Quality markers of Dajianzhong decoction based on multicomponent qualitative and quantitative analysis combined with network pharmacology and chemometric analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Dajianzhong decoction (DJZD), a classic famous prescription, has a long history of medicinal application. Modern studies have demonstrated its clinical utility in the treatment of postoperative ileus (POI). But none of the current quality evaluation methods for this compound is associated with efficacy. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the quality markers (Q-Markers) connected to the treatment of POI in DJZD. METHODOLOGY: Ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-MS) was used to identify the main constituents in DJZD. Based on the qualitative results obtained by fingerprinting, chemical pattern recognition (CPR) was used to analyse the key components affecting the quality and finally to establish the network of the active ingredients in DJZD with POI. RESULTS: A total of 64 chemical components were detected. After fingerprint analysis, 13 common peaks were identified. The fingerprint similarity of 15 batches of samples ranged from 0.860 to 1.000. CPR analysis was able to categorically classify 15 batches of DJZD into two groups. And gingerenone A, methyl-6-gingerdiol, 6-gingerol, and hydroxy-ß-sanshool contributed to their grouping. Twelve common components interact with the therapeutic targets for treating POI. In addition, the mechanism of this prescription for treating POI may be related to the jurisdiction of the neurological system, the immunological system, and the inflammatory response. CONCLUSIONS: This integrated approach can accurately assess and forecast the quality of DJZD, presume the Q-Markers of DJZD for POI, and lay the foundation for studying the theoretical underpinnings and exploring the mechanism of DJZD in the treatment of POI.

[Protective effect of shenfu injection against ischemia-reperfusion injury due to pancreas transplantation in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of Shenfu Injection against ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury due to pancreas transplantation in rats, and explore its possible mechanism. METHODS: Six normal SD rats with sham operation were taken as the normal control group, 24 steptozozin-induced diabetic SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups, with 6 in each group. Except I/R group, the rats in the other groups were intravenous injected with Shenfu Injection (SF,10 mg/kg), Hongshen Injection (HS, 9 mg/kg) and Fuzi Injection (FZ 1 mg/kg) respectively at the day and 30 minutes before pancreas transplantation performed in the SF group, HS group and FZ group, respectively. At the same time, rats in the normal control group and in the I/R group were intravenously injected the same volume of normal saline. The blood glucose was detected before and after reperfusion, and 2 hours later after reperfusion, the contents of serum nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), the concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) , superoxide dismutase (SOD) , and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the transplanted pancreas tissues were detected. The cell apoptosis of the transplanted pancreas tissue was determined by TUNEL, and the bcl-2 and Bax protein expression was determined by Western blot. RESULTS: After reperfusion, the levels of blood glucose and TNF-alpha decreased and the concentration of NO increased in the SF group, HS group and FZ group, compared with those in the I/R group. The activity of SOD, bcl-2 expression and the ratio of bcl-2 and Bax were higher, while the content of MDA, the activity of MPO, apoptotic indexes, and Bax expression were lower in the SF group, HS group and FZ group than those in the I/R group. CONCLUSION: Shenfu Injection can protect L/R injury due to pancreas transplantation in rats, the possible mechanism may be related to promoting activity of SOD, increasing synthesis of endogenous NO, decreasing the excretion of TNF-alpha, alleviating conglutination and aggregation of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) in pancreas, as well as up-regulating Bcl-2 gene expression and down-regulating the Bax gene expression.