We proposed a biochemometrics strategy for tracing diuretic components of herbs based on quantitative determination and pharmacological evaluation. First, a sensitive and robust liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry approach was established for simultaneous quantification of six major triterpenoids in crude and salt‐processed Alisma orientale. The separation of triterpenoids was achieved on a BEH C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water spiked with 0.1% formic acid. Six major triterpenoids were detected by multiple reaction monitoring in the negative ion mode. Glycyrrhetinic acid was used as the internal standard. The approach showed good linearity. Intra‐ and inter‐day precisions were all within 2.9%. The recovery rates of each triterpenoid ranged from 97.9% to 103.2%. The approach was then successfully employed for quantitative analysis of six triterpenoids in ten batches of crude and salt‐processed A. orientale. Second, the diuretic effects of crude and salt‐processed A. orientale were evaluated in mice. Third, principal component analysis and canonical correlation analysis were used to uncover the relationship between the contents of six major triterpenoids and the diuretic effect of different crude and salt‐processed samples. Alisol B, alisol F, and alisol A have a close positive correlation with the diuretic effect.

Phytolacca acinosa is an herb for treatment of ascites and tumor. Two forms of P. acinosa, i.e. raw and vinegar-processed herb, have been used in clinic. However, pharmacokinetic difference between the two forms of P. acinosa has not been fully understood. Herein, a comparative pharmacokinetic method based on liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was developed for quantification of six bioactive triterpenoids, including esculentoside H, esculentoside T, esculentoside A, esculentoside B, phytolaccagenic acid, and phytolaccagenin in rat plasma after oral administration of different forms of P. acinosa. Separation was performed on an Acquity BEH C 18 column (1.7 µm, 2.1 mm × 50 mm). The method was validated over a linear range of 2.0-5000 ng/mL. Intraday and interday bias were within ±5%. Besides, all triterpenoids were stable in plasma during different storage conditions. The described method was successfully applied to a comparative pharmacokinetic study of raw and vinegar-processed P. acinosa in rats. Notably, double peak phenomenon for six triterpenoids of P. acinosa was observed for the first time. AUC 0→t and C max values of esculentoside H, esculentoside T, phytolaccagenic acid, and phytolaccagenin were significantly lower in vinegar-processed group than that of raw group, indicating the oral bioavailability of the four triterpenoids was decreased after vinegar processing. K E Y W O R D Sphytolacca acinosa, pharmacokinetics, traditional Chinese medicine 1248

A rapid and sensitive UPLC–MS/MS method was established for the simultaneous quantification of 6′′′‐feruloylspinosin, spinosin, jujuboside A, and jujuboside B in rat plasma after the oral administration of traditional and dispensing granules (DG) decoction of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen (ZSS). The four components were separated using 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as a mobile phase by gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min equipped with a C18 column (2.1 × 50 mm, 1.7 μm particle size, Acquity BEH C18). The mass spectrometer was operated under multiple reaction monitoring mode. An aliquot of 100 μL rat plasma was deproteinized by 300 μL methanol. The supernatant was injected into the UPLC–MS/MS system for analysis. The calibration curves displayed good linearity. The intra‐day and inter‐day precisions (RSD) were less than 7.3%. The accuracies ranged from −1.3 to 6.1%. The extraction recoveries ranged from 95.8 to 101.9%, and the matrix effects were satisfactory. For DG, half‐life values (t1/2) of 6′′′‐feruloylspinosin and Cmax of jujuboside A were elevated remarkably. MRT0–t of jujuboside B was significantly increased. No significant variation was observed for the pharmacokinetic parameters of spinosin. The results could provide a scientific basis for the clinical application of traditional and DG decoction of ZSS.

No abstract

A biochemometrics strategy combining quantitative determination, bioactivity evaluation, and relationship analysis was proposed for identification of analgesic components of herbs. First, a robust liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for simultaneous determination of nine major alkaloids in crude and vinegar‐processed Corydalis turtschaninovii. Nine alkaloids were separated on a BEH C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water spiked with 0.1% formic acid and then detected by multiple reactions monitoring in the positive ion mode. Nitidine chloride was employed as the internal standard. The method displayed good linearity and the precisions of intra‐day and inter‐day were all within 3.0%. The recovery rates of each alkaloid ranged from 97.1 to 102.9%. The method was successfully applied for quantitative analysis of nine alkaloids in ten batches of crude and vinegar‐processed Corydalis turtschaninovii. Second, the analgesic effects of crude and vinegar‐processed Corydalis turtschaninovii were evaluated in mice. Third, principle component analysis, canonical correlation analysis, and partial least squares regression were used to analysis the relationship between the contents of nine major alkaloids and the analgesic effect of different crude and vinegar‐processed samples. Tetrahydropalmatine, coptisine, and dehydrocorydaline have a close positive correlation with the analgesic effect.