HPLC/Q‐TOF‐MS‐Based Identification of Absorbed Constituents and Their Metabolites in Rat Serum and Urine after Oral Administration of Cistanche deserticola Extract

Abstract

As a famous health food in China, Cistanche deserticola (C. deserticola) suggested an estrogenic activity according to our previous study. However, no one clarifies its active material basis to date. To find more potentially active constituents and elucidate metabolic pathways of metabolites, a method to simultaneously analyze multiple absorbed constituents and metabolites from C. deserticola in rat serum and urine was established using high-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC/Q-TOF-MS). Based on HPLC/Q-TOF-MS method, a total of 24 components, involving 9 prototype constituents and 15 metabolites in rat serum and urine samples, were tentatively identified based on retention time, ultraviolet spectrum, MS data, compound fragmentation laws, published literatures, and reference substances. Most of the compounds existed in the form of metabolites. The proposed metabolic pathways of main metabolites were discussed, including methylation, demethylation, hydrolysis, hydroxylation, acetoxylation, glucuronidation, dehydrogenation, sulfation, esterification, and so on. Phenylethanoid glycosides were extensively metabolized and mutually transformed in vivo. This investigation provided valuable information for further study of the active ingredients and action mechanism of C. deserticola.

Strategies for determining the bioactive ingredients of honey‐processed Astragalus by serum pharmacochemistry integrated with multivariate statistical analysis

“…For example, as is shown in Figure 3, the prototype P4a (calycosin) was the metabolite of P1a (calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐ d ‐glucoside), and P4a could be further transformed to P5a (formononetin). Different compounds with various physicochemical properties have different metabolic pathways and eventually lead to various metabolites [28].…”

Comparison of the Chemical Profiles and Antioxidant Activities of Different Parts of Cultivated Cistanche deserticola Using Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry and a 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl-Based Assay

“…Thus, the peak was determined as cistanoside A, as its retention time and mass spectra correspond to those of the authentic reference standard. Finally, the antioxidants were identified by their mass spectra and fragmentation patterns with the aid of standard references and literature reports [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

An Integrated Approach to Characterize Intestinal Metabolites of Four Phenylethanoid Glycosides and Intestinal Microbe-Mediated Antioxidant Activity Evaluation In Vitro Using UHPLC-Q-Exactive High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry and a 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl-Based Assay

“…Most herbal medicines are administered orally, and the components are inevitably metabolized before absorption from the gastrointestinal tract; however, poor oral absorption of PhGs was observed in a Caco-2 cell monolayer model, suggesting poor intestinal permeability (Gao et al, 2015; Zhou et al, 2018). A low blood drug concentration and relatively rapid metabolism of PhGs were observed after dosing in previous pharmacokinetic studies (Qi et al, 2013; Deng et al, 2014; Li et al, 2015a; Cui et al, 2016a; Li et al, 2016a; Su et al, 2016; Cui et al, 2017; Feng et al, 2018; Qian et al, 2018); however, these existing results are inadequate to fully understand the metabolic process and the mechanism underlying the pharmacologic activities. An in vitro digestion model provides a useful platform for fast and reproducible assessment of herbal medicine metabolism (Payne et al, 2012; Kang et al, 2013; Xu et al, 2017; Cui et al, 2018; Zhang et al, 2018; Feng et al, 2019).…”