Analysis of Potential Active Ingredients and Mechanism of Baihu Jia Renshentang in Treatment of Obesity Complicated with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the potential active ingredients and targets of Baihu Jia Renshentang（BHJRST） for the treatment of obesity combined with type 2 diabetes mellitus（T2DM） by network pharmacology and in vivo experiments. MethodUltra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/electrostatic field orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS） was used to analyze and identify the material basis of BHJRST. Subsequently， potential targets for the action of the active ingredients were queried in databases such as ChEMBL， Therapeutic Target Database（TTD）， YaTCM， DisGeNET and Traditional Chinese Medicine on Immuno-Oncology（TCMIO）， and the shared targets were identified by taking the intersection of these targets with disease targets. The shared targets were imported into the STRING database to construct a protein-protein interaction（PPI） network， the hub genes were identified by cytoHubba plug-in， and molecular docking was used to validate the binding energy of the hub genes to the bioactive ingredients in BHJRST. Meanwhile， the shared targets were imported into the DAVID platform for gene ontology（GO） functional annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis. The predicted results were subsequently verified by animal experiments. Eighteen 8-week-old male skeletal muscle insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor dysfunction（MKR） mice were induced by a high-fat diet for 12 weeks in order to prepare a mouse model of obesity combined with T2DM. The mice were randomly divided into the model group， metformin group（0.2 g·kg-1） and BHJRST group（27 g·kg-1 in raw material）， and another 6 male FVB mice of the same age as the normal group. The mice in each group were were given the corresponding drugs by gavage， and the normal and model groups were given the same amount of distilled water by gavage， 1 time/d for 6 consecutive weeks. At the end of administration， the body mass， Lee's index， fasting blood glucose（FBG）， oral glucose tolerance test（OGTT） of mice in each group were examined， and the pathological morphology of the white adipose tissue of the epididymis was observed， and the expression of the mRNA of the hub genes in the white adipose tissue of the epididymis was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）. ResultA total of 200 bioactive components of BHJRST were identified， of which 64 bioactive components were reverse-matched to 384 targets， and a total of 308 targets were associated with obesity combined with T2DM. Hub genes included mitogen-activated protein kinase 1（MAPK1）， signal transducer and activator of transcription 3（STAT3）， MAPK3， interleukin（IL）-2， Janus kinase 1（JAK1）， nuclear transcription factor-κB p65（RELA）， estrogen receptor 1（ESR1）， transcription factor AP-1（JUN）， MAPK14 and lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase（LCK）. GO functional annotation showed that it was mainly enriched in cytoplasm， cell membrane and nucleus， and was closely related to important biological processes such as peptide serine phosphorylation， protein phosphorylation and inflammation. In KEGG enrichment analysis， metabolic pathway， lipid and atherosclerosis， phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase（PI3K）/protein kinase B（Akt） and MAPK signal pathways were significantly enriched. The molecular docking results showed that the hub genes had a stable binding relationship with 10 bioactive components， including quercetin， isoliquiritigenin， and morin， in BHJRST. The results of animal experiments showed that BHJRST could significantly reduce body mass， Lee's index and FBG levels（P<0.01） in mice with obesity combined with T2DM， improve the pathological changes of white adipose tissue， and down-regulate the the mRNA expression of the hub genes in white adipose tissue of the epididymis（P<0.01）. ConclusionIn this study， 10 potentially active components such as quercetin， isoliquiritigenin， and morin in BHJRST are identified through network pharmacology and animal experiments， and it is possible to treat obesity combined with T2DM by regulating lipid and atherosclerosis， phosphatidylinositol PI3K/Akt and MAPK signal pathways， which provides important clues and theoretical basis for the study of its mechanism and clinical application.

Exploring Mechanism of Different Processed Products of Baiyaojian and Its Formula in Treating Ulcerative Colitis Based on Serum Metabolomics and Flow Cytometry / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the potential mechanism of different processed products of Baiyaojian and its compound Xiangmei pills in rats with ulcerative colitis（UC） by comparing the pharmacodynamic and metabolomic differences. MethodEighty SD rats were acclimatized and kept for 3 d， and randomly divided into 8 groups［blank group， model group， mesalazine group（0.4 g·kg-1）， Baiyaojian group（1.89 g·kg-1）， stir-fried Baiyaojian group（1.89 g·kg-1）， carbonized Baiyaojian group（1.89 g·kg-1）， and Xiangmei pills low and high dose groups（1.89， 5.67 g·kg-1）］， with 10 rats in each group. Rats in the blank group were administered physiological saline by gavage， and rats in the remaining 7 groups were orally administered 5% dextran sodium sulfate（DSS） solution daily for 8 consecutive days to induce UC model. After successful modeling， each dosing group was given the corresponding dose of drug solution by gavage， and the blank and model groups were given equal amounts of saline by gavage， and the drug was administered continuously for 8 d. Then serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）， interleukin（IL）-6， IL-10 and IL-1β were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）， hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe the histopathological changes of colon tissue， the proportion of T helper 17 cells（Th17） and regulatory T cells（Treg） in the peripheral blood of rats in each group was detected by flow cytometry. The endogenous metabolites in serum of rats were detected by ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/electrostatic field orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS）， and the differential metabolites were characterized by combining principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA）， and were analyzed according to the variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1.0 and P<0.05， and potential metabolic pathways were analyzed according to Human Metabolome Database（HMDB）. ResultCompared with the blank group， the colon tissue of the model group was congested and the mucosa was ulcerated， the colon length was significantly reduced（P<0.01） and the quality was significantly increased（P<0.05）， the proportion of Th17/Treg in the peripheral blood and the serum levels of TNF-α， IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly increased， while the IL-10 expression wassignificantly reduced（P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the colon tissue of UC rats in each treatment group was improved with scattered ulcers， reduced inflammatory cell infiltration， significantly increased colon length， and significantly decreased mass（P<0.05）， the proportion of Th17/Treg in the peripheral blood decreased， the expression of TNF-α，IL-6 and IL-1β was significantly reduced（P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the IL-10 expression was significantly increased（P<0.01）. The therapeutic effect of different administration groups on UC was in the order of high dose group of Xiangmei pills>low dose group of Xiangmei pills>carbonized Baiyaojian group>stir-fried Baiyaojian group>Baiyaojian group. And a total of 26 differential metabolites were screened in the metabolomics results. Compared with the blank group， 14 differential metabolites were up-regulated and 5 metabolites were down-regulated in the model group， and 14， 9， 14， 12 and 17 metabolites could be recalled in the Baiyaojian group， stir-fried Baiyaojian group， carbonized Baiyaojian group， Xiangmei pills low and high dose groups. The main metabolic pathways involved were citrate cycle pathway， pantothenic acid and coenzyme A biosynthesis pathway， aromatic hydrocarbon receptor（AhR） signaling pathway， glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway. ConclusionThe therapeutic effect of Baiyaojian on UC is significantly improved after charcoal stir-frying， and the efficacy is more prominent when combined with Angelicae Dahuricae Radix and Mume Fructus Carbonisata， which can provide a basis for the development of Baiyaojian compound preparations.

Analysis on Components Absorbed into Blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus Based on Sequential Metabolism / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo identify the prototypical components and metabolites absorbed into blood and cerebrospinal fluid of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus（SCF） based on sequential metabolism combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. MethodBlood and cerebrospinal fluid samples of integrated metabolism， intestinal metabolism and hepatic metabolism were collected from male SD rats after gavage and in situ intestinal perfusion administration， and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/electrostatic field orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS） was used to analyze and compare the differences in the spectra of SCF extract， blank plasma， administered plasma， blank cerebrospinal fluid and administered cerebrospinal fluid with ACQUITY UPLC BEH Shield RP18 column（2.1 mm×100 mm， 1.7 µm）， the mobile phase was acetonitrile（A）-0.1% formic acid aqueous solution（B） for gradient elution（0-7 min， 95%B； 7-12 min， 95%-35%B； 12-17 min， 35%-15%B； 17-20 min， 15%-12%B； 20-22 min， 12%-5%B； 22-23 min， 5%B； 23-25 min， 5%-95%B； 25-28 min， 95%B）. And heated electrospray ionization（HESI） was used with positive and negative ion modes， the scanning range was m/z 100-1 500. The prototypical constituents and their metabolites absorbed into blood and cerebrospinal fluid of SCF were identified according to the retention time， characteristic fragments， molecular formulae and the information of reference substances. ResultA total of 42 chemical components were identified in the extract of SCF， including lignans， flavonoids， amino acids， tannins， and others， of which lignans were the main ones. A total of 27 prototypical components and 14 metabolites were identified in plasma samples from different sites. A total of 15 prototypical components and 9 metabolites were identified in cerebrospinal fluid. The main metabolic reactions involved in the formation of metabolites were mainly demethylation， methylation， demethoxylation and hydroxylation. ConclusionThrough the systematic identification of the prototypical components and metabolites of SCF in rats， it provides data support for further better exploring the material basis of SCF in the treatment of central nervous system diseases.

Exploration of Spectrum-effect Relationship of Zhuriheng Dropping Pills Against Macrophage Foaming Based on UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveThrough the correlation analysis between intestinal absorption profile and inhibition of macrophage foaming， the pharmacodynamic components of Zhuriheng dripping pills（ZRH） were explored to provide a basis for establishing its quality standard. MethodIntestinal absorption fluids with 0， 5， 10， 15， 20 times clinical equivalent doses were prepared by a rat everted gut sac（EGS）， and the oxidized low density lipoprotein（ox-LDL）-induced RAW264.7 macrophage foaming model was used to investigate the effect of intestinal absorption fluid with different doses on the accumulation of lipids in RAW264.7 cells by oil red O staining and cholesterol content determination， and to screen for the optimal dose. Ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS） was used to analyze and identify intestinal absorption fractions of ZRH intestinal absorption fluids， and partial least squares-discriminant analysis（PLS-DA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） were performed on different doses of ZRH intestinal absorption fluids using SIMCA 13.0 with peak area as the independent variable and the pharmacodynamic indicators as the dependent variables to screen the compounds with variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1.0 as contributing components， and Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the spectral effect relationship， determined the compounds and positive correlation with pharmacodynamic were as active ingredients. Molecular docking was used to verify the binding energy of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α（PPARα）， PPARγ， PPARβ， human retinoid X receptor α（RXRA） and nuclear transcription factor-κB（NF-κB） with the active ingredients in ZRH intestinal absorption fluids. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） was performed to detect the mRNA levels of PPARγ， scavenger receptor A1（SRA1） and adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette transporter A1（ABCA1） in RAW264.7 cells， Westen blot was used to detect the expression level of PPARγ protein in RAW264.7 cells， and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was used to detect the levels of interleukin（IL）-1β and NF-κB in RAW264.7 cells. ResultAccording to the results of oil red O staining and cholesterol content determination， the ZRH intestinal absorption fluids could significantly reduce macrophage foaming， and intestinal absorption fluids with 15， 20 times clinical equivalent doses had the best effect， the 15-fold ZRH intestinal absorption fluid was finally determined as the study subject. Spectral effect relationship showed that 52 corresponding peaks in the ZRH-containing intestinal fluid were positively correlated with the efficacy， including organic acids， phenylpropanoids， iridoids， flavonoids， bile acids， coumarins and chromones. Target validation results showed that 86.9%-96.2% of the total components processed good binding activities with the key targets of PPARα， PPARγ， PPARβ， RXRA and NF-κB， and the docking energy values were all less than -6.0 kcal·mol-1（1 cal≈4.19 J）. The results of validation showed that， compared with the normal group， the model group showed a significant increase in the levels of SRA1 and PPARγ mRNA expression， a significant decrease in ABCA1 mRNA expression， a significant increase in the level of PPARγ protein expression， and a significant increase in the levels of IL-1β and NF-κB（P<0.01）， compared with the model group， the 15-fold intestinal absorption fluid group showed a significant decrease in the levels of SRA1 and PPARγ mRNA expression（P<0.05， P<0.01）， ABCA1 mRNA expression level was significantly up-regulated， the levels of IL-1β and NF-κB were significantly reduced（P<0.01）， and PPARγ protein expression level was significantly reduced（P<0.05）. ConclusionThis study identifies 52 components and their metabolites in ZRH intestinal absorption fluid that are positively correlated with the inhibition of macrophage foaming， which may be related to the regulation of the PPARs pathway in cells and the reduction of the levels of inflammatory factors， and can provide a reference for the quality control and clinical application of ZRH.

Pharmacodynamic Substances in Promoting Osteogenic Differentiation of Epimedii Folium and Epimedii Wushanensis Folium Based on Chemical Fingerprint-cell Metabolomics Correlation Analysis / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo determine the pharmacodynamic substance basis of Epimedii Folium（EF） and Epimedii Wushanensis Folium（EWF） in promoting osteogenic differentiation， and to establish a method to analyze the material basis of Chinese materia medica based on the correlation between chemical fingerprint and cellular metabolomics. MethodThe chemical fingerprints of 15 batches of EF with 4 species and 3 batches of EWF were analyzed by ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-MS）， and partial least squares-discriminant analysis（PLS-DA） was used to analyze the peak areas of chemical fingerprints of samples. The effects of different samples on proliferative activity of MC3T3-E1 osteoblast precursors， as well as the activity of alkaline phosphatase（ALP） in osteoblasts were detected by cell counting kit-8（CCK-8） and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. At the same time， UPLC-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS） was used to analyze the effects of different samples on the metabolomics of MC3T3-E1 cells， then metabolic peak table of osteogenic differentiation cells was constructed， and pharmacodynamic index mean Y0 was introduced into the peak table. PLS was used to calculate mean Y0 of each group， and the mean Y0 was added to the peak table of chemical fingerprint to construct the correlation between chemical fingerprint and cell metabolome， the pharmacodynamic components of EF and EWF that promote bone differentiation were screened according to variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1. The pharmacodynamic effects of EF and EWF were evaluated according to the mean Y0 of each group. ResultThe chemical fingerprints of EF with different origins and EWF were completely separated. Compared with the blank group， the activity of MC3T3-E1 cells in EF and EWF groups was significantly increased， the activity of ALP in the Epimedium brevicornu（Gansu province）， E. koreanum and E. pubescens groups was significantly increased（P<0.05）. The results of cell metabolomics showed that the blank group and the model group had an obvious trend of separation. EF with different origins and EWF had different distance from the model group， indicating that EF with different origins and EWF had different effect on promoting osteogenic differentiation. Chemical fingerprint-cell metabolomics integration analysis screened 9 components closely related to the efficacy of EF and EWF， including diphylloside B， epimedin C， icariin， baohuoside Ⅰ， yinyanghuo B， β-anhydroicaritin， magnoflorine， cryptochlorogenic acid and quercetin. E. koreanum had the strongest effect on promoting osteogenic differentiation. ConclusionThis study determined that the material basis of EF and EWF promoting osteogenic differentiation were mostly flavonoids， alkaloids and organic acids， which provided ideas and methods for the screening of pharmacodynamic components and the prediction of therapeutic effect of Chinese materia medica.

Characterization of Effective Components in Guizhi Jia Gegentang for Intervention of Influenza Virus Pneumonia Based on Serum Pharmacochemistry of Traditional Chinese Medicine / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo characterize the efficacy components of Guizhi Jia Gegentang（GGT） in intervening influenza virus pneumonia by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS）. MethodBALB/c mice were randomly divided into normal group and GGT group（36 g·kg-1·d-1） with six mice in each group. GGT group was continuously administered GGT extract for 5 d， while the normal group was administered an equal amount of ultrapure water. Serum and lung tissue were collected after administration， and UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS was used to characterize the prototypical and metabolic components of GGT in serum and lung tissue of mice. The components existed simultaneously in the serum and lung tissue of mice from the GGT group were defined as its functional components， and the targets of efficacy components were searched by SwissTargetPrediction database， and GeneCards database was used to query the target of influenza virus pneumonia， and then the intersection was taken to obtain potential targets of GGT for intervening in the disease. Protein-protein interaction（PPI） network analysis of potential targets was performed by STRING database， and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis on potential targets was performed by Metascape. ResultA total of 29 prototypical components and 28 metabolic components of GGT were detected in the drug-containing serum of mice， of which 11 prototypical components and 4 metabolic components were detected in the lung tissue of mice. The main metabolic pathways included reduction， hydroxylation， methylation， glucuronidation and sulfation. The results of PPI network and KEGG analysis showed that these functional components may act through their effects on targets such as albumin（ALB）， epidermal growth factor receptor（EGFR）， steroid receptor coactivator（SRC）， Toll-like receptor 4（TLR4）， nuclear transcription factor（NF）-κB and adhesion junction. ConclusionThe 11 prototypical components and 4 metabolites present simultaneously in the drug-containing serum and lung tissue of mice may be the potential therapeutic components of GGT in interfering with influenza viral pneumonia， and act through interfering with inflammatory metabolic pathways. This study can provide a reference for the mechanism study of GGT in the treatment of influenza viral pneumonia.

Exploring of Transformation Rule of Saponins in Polygalae Radix Before and After Processing Based on Simulated Processing Technology / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the transformation mechanism and content variation of saponins from Polygalae Radix before and after being boiled with licorice juice and water. MethodSimulated licorice juice boiled products and simulated water boiled products of onjisaponin B， onjisaponin Z， onjisaponin F， polygalasaponin ⅩⅩⅧ were prepared by simulated processing technology， and analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap/MS）. Then the contents of onjisaponin B， onjisaponin Z， onjisaponin F， polygalasaponin ⅩⅩⅧ and tenuifolin in Polygalae Radix， licorice-boiled Polygalae Radix and water-boiled Polygalae Radix were determined by UPLC-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry（UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS）. ResultDuring the boiling process with licorice juice and water， onjisaponin B could be hydrolyzed to produce 4-methoxycinnamic acid， desacylsenegin Ⅲ， polygalasaponin ⅩⅩⅧ and tenuifolin， onjisaponin Z could be hydrolyzed to produce 3，4，5-trimethoxycinnamic acid， onjisaponin TF， polygalasaponin ⅩⅩⅧ and tenuifolin， onjisaponin F could be hydrolyzed to produce 3，4，5-trimethoxycinnamic acid， onjisaponin G， polygalasaponin ⅩⅩⅧ and tenuifolin， and polygalasaponin ⅩⅩⅧ was hydrolyzed to produce tenuifolin. After being boiled with licorice juice or water， the content of onjisaponin B decreased significantly（P<0.05， P<0.01）， but the contents of onjisaponin Z， onjisaponin F， polygalasaponin ⅩⅩⅧ and tenuifolin increased significantly（P<0.05， P<0.01） in Polygalae Radix. Compared with the water-boiled products， the contents of onjisaponin Z and tenuifolin increased significantly（P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the change of tenuifolin content was the most significant in the licorice-boiled products.However， there was no significant difference in the content of onjisaponin B， onjisaponin F and polygalasaponin ⅩⅩⅧ between the water-boiled products and the licorice-boiled products. ConclusionBeing boiled with licorice juice or water can hydrolyze onjisaponin B， onjisaponin Z， onjisaponin F and polygalasaponin ⅩⅩⅧ， and generate secondary glycosides and aglycones（organic acids） through deglycosylation， which leads to obvious changes in the contents of onjisaponins after Polygalae Radix being processed.It is inferred that licorice juice can promote the hydrolysis of some onjisaponins in Polygalae Radix to onjisaponin Z and tenuifolin.This study provides an experimental basis for revealing processing mechanism of Polygalae Radix.