Identification of absorbed constituents and in vivo metabolites in rats after oral administration of Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii by ultra‐high‐pressure liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Abstract

The calyces of Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii (Chinese Lantern, JDL) are well-known as traditional Chinese medicine owing to its various therapeutic effects. However, the bioactive constituents responsible for the pharmacological effects of JDL and their metabolites in vivo are still unclear to date. In this paper, an ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS) method was established to identify absorbed constituents and in vivo metabolites in rat biological fluids after oral administration of JDL. Based on the proposed strategy, 33 compounds were observed in dosed rat biosamples. Twelve of 33 compounds were indicated as prototype components of JDL, and 21 compounds were predicted to be metabolites of JDL. Finally, the metabolic pathways were proposed, which were glucuronidation, sulfation, methylation and dehydroxylation for flavonoid constituents and sulfonation and hydroxylation for physalin consitituents. This is the first systematic study on the absorbed constituents and metabolic profiling of JDL and will provide a useful template for screening and characterizing the ingredients and metabolites of traditional Chinese medicine.

Application of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Linear Ion Trap Quadrupole Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry for Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Shejin-Liyan Granule Supplements

“…Peaks 34 and 35, with the same deprotonated molecular ion at m / z 543.1866 in negative ion mode, represent a pair of stereoisomers. Their parent and product ions were in agreement with physalin D and physalin D’, and the polarity of physalin D’ was stronger than that of physalin D; the compound with the shorter retention time should be physalin D’ [ 6 ]. Using the same method, the other two pairs of stereoisomers, peaks 36 and 37, and peaks 38 and 39, were identified as physalin F and physalin A, and physalin O and physalin L, respectively [ 6 , 13 , 21 ].…”

“…It consists of six herbs: Rhizoma Belamcandae, Arctium lappa , radix Sophorae tonkinensis , Physalis alkekengi , radix Platycodonis, and radix Glycyrrhizae. These chemicals, such as the isoflavones from Rhizoma Belamcandae [ 5 ], physalins from Physalis alkekengi [ 6 ], ligands from Arctium lappa [ 7 ], and alkaloids from Sophorae tonkinensis [ 8 ] have been proven to have good anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant activities [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. SJLYKL is an organic combination of complex and diverse chemical constituents from these six herbs, and its anti-pharyngitis effect may be closely related to these compounds.…”

“…The complete profiles and quantities of the bioactive ingredients in SJLYKL are not well understood. Several studies have focused on identifying the components in each of the herbs included in SJLYKL [ 5 , 6 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]; however, no method has been developed to systematically analyze SJLYKL. Therefore, it is important to develop a systematic qualitative and quantitative evaluation method for the pharmacologically active compounds in SJLYKL.…”

Natural Products from Physalis alkekengi L. var. franchetii (Mast.) Makino: A Review on Their Structural Analysis, Quality Control, Pharmacology, and Pharmacokinetics

“…The results identified 33 compounds in vivo: 12 and 21 compounds were predicted to be prototype components and metabolites of P. alkekengi , respectively. Lastly, sulfonation and hydroxylation were recognized as the metabolic pathways for physalin constituents [ 119 ]. Another study focused on the metabolism of physalin A in rats after oral administration.…”

“…Subsequently, it may be transported to the liver through the portal vein, where it may form a potential phase I substrate through further hydroxylation in the liver. Consequently, it produces more polar compounds through further phase I and II metabolism [ 124 , 125 ], such as the glucuronidation of luteolin and the hydroxylation and sulfation of other types of flavonoids [ 119 ]. Therefore, the content of prototype constituents in the body would be significantly decreased or undetectable.…”