibration points in the concentration range of 0.25-12.5µg/g. The LODs were 0.0125µg/g and 0.01µg/g for tolbutamide and glibenclamide respectively. The five batches of Chinese patent medicines and dietary supplements obtained from different markets and online websites were tested by the validated method. With good retention time and spectral confirmation, chemical anti-diabetic substances were identified and quantified in traditional Chinese medicine and in dietary supplements.

Oral CoQ10 attenuates high salt-induced hypertension by restoring neurotransmitters and cytokines in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus.

High salt intake leads to an increase in some proinflammatory cytokines and neurotransmitters involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension. The purpose of this work was to know if oral administration of anti-oxidant and free-radical scavenger CoQ10 may attenuate high salt-induced hypertension via regulating neurotransmitters and cytokines in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were fed with a normal salt diet (NS, 0.3% NaCl) or a high salt diet (HS, 8% NaCl) for 15 weeks to induce hypertension. These rats received CoQ10 (10 mg/kg/day) dissolved in olive oil was given by gavage (10 mg/kg/day) for 15 weeks. HS resulted in higher mean arterial pressure (MAP) and the sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA). These HS rats had higher PVN levels of norepinephrine (NE), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), interleukin (IL)-1ß, NOX2 and NOX4, lower PVN levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), IL-10, copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD) and the 67-kDa isoform of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD67), as compared with NS group. CoQ10 supplementation reduced NE, TH, IL-1ß, NOX2 and NOX4 in the PVN, and induced IL-10, Cu/Zn-SOD and GAD67 in the PVN. These findings suggest that CoQ10 supplementation restores neurotransmitters and cytokines in the PVN, thereby attenuating high salt-induced hypertension.

Pharmacokinetic and Metabolic Characteristics of Herb-Derived Khellactone Derivatives, A Class of Anti-HIV and Anti-Hypertensive: A Review.

A vast number of structural modifications have been performed for khellactone derivatives (KDs) that have been widely concerned owing to their diverse biological properties, including anti-hypertension, anti-HIV, reversing P-glycoprotein (P-gp) mediated multidrug resistance, and anti-inflammation effects, to find the most active entity. However, extensive metabolism of KDs results in poor oral bioavailability, thus hindering the clinical trial performance of those components. The primary metabolic pathways have been revealed as hydrolysis, oxidation, acyl migration, and glucuronidation, while carboxylesterases and cytochrome P450 3A (CPY3A), as well as UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) primarily mediate these metabolic pathways. Attention was mainly paid to the pharmacological features, therapeutic mechanisms and structure-activity relationships of KDs in previous reviews, whereas their pharmacokinetic and metabolic characteristics have seldom been discussed. In the present review, KDs' metabolism and their pharmacokinetic properties are summarized. In addition, the structure-metabolism relationships of KDs and the potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) induced by KDs were also extensively discussed. The polarity, the acyl groups substituted at C-3' and C-4' positions, the configuration of C-3' and C-4', and the moieties substituted at C-3 and C-4 positions play the determinant roles for the metabolic profiles of KDs. Contributions from CYP3A4, UGT1A1, P-gp, and multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 have been disclosed to be primary for the potential DDIs. The review is expected to provide meaningful information and helpful guidelines for the further development of KDs.

Research progress of the studies on the roots of Peucedanum praeruptorum dunn (Peucedani radix).

As a commonly employed traditional Chinese medicine, Peucedani Radix (Qian-hu in Chinese), which consists of the dried roots of Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn, has a long history of application for the treatment of cough with thick sputum and dyspnea, nonproductive cough and upper air-way infections in traditional medicinal practice. The current review aims to summarize the research progress on the botany, phytochemistry, chemical analysis, pharmacological assay, and pharmacokinetic profile of this famous herbal drug. All available information on this traditional medicine was obtained via electronic search (using ACS, PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, and CNKI). Phytochemical investigations revealed that angular-type pyranocoumarins (APs), mainly (±)-praeruptorin A (Pd-Ia), (+)-praeruptorin A, (±)-praeruptorin B, (+)-praeruptorin B (Pd-II) and (+)-praeruptorin E (Pd-III), were the main active components in Qian-hu, while some other types of ingredients were also identified from this herb. The crude extract and pure compounds from Peucedani Radix exhibited a wide spectrum of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological activities, including vasorelaxant, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, anti-tumor and anti-platelet aggregative effects. Conversely to the well-defined chemical constituents and activities, the properties of absorption, pharmacokinetics, and metabolism were rarely characterized. However, further investigations are wistful for the development of new drugs and therapies for various diseases, especially cardiovascular disorders. Collectively, the present review on the phytochemistry, chemical analysis, pharmacological evaluation, and pharmacokinetic profile of Peucedani Radix will provide meaningful information for further studies and commercial exploitation of the herbal medicine.

Enantiomeric separation of angular-type pyranocoumarins from Peucedani Radix using AD-RH chiral column.

Enantiomers and diastereoisomers of angular-type pyranocoumarins (APs) are abundant in Peucedani Radix (Chinese name: Qian-hu), eliciting distinct activities in vitro and in vivo. Our ongoing investigation on APs yielded eight pairs of enantiomers (1a and 1b, 2a and 2b, 3a and 3b, 4a and 4b, 5a and 5b, 6a and 6b, 7a and 7b and 8a and 8b) via enantiomeric separation of trans-3'-angeloylkhellactone (1), trans-3'-acetyl-4'-isobutyrylkhellactone (2), trans-3'-acetyl-4'-angeloyl-khellactone (3), 3'-angeloyloxy-4'-oxo-3',4'-dihydroseselin (4), cis-3'-acetyl-4'-angeloylkhellactone (5), cis-3'-isovaleryl-4'-acetylkhellactone (6), cis-3'-angeloyl-4'-isovalerylkhellactone (7) and cis-3',4'-diisovalerylkhellactone (8), respectively, using semi-preparative AD-RH chiral column. All the compounds (1-8) were enantioseparated for the first time, while the absolute configurations of 2a, 2b, 6a and 8b were reported first.

Metabolic characterization of (±)-praeruptorin A in vitro and in vivo by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry and time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

(±)-Praeruptorin A (PA) is the major bioactive component in Peucedani Radix (Chinese name: Qian-hu), and exhibits dramatically anti-hypertensive effect typically through acting as a calcium channel blocker. The current study aims on the characterization of the metabolic profiles of PA in vitro and in vivo using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with hybrid triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry (Q-trap-MS) and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). A total of 12 phase I metabolites (M1-12) in rat liver microsomes (RLMs), 9 phase I metabolites (M1-3, M5-6 and M9-12) in human liver microsomes (HLMs), 2 hydrolyzed products in rat plasma (M11 and M12), none metabolite in human plasma, none metabolite in rat intestinal bacteria, 7 metabolites (M1, M4-7, M13 and M15) in PA-treated rat urine and 6 metabolites (M1, M4-7 and M15) in PA-treated feces were detected and tentatively identified using predictive multiple reaction monitoring-information dependent acquisition-enhanced product ion (predictive MRM-IDA-EPI) mode in combination with enhanced mass spectrum-information dependent acquisition-enhanced product ion (EMS-IDA-EPI) mode in the mass spectrometer domain, respectively, while TOF-MS was adopted to confirm the identification. Further, 2 glucuronidated metabolites (M13-14) in RLMs and none metabolite in HLMs of cis-khellactone (CKL), which was the main actual form of PA in vivo, were generated, while its sulfated product was not observed in either rat liver S9 fractions (RS9) or human liver S9 fractions (HS9). Oxidation, hydrolysis, intra-molecular acyl migration and glucuronidation were demonstrated to be the predominant metabolic types for PA in vitro and in vivo. Judging from the decrement of peak areas, PA was metabolized quickly in both RLMs and HLMs, indicating extensively hepatic first-pass elimination. Taken together, the metabolic fates of (±)-praeruptorin A in vitro and in vivo were elucidated in current study, and Q-trap-MS coupled with LightSight™ software can be adopted as a useful tool for quick detection and identification of metabolites in complex biological matrices.

¹H nuclear magnetic resonance based-metabolomic characterization of Peucedani Radix and simultaneous determination of praeruptorin A and praeruptorin B.

As a widely used traditional herbal medicine, it is crucial to characterize the holistic metabolic profile of Peucedani Radix (Chinese name: Qian-hu). However, it is quite arduous to obtain the whole picture of chemical constituents appropriately with the existing analytical techniques that were based on HPLC-UV or LC-MS/MS system. In present investigation, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy coupled with principal components analysis (PCA) was introduced to metabolomic characterization of Qian-hu crude extracts without any chromatographic separation. In addition, the contents of praeruptorin A (PA) and proaeruptorin B (PB) in Qian-hu were simultaneously determined using quantitative (1)H NMR (q(1)H NMR) spectroscopy. Eighteen reference compounds (1-18), which were purified from this herbal drug extract previously, were recruited for the assignment of the protonic signals in the (1)H NMR spectra. Following PCA, 15 batches of Peucedani Radix were divided into two groups (I and II), and angular-type pyranocoumarins, in particular PA and PB, as well as 5-methoxycoumarin were demonstrated as the predominant markers being responsible for the distinguishment of Qian-hu from different districts. The contents of the two analytes (PA & PB) were calculated by the relative ratio of the integral values of the target peak for each compound to the known amount of the internal standard, formononetin (IS). The lower limits of quantitation were determined as 19.5µg/mL for both PA and PB. The quantitative results indicated that the contents of PA and PB showed quite variable qualities among different extract samples. Above all, (1)H NMR spectroscopy, that could not only provide comprehensive profiles of the metabolites but also achieve convenient determination of praeruptorin A and praeruptorin B, is a promising means for evaluating the medicinal samples of Peucedani Radix.

Characterization of metabolism of (+)-praeruptorin B and (+)-praeruptorin E in human and rat liver microsomes by liquid chromatography coupled with ion trap mass spectrometry and time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Peucedani Radix is a Chinese medicinal herb noted for its effects on treatments of respiratory and pulmonary disorders. As a part of a systematic pharmacokinetic evaluation of the herb in our laboratory, the present study investigated, for the first time, the metabolic profile of (+)-praeruptorin B (dPB) and (+)-praeruptorin E (dPE), two main bioactive constituents of Peucedani Radix in pooled liver microsomes of rats (RLMs) and humans (HLMs). dPE was eliminated faster than dPB in both species. The incubation of dPB with RLMs and HLMs resulted in eight (B1-B8) and nine (B1-B9) metabolites, respectively, while both RLMs and HLMs converted dPE into 13 metabolites (E1-13). Structures of all the metabolites were proposed through comparing their mass data obtained via tandem mass spectrometry on an MSD ion trap system (IT-MS/MS) coupled with high-resolution mass measurement by time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) with those of the respective parent compound. B1 and E1 were unambiguously identified as (-)-cis-khellactone. The formations of all the metabolites were NADPH-dependent. Oxidation and hydrolysis were demonstrated to be two predominant metabolic pathways of dPB and dPE. Oxidation initiated at either the C-3' or C-4' substituent, while hydrolysis only started from the C-3' substituent. Fragmentation of all metabolites followed similar pathways to those of the parent pyranocoumarins. The information on metabolic properties of dPB and dPE and the mass fragmentation profiles of their metabolites obtained in the present study will aid in characterization of metabolic profiles of other angular-type pyranocoumarins and further investigation of in vivo fates of these pyranocoumarins and the herb.