A Hexa-Herbal TCM Decoction Used to Treat Skin Inflammation: An LC-MS-Based Phytochemical Analysis

Abstract

In order to understand the chemical relationship between a traditional hexa-herbal Chinese medicine formula and botanical drugs it is derived from, an analytical platform comprising liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry and data mining was developed to separate and identify key chemical components. The hexa-herbal formula comprises the rootstock of Scutellaria baicalensis, Rheum tanguticum, Sophora flavescens, the root bark of Dictamnus dasycarpus, the bark of Phellodendron chinense, and the fruit of Kochia scoparia. Seventy-three compounds including alkaloids, anthraquinone derivatives, coumarins, coumarins derivatives, flavonoids, flavone glycosides, naphthalene derivatives, phenylbutanone glucopyranoside, phenolic acids, pterocarpans, stilbenes, stilbenes derivatives, and tannins were putatively identified based on mass measurement and characteristic fragment ions. Among the botanical drugs of the hexa-herbal Chinese medicine formula, the rootstock of R. tanguticum and S. flavescens, bark of P. chinense, and rootstock of S. baicalensis contributed to the majority of the extracted metabolites of the formula decoction. The developed method appeared to be a versatile tool for monitoring chemical constituents in extracts of a traditional Chinese medicine formula in a relatively comprehensive and systematic manner, and helped to understand the importance of the individual botanical drugs within a formulation.

Disentangling the Complexity of a Hexa-Herbal Chinese Medicine Used for Inflammatory Skin Conditions—Predicting the Active Components by Combining LC-MS-Based Metabolite Profiles and in vitro Pharmacology

“…Lyophilized decoctions of the HHCF and its 12 varied formulae were dissolved in LC-MS grade water to achieve a concentration of 20 mg/mL, centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 10 min and filtered through 0.22 μm filter membrane before analysis. They were subsequently profiled by LC-MS using the method described in the “LC-MS/MS analysis” section of the previous publication (Chang et al, 2016 ).…”

A target‐group‐change couple with mass defect filtering strategy to identify the metabolites of “Dogel ebs” in rats plasma, urine and bile

“…Although there are many studies on the chemical constituents of “Dogel ebs” , at present, it is essential to obtain its pharmacokinetic parameters and metabolism information to fully understand the pharmacological effects and mechanism of “Dogel ebs.” Unfortunately, the identification of metabolites and illustration of its metabolic patterns have not yet been studied, except the pharmacokinetics investigations on matrine , which restricted the therapeutic applications and development of “Dogel ebs.” In order to clarify the metabolic mechanism of “Dogel ebs,” a target‐group‐change couple with mass defect filtering strategy was proposed based on high performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry (HPLC‐Q‐Exactive/MS) and Compound Discoverer software. As previously reported , Compound Discoverer software could provide elemental composition assignment, exact mass measurement, and fragmentation information in Traditional Chinese medicines and their metabolites in biological matrices .…”

“…Although there are many studies on the chemical constituents of "Dogel ebs" [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], at present, it is essential to obtain its pharmacokinetic parameters and metabolism information to fully understand the pharmacological effects and mechanism of "Dogel ebs." Unfortunately, the identification of metabolites and illustration of its metabolic patterns have not yet been studied, except the pharmacokinetics investigations on matrine [21], which restricted the therapeutic applications and development of "Dogel ebs."…”

The Modulatory Role of CYP3A4 in Dictamnine-Induced Hepatotoxicity

“…Dictamni Cortex (DC, Bai-Xian-Pi in Chinese) ( Figure 1A ) is the root bark of Dictamnus dasycarpus Turcz. (Family Rutaceae), which is extensively spread throughout China and has been used as a CHM for the treatment of rheumatism, jaundice, skin diseases and chronic hepatitis with a long history ( Du et al, 2005 ; Lv et al, 2015 ; Chang et al, 2016 ). However, the safety of DC has been questioned as exposure to DC might be associated with the risk of hepatitis in clinic ( Blackwell, 1996 ; Efferth et al, 2017 ).…”