Deep chemical identification of phytoecdysteroids in Achyranthes bidentata Blume by UHPLC coupled with linear ion trap-Orbitrap mass spectrometry and targeted isolation / 中国天然药物

Achyranthes bidentata Blume is widely used as a traditional Chinese medicine with the effects of nourishing the liver and kidneys and strengthening muscles and bones. In this work, a rapid and simple strategy was developed for characterizing phytoecdysteroids by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with liner ion trap-Orbitrap mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization in the negative mode. As a result, 47 phytoecdysteroids were unambiguously or tentatively characterized. Among them, seven known compounds were identified according to the reference standards along with molecular formula, retention time and fragmentation patterns, while others were mostly potential new compounds. Through targeted isolation, the structures of three new compounds were determined by NMR spectra, which were consistent with LC-MS characterization. The present study provides an efficient method to deeply characterize phytoecdysteroids.

Chemical profiling of Huashi Baidu prescription, an effective anti-COVID-19 TCM formula, by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS / 中国天然药物

Huashi Baidu prescription (HSBDF), recommended in the Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Pneumonia (On Trials, the Seventh Edition), was clinically used to treat severe corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with cough, blood-stained sputum, inhibited defecation, red tongue etc. symptoms. This study was aimed to elucidate and profile the knowledge on its chemical constituents and the potential anti-inflammatory effect in vitro. In the study, the chemical constituents in extract of HSBDF were characterized by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS in both negative and positive modes, and the pro-inflammatory cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) to determine the effects of HSBDF in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. The results showed that a total of 217 chemical constituents were tentativedly characterized in HSBDF. Moreover, HSBDF could alleviate the expression levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the cell models, indicating that the antiviral effects of HSBDF might be associated with regulation of the inflammatory cytokines production in RAW264.7 cells. We hope that the results could be served as the basic data for further study of HSBDF on anti-COVID-19 effect.