Quality consistency evaluation of commercial transfer factor injections by chromatographic fingerprint combined with multivariate statistical analysis.

The current quality control methods relying mainly on chromogenic reaction can hardly ensure the quality and safety of the biochemical drug with complex chemical composition. Therefore, a chromatographic fingerprint method was developed for the quality evaluation of a multicomponent biochemical drug, transfer factor injection. High-performance liquid chromatography fingerprint was measured by using a C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) with a mobile phase composed of 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid-water and 0.085% trifluoroacetic acid-acetonitrile under gradient elution. The developed method was validated and was subsequently applied to 57 batches of commercial products which were sampled by National Drug Assessment Program. High-resolution mass spectrometry analysis was performed on characteristic peaks of fingerprints, and a series of amino acids, nucleosides, and deoxynucleosides were identified. In the fingerprint assessments, principal component analysis and Hotelling T2 analysis yielded the best results. The results generally indicated that there was a significant difference among products of batch-to-batch or from different manufacturers. Abnormal samples and its discriminatory components were also explored. In summary, the established fingerprinting method with multivariate statistical analysis could offer an efficient, reliable, and practical approach for quality consistency evaluation of transfer factor injection, providing a reference for the quality control of other multicomponent biochemical drugs.

Metabolic profile elucidation of Zhi-Zi-Da-Huang decoction in rat intestinal bacteria using high-resolution mass spectrometry combined with multiple analytical perspectives.

1. Zhi-Zi-Da-Huang decoction (ZZDHD) has been widely used for the treatment of alcoholic jaundice, alcoholic liver disease, and acute hepatitis in China for thousands of years. Conventionally decoctions are administered orally, after which the metabolism caused by the enzymes in intestinal bacteria may influence significantly on the curative effects or toxicity. 2. In this work, the comprehensive metabolic process of ZZDHD in intestinal bacteria was investigated reliably using high-resolution HPLC-DAD-ESI-TOF/MS. Besides, a novel strategy for major-to-trace metabolites identification which integrated information derived from diagnostic fragment ions, mass spectral similarity filter strategy, dynamic metabolic change of target compounds and relevant behavior in LC-MS was adopted. 3. As a result, 45 compounds, including 26 bio-converted prototypes and 19 newly generated metabolites were detected and tentatively identified. The metabolic profile of ZZDHD in gastro-intestinal was subsequently elucidated. Deglycosylation, oxidation, reduction, acetylation, and ring cleavage were all observed in the biotransformation of the decoction. Among the rest, deglycosylation was found to be the predominant metabolic pathway. 4. The results obtained herein provided a practical strategy for metabolic profile elucidation of traditional herbal medicines. Moreover, it would be helpful to unravel how the oral decoctions play the therapeutic role in vivo.

Deciphering the absorption profile and interaction of multi-components of Zhi-Zi-Da-Huang decoction based on in vitro-in silico-in vivo integrated strategy.

Zhi-Zi-Da-Huang decoction (ZZDHD) has been acknowledged with striking therapeutic effects for hepatobiliary disorders in the history of China. As decoctions are usually administrated orally, intestinal absorption, the prerequisite task of exerting therapeutic effects, is of utmost significance for screening potential active compounds and understanding the mechanism of drug action. In this work, an in vitro-in silico-in vivo strategy based on HPLC-DAD-ESI-TOF/MS was adopted for precisely profiling the intestinal absorption of ZZDHD, which integrated information obtained from rat everted gut sac model, octanol-water partition model, in silico prediction and in vivo experimental data. Besides, 34 main absorbed ingredients were selected as chemical markers to investigate the compatible interaction of the decoction on absorption level using rat everted gut sac experiment. In total, 106 compounds of ZZDHD were speculated as potential absorptive. Among them, 90 constituents predicted absorbable in at least two experimental models were finally recognized as intestinal absorbable ingredients. In addition, the absorption level of iridoids, terpenoids and flavonoid glycosides were found improved and the absorption of catechins and anthraquinones were inhibited after prescription compatibility. Taken together, this study presents a reliable strategy for evaluating intestinal absorption of herbal medicines and offers a reference for the rationality of herbal compatibility and the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Rapid discovery and identification of the prototypes and their metabolites of Da-Huang-Xiao-Shi decoction in rat plasma by an integrative strategy based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

Da-Huang-Xiao-Shi decoction has been used to treat damp-heat jaundice for centuries in China. However, the absorbed components of the decoction and their related metabolites are little known until now. In this work, an integrative strategy based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (time-of-flight/triple-quadruple tandem) was adopted to effectively identify the prototypes and their metabolites and to speculate the possible transformation pathways among these compounds. Using pattern recognition approaches, the exogenous compounds in rat plasma were screened out from endogenous compounds and then distinguished into prototypes and metabolites according to the characteristic information from the self-building database of Da-Huang-Xiao-Shi decoction. On this basis, the metabolic profiles of main prototypes (such as iridoid glycosides, alkaloids, and anthraquinones) were proposed. As a result, a total of 62 related prototypes and their metabolites were detected and tentatively identified in rat plasma after administration, and among them, three prototypes were found for the first time. Glucuronidation and sulfation were deduced to be the main metabolic pathways of alkaloids, iridoid glycosides, and anthraquinones. The integrative strategy used in this study was an effective approach to rapidly discover and characterize the prototypes and their metabolites from a complex bio-sample without the use of standard substances.

Characterization of global metabolic profile of Zhi-Zi-Hou-Po decoction in rat bile, urine and feces after oral administration based on a strategy combining LC-MS and chemometrics.

Identification of metabolic profile of traditional Chinese medicine in vivo is always a challenge task. Usually, screening out and identifying the exogenous compounds manually from total ion chromatograms (TICs) of biologic samples is time-consuming and strenuous. In this study, a systematic identification strategy based on LC-MS was adopted to clarify the metabolic profiling of Zhi-Zi-Hou-Po decoction (ZZHPD) in rat. Bile, urine and feces samples of rat were obtained after oral administration and then analyzed by LC-MS after proper preparation. The xenobiotics were screened out from TICs globally and rapidly by untargeted metabolomics-driven strategy (UMDS) based on the combined of XCMS online (a web-based platform to process LC-MS data), MetAlign (a software to process LC-MS data) and SIMCA-P (a software for data analysis). Most of the xenobiotics were identified by means of series product ions filtering (sPIF), which was based on the database-hit of ZZHPD (including prototype and metabolites). Then the unmatched constituents were identified tentatively and their source and metabolic pathway were clarified by using diagnostic fragment ions strategy (DFIS). As a result, a total of 83 compounds including 44 prototype compounds and 39 metabolites were rapidly identified or tentatively characterized from the biologic samples, and among them, four of which were found for the first time. Further research on the correlations of these prototype compounds and metabolites revealed that glucuronidation is the main metabolic pathways of ZZHPD in rat bile and urine, while prototype compounds were the abundant ingredients detected in rat feces.

Dynamic metabolic profile of Zhi-Zi-Da-Huang decoction in rat urine based on hybrid liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry coupled with solid phase extraction.

Zhi-Zi-Da-Huang decoction (ZZDHD) has been used for treatment of alcoholic liver disease in China for thousands of years. In order to reveal the dynamic biotransformation of the decoction in vivo, a high-throughout, sensitive and special method based on high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-TOF/MS) and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-QqQ/MS) was developed and validated. 25 parent compounds and 28 metabolites were characterized, among which, two metabolites were found for the first time and tentatively identified by neutral-loss scan and product-ion scan. All the compounds were assigned to iridoids, flavones, anthraquinones, coumarin or p-coumaric acid, and their biotransformation pathways were found to involve glucuronidation, sulfation, reduction and ring cleavage. Glucuronidation occurred as a major metabolic pathway of genipin and flavanone and the conjugates could be detected almost during the whole sampling duration. To compounds such as anthraquinones, coumarin and p-coumaric acid, sulfation is the only transformation pathway and the metabolites were found at 0-12, 4-18, 4-48h respectively after administration. Reduction and/or ring cleavage of genipin glucuronide and naringin were also observed obviously. The phenomena that parts of parent compounds and metabolites were able to be detected even 48h after administration implied that the accumulating effect of these constituents in vivo would happen and the potential toxicity of the decoction might appear if multiple dosing is adopted. The strategy used in this paper was proved helpful to offer important information for the clinical safe use of ZZDHD.

Dynamic metabolic profiling of urine biomarkers in rats with alcohol­induced liver damage following treatment with Zhi­Zi­Da­Huang decoction.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a leading cause of liver­associated morbidity and mortality. Zhi­Zi­Da­Huang decoction (ZZDHD), a traditional Chinese medicine formula, has been frequently used to treat or alleviate the symptoms of the various stages of ALD. To identify metabolic changes and the ZZDHD mechanism of action on ALD, potential urine biomarkers involved in the effects of ZZDHD were identified. Additionally, dynamic metabolomic profiles were systematically analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in conjunction with statistical analysis. Alcohol administration to experimental rats disrupted multiple metabolic pathways, including methionine, gut bacterial, energy and amino acid metabolism. However, ZZDHD relieved certain effects of alcohol on the metabolism and regulated changes in potential characteristic biomarkers, including dimethylglycine, hippurate, lactate and creatine. The present study investigated time­dependent metabolomic changes in the development of alcohol­induced liver injury, including the effect of ZZDHD intervention. These findings elucidated important information regarding the metabolic responses to the protective effects of ZZDHD. 1H NMR­based metabolomics method a reliable and useful tool for determining the metabolic progression of alcohol­induced liver injury and elucidating the underlying mechanisms of the effect of traditional Chinese medicine formulas. This study also demonstrated that NMR­based metabolomics approach is a powerful tool for understanding the molecular basis of pathogenesis and drug intervention processes.

Comparative pharmacokinetics and brain distribution of magnolol and honokiol after oral administration of Magnolia officinalis cortex extract and its compatibility with other herbal medicines in Zhi-Zi-Hou-Po Decoction to rats.

Zhi-Zi-Hou-Po decoction (ZZHPD) is one of the famous antidepressant Chinese formulas and is composed of Magnolia officinalis cortex (HP), Gardenia jasminoides Ellis (ZZ) and Citrus aurantium L. (ZS). Magnolol (MN) and honokiol (HN) from HP are the major active ingredients responsible for the therapeutic effects of ZZHPD. The aim of this study is to compare the pharmacokinetics and rat brain distribution of MN and HN after oral administration of HP extract and its compatibility with other herbal medicines in ZZHPD by HPLC-FLD. Compared with the HP group, Tmax (time to reach peak drug concentration in plasma) and AUC(0-τ) significantly increased in the ZZHPD and HP-ZZ groups. There was little change in the HP-ZS group in comparison with the HP group, which indicated that ZZ promotes absorption extent and defers the absorption rate of MN. The different compatibility of ZZHPD had a different degree of impact on the concentration of MN and HN in brain. The concentration of MN significantly increased in the HP-ZZ group while it decreased in the HP-ZS group compared with the HP group, which explained the concentration of compounds being slightly greater in the ZZHPD group than in the HP group. HP mixed with other medicines resulted in a decrease in HN concentration in the brain, particularly HP compatible with ZS. The results could be helpful for revealing the compatibility mechanism and providing clinical medication guidance for ZZHPD.