Peimine, one of the major quality markers in Fritillaria Cirrhosae Bulbus, was expected to become a new anti‐asthma drug. However, its metabolic profiles and anti‐asthma mechanism have not been clarified previously. In this study, a method was developed for the detection of peimine metabolites in vitro by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid triple quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. The potential anti‐asthma mechanism was predicted by an integrated analysis of network pharmacology and molecular docking. A total of 19 metabolites were identified with the aid of software and molecular networking. The metabolic profiles of peimine elucidated that the metabolism was a multi‐pathway process with characteristics of species difference. The network pharmacology results showed that peimine and its metabolites could regulate multiple asthma‐related targets. The above targets were involved in various regulatory pathways linked to asthma. Moreover, the results of molecular docking showed that both peimine and its metabolites had a certain affinity with the β2 adrenergic receptor. The results provided not only important references to understand the metabolism and pharmacodynamic changes of peimine in vitro, but also supporting data for further pharmacological evaluation. It also provided a new perspective for clarifying the functional changes of traditional Chinese medicine in vitro.

Rationale: Anemarrhenae Rhizoma (AR) has been an often used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for a long time. Its salt-processed form is one of the most common application forms. Modern pharmacological research has shown that the saltprocessed product has various significantly enhanced pharmacological activities.However, the pharmacodynamic material basis of this change is not yet known. The aim of this study was to develop a strategy to screen pharmacodynamic substances in AR and salt-processed AR (SAR).Methods: An integrated strategy combining plant metabolomics with molecular docking technology was established to screen pharmacodynamic substances. The plant metabolomics analysis was performed to select the chemical markers between AR and SAR. Then, molecular docking technology was applied to explore the relationship between chemical markers and diabetes targets (α-glucosidase). Finally, potential quality control markers were screened.Results: There were significant differences in the quantification of nine steroidal saponins between AR and SAR. The results of plant metabolomics analysis showed a quite clear discrimination including 29 chemical markers between AR and SAR.

This paper analyzed the differences between the two harvesting periods (Taiju and Duoju) on the ingredients and pharmacological activity in Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.

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