[Metabolic and excretory process of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium in rats' urine and feces analyzed by RRLC-QqQ-MSn].

This present study was to investigate the metabolism and excretion of characteristic polyphenols such as flavonoids and coumarins in urine and feces of rats after intragastric administration of ethanol extracts of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium. The urine and feces of rats were collected after intragastric administration of 70% ethanol extracts of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium. Rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (RRLC-QqQ-MSn) was applied to compare the contents of polyphenols in ethanol extract, urine and feces. By comparing with reference substance, 30 polyphenols were identified from the ethanol extracts of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium, including flavone glycosides, flavones, flavonone glycosides, flavonones, flavonol glycosides, polymethoxyflavones, coumarins, and limonoids and so on. The detection of various types of compounds showed differences in contents between the intestinal metabolism and excretion in the feces after systemic circulatory metabolism and renal excretion. The results showed that the polymethoxyflavones and flavonones were primarily excreted through urine, and the flavonone glycosides and limonoids were primarily excreted through feces. However, coumarins were hardly detected in feces and urine, indicating that coumarins may be metabolized in the body.

Chemotaxonomic Classification Applied to the Identification of Two Closely-Related Citrus TCMs Using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS-Based Metabolomics.

This manuscript elaborates on the establishment of a chemotaxonomic classification strategy for closely-related Citrus fruits in Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs). UPLC-Q-TOF-MS-based metabolomics was applied to depict the variable chemotaxonomic markers and elucidate the metabolic mechanism of Citrus TCMs from different species and at different ripening stages. Metabolomics can capture a comprehensive analysis of small molecule metabolites and can provide a powerful approach to establish metabolic profiling, creating a bridge between genotype and phenotype. To further investigate the different metabolites in four closely-related Citrus TCMs, non-targeted metabolite profiling analysis was employed as an efficient technique to profile the primary and secondary metabolites. The results presented in this manuscript indicate that primary metabolites enable the discrimination of species, whereas secondary metabolites are associated with species and the ripening process. In addition, analysis of the biosynthetic pathway highlighted that the syntheses of flavone and flavone glycosides are deeply affected in Citrus ripening stages. Ultimately, this work might provide a feasible strategy for the authentication of Citrus fruits from different species and ripening stages and facilitate a better understanding of their different medicinal uses.

[Research on concentration of 5 different ginsenosides in Panax japonica collected from different cultivated geographic regions].

In this paper, an HPLC-QqQ-MS method for determination of 5 different ginsenosides of Panax japonica collected from different cultivated geographic regions was established. The separation was performed on a Zorbax XDB-C18 (4.6 mm×100 mm, 1.8 µm) column with the gradient elution of acetonitrile (contained 0.1% formic acid)-0.1% formic acid water. The flow rate was 0.5 mL•min⁻¹. The colunm temperature was maintained at 30 ℃. The analytes were detected using electrospray ionization (ESI) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) modes. Reaction selected ions were 203.2 for ginsenoside Re, 202.9 for ginsenoside Rg1, 365.0 for ginsenoside Rf, 789.1 for ginsenoside Rd, 360.9 for ginsenoside Ro. Ginsenosides Re, ginsenosides Rg1, ginsenosides Rf, ginsenosides Rd, ginsenosides Ro had good linearity in the ranges of 3.33-66.60 µg (r=0.999 1),2.83-56.54 µg (r=0.999 2), 0.32-6.51 µg (r=0.999 2), 12.55-251.00 µg (r=0.999 3), 0.85-16.90 µg (r=0.999 5), respectively. The results of recovery were among 100.8% to 104.6%, and the values of RSD were blow 3.0%. This method is simple, reliable and accurate, and can provide basis for P. japonica basic research.

[Study on HPLC fingerprint and chemical constituent difference of different species of Aurantii Fructus Immaturus].

This study is to establish an HPLC fingerprint by HPLC-DAD method and simultaneous quantitative analysis of 17 components of 18 batches of Citrus aurantium and 10 batches of C. sinensis. The separation was performed on an Agilent Poroshell 120 SB-C18 (4.6 mm×100 mm,2.7 µm) column with the gradient elution of methanol-0.1% formic acid water, the flow was 0.6 mL•min⁻¹. The detection wavelength was set at 318 nm. The column temperature was maintained at 30 ℃. The data calculation was performed with similarity evaluation system for chromatographic fingerprint of traditional Chinese medicine (Version 2004A) together with SIMCA-P 13.0 software to clarify the differential marker between these two different species of Aurantii Fructus Immaturus. This method has good precision stability and repeatability that could provide basis for quality control and evaluation of Aurantii Fructus Immaturus.

Comparison of alkaloids in Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix, Aconiti Radix, and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata based on UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS/MS / 中国中药杂志

UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS/MS was used to systematically analyze and compare the alkaloids in Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix, Aconiti Radix, and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata. After the samples were pretreated in the solid-phase extraction cartridges, 0.1% ammonium hydroxide(A)-acetonitrile(B) was used for gradient elution. The LC-MS method for characterization of alkaloids in the three herbal medicines was established in ESI positive ion mode to collect high resolution MS data of reference substances and samples. On the basis of the information of reference substance cracking behavior, retention time, accurate molecular mass, and related literature, a total of 155 alkaloids were identified in Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix, Aconiti Radix, and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Prae-parata. Specifically, 130, 127, and 92 alkaloids were identified in Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix, Aconiti Radix, and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata, respectively. Monoester alkaloids and amino-alcohol alkaloids were dominant in the three herbal medicines, and the alkaloids in Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix and Aconiti Radix were similar. This paper can provide a reference for elucidating the pharmacological effects and clinical application differences of the three herbal medicines produced from plants of Aconitum.