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Tongmai formula (TMF) is a herbal preparation composed of three traditional Chinese medicinal materials: Puerariae Lobatae Radix (Gegen), Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Danshen) and Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Chuanxiong). It has been used to treat cardiovascular diseases for decades. To develop a reliable and convenient analytical method for a comprehensive determination of polyphenols in TMF and the ascertainment of their chemical correlations with its herbal components, a method combining high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) was developed and validated for rapid determination of 30 polyphenols in TMF and its three herbal components. The chromatographic separation was carried out on a Chromolith Fastgradient RP-18 endcapped 50-2 column using an optimized gradient elution. Statistical analysis of obtained data demonstrated that the method had a desirable linearity, precision, and accuracy, as well as excellent sensitivity. The obtained results indicated that, among the 30 polyphenols in TMF, 22 originated from Gegen, 6 originated from Danshen, and 2 originated from Chuanxiong. The major polyphenols in TMF have been identified as puerarin, mirificin, salvianolic acid B, salvianic acid A, 3’-hydroxypuerarin, 3’-methoxypuerarin, and salvianolic acid A, with a combined contribution of 19.2% of the preparation. The development and validation of this method will greatly facilitate future pharmacological studies of TMF and its herbal components, as well as polyphenols in cardiovascular therapies.

A new limonoid compound, named evorubodinin (1), was isolated from the dried and nearly ripe fruits of Euodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. bodinieri (Dode) Huang (family Rutaceae), together with two known limonoid compounds, limonin (2) and evolimorutanin (3). The chemical structure of 1 was elucidated by spectroscopic method and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The inhibitory effects of the isolated compounds 1-3 and the structurally related compounds evodol (4), shihulimonin A1 (5), evodirutaenin (6), 12α-hydroxyrutaevin (7), and rutaevin (8) on nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW264.7 macrophages were also assayed. All compounds 1-8 showed the inhibitory activity, in which both 7 and 8 with the uncommon 5β-H configuration more efficiently inhibited NO production. The results provided valuable information for further investigation of compounds 1-8 as anti-inflammatory agents or lead compounds.

One new dammarane triterpene saponin named ginsenjilinol (1) was isolated from the roots and rhizomes of Panax ginseng C.A. Mey., together with two known saponins ginsenoside Rf (2) and ginsenoside Re5 ( = panajaponol A, 3). Based on IR, HR-ESI-MS, and 1D as well as 2D NMR ((1)H-(1)H COSY, NOESY, HSQC, and HMBC) spectral data, the chemical structure of the new saponin was elucidated as 3β,12β,20S,26-tetrahydroxydammar-24E-en-6α-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-β-d-glucopyranoside. The ability of the isolated saponins to inhibit nitric oxide production by lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW 264.7 cells was also assayed. All of the isolated saponins exhibited the significant activity in a concentration-dependent manner at concentrations of 60-200 μM with the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 70.96 ± 2.05 μM for 1, 74.14 ± 2.65 μM for 2, and 79.83 ± 1.78 μM for 3, respectively, whereas indomethacin had an IC50 of 63.75 ± 3.33 μM as a positive control drug.

20(S)-Ginsenoside Rg₂ (1) has recently become a hot research topic due to its potent bioactivities and abundance in natural sources such as the roots, rhizomes and stems-leaves of Panax ginseng. However, due to the lack of studies on systematic metabolic profiles, the prospects for new drug development of 1 are still difficult to predict, which has become a huge obstacle for its safe clinical use. To solve this problem, investigation of the metabolic profiles of 1 in rat liver microsomes was first carried out. To identify metabolites, a strategy of combined analyses based on prepared metabolites by column chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) was performed. As a result, four metabolites M1-M4, including a rare new compound named ginsenotransmetin A (M1), were isolated and the structures were confirmed by spectroscopic analyses. A series of metabolites of 1, MA-MG, were also tentatively identified by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS in rat liver microsomal incubate of 1. Partial metabolic pathways were proposed. Among them, 1 and its metabolites M1, M3 and M4 were discovered for the first time to be activators of SIRT1. The SIRT1 activating effects of the metabolite M1 was comparable to those of 1, while the most interesting SIRT1 activatory effects of M3 and M4 were higher than that of 1 and comparable with that of resveratrol, a positive SIRT1 activator. These results indicate that microsome-dependent metabolism may represent a bioactivation pathway for 1. This study is the first to report the metabolic profiles of 1 in vitro, and the results provide an experimental foundation to better understand the in vivo metabolic fate of 1.

A new flavonoid glycoside, named aquisiflavoside, was isolated from the leaves of Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Gilg, and its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic analyses. Aquisiflavoside was evaluated for the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production induced by lipopolysaccharide in macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 and exhibited a potent inhibitory activity against NO production in a dose-dependent manner with an IC(50) value of 34.95 μM.

Three new isoflavone glycosides, 3'-methoxydaidzein-7,4'-di-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (1), biochanin A-8-C-β-d-apiofuranosyl-(1 → 6)-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (2), daidzein-7-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (3), and a new natural isoflavone glycoside, daidzein-7-O-α-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (4) were isolated along with 18 known isoflavones from the EtOAc and n-BuOH fractions of the aqueous extraction of Tongmai granules. All the isoflavones were obtained and determined for the first time from Tongmai granules. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectral methods. It was confirmed that the compounds 1-4 were originally from Puerariae Lobatae Radix based on HPLC-DAD analysis of the crude drug extract. The isoflavones isolated were tested for their antioxidative activities by measuring the capacities of scavenging the 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical.

Ginseng, Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, is an industrial crop in China and Korea. The functional components in ginseng roots and rhizomes are characteristic ginsenosides. This work developed a new high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization ion trap time-of-flight multistage mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-IT-TOF-MS(n)) method to identify the triterpenoids. Sixty compounds (1-60) including 58 triterpenoids were identified from the ginseng cultivated in China. Substances 1, 2, 7, 15-20, 35, 39, 45-47, 49, 55-57, 59, and 60 were identified for the first time. To evaluate the quality of ginseng cultivated in Northeast China, this paper developed a practical liquid chromatography-diode array detection (LC-DAD) method to simultaneously quantify 14 interesting ginsenosides in ginseng collected from 66 different producing areas for the first time. The results showed the quality of ginseng roots and rhizomes from different sources was different due to growing environment, cultivation technology, and so on. The developed LC-ESI-IT-TOF-MS(n) method can be used to identify many more ginsenosides and the LC-DAD method can be used not only to assess the quality of ginseng, but also to optimize the cultivation conditions for the production of ginsenosides.

A new liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method is developed for the quantification of dehydrodiisoeugenol (DDIE) in rat cerebral nuclei after single intravenous administration. DDIE and daidzein (internal standard) were separated on a Diamonsil™ ODS C18 column with methanol–water containing 0.1% formic acid (81:19, v/v) as a mobile phase. Detection of DDIE was performed on a positive electrospray ionization source using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. DDIE and daidzein were monitored at m/z 327.2→188.0 and m/z 255.0→199.2, respectively, in multiple reaction monitoring mode. This method enabled quantification of DDIE in various brain areas, including, cortex, hippocampus, striatum, hypothalamus, cerebellum and brainstem, with high specificity, precision, accuracy, and recovery. The data herein demonstrate that our new LC-MS/MS method is highly sensitive and suitable for monitoring cerebral nuclei distribution of DDIE.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability of twelve lignans and three phenolic malabaricones from the seeds of Myristica fragrans (nutmeg) were studied with the MDCK-pHaMDR cell monolayer model. The samples were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography and the apparent permeability coefficients (Papp) were calculated. Among the fifteen test compounds, benzonfuran-type, dibenzylbutane-type and arylnaphthalene-type lignans showed poor to moderate permeabilities with Papp values at 10(-8)-10(-6) cm/s; those of 8-O-4'-neolignan and tetrahydrofuran-lignan were at 10(-6)-10(-5) cm/s, meaning that their permeabilities are moderate to high; the permeabilities of malabaricones were poor as their Papp values were at 10(-8)-10(-7) cm/s. To 5-methoxy-dehydrodiisoeugenol (2), erythro-2-(4-allyl-2,6-dimethoxyphenoxy)-1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-propan-1-ol acetate (6), verrucosin (8), and nectandrin B (9), an efflux way was involved and the main transporter for 6, 8 and 9 was demonstrated to be P-glycoprotein. The time and concentration dependency experiments indicated the main transport mechanism for neolignans dehydrodiisoeugenol (1), myrislignan (7) and 8 was passive diffusion. This study summarized the relationship between the BBB permeability and structure parameters of the test compounds, which could be used to preliminarily predict the transport of a compound through BBB. The results provide a significant molecular basis for better understanding the potential central nervous system effects of nutmeg.

prim-O-Glucosylcimifugin (PGCN), a highest content chromone in the roots of Saposhnikovia divaricata, was incubated with human intestinal flora (HIF), and two biotransformation products were obtained from the incubated solution by chromatographic methods. The chemical structures of the two biotransformation products were elucidated as cimifugin (CN) and 5-O-methylvisamminol (MVL), respectively, on the basis of NMR and MS data. The biotransformation product CN was formed through a deglucosylation of PGCN by β-glucosidase secreted from the HIF, and then the hydroxymethyl group of CN was reduced to lead to occurrence of MVL. All of these compounds were evaluated for their effect on the inhibition of nitric oxide production induced by lipopolysaccharide in macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 and for 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free-radical scavenging activity in cell-free bioassay system.

Three new dammarane-type triterpene saponins ginsenosides Rh(18) (1), Rh(19) (3) and Rh(20) (4), along with two new triterpene sapogenins 12β,23(R)-epoxydammara-24-ene-3β,6α,20(S)-triol (2) and dammara-(20E)22,25-diene-3β,6α,12β,24S-tetrol (5) were isolated from the stems and leaves of Panax ginseng C. A. Mey. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral evidence and comparisons with literature data.

The bidirectional intestinal permeability of the active constituents from the roots of Saposhnikovia divaricata, including four coumarins, anomalin (1), 5-methoxy-7-(3,3-dimethylallyloxy)coumarin (2), decursin (3), and decursinol angelate (4), as well as four chromones, cimifugin (5), prim-O-glucosylcimifugin (6), 3'- O-angeloylhamaudol (7), and sec-O-glucosylhamaudol (8), was studied by using the Caco-2 cell monolayer. These compounds were assayed by HPLC, and their transport parameters, including apparent permeability coefficients (P(app)), were then calculated. The bidirectional P(app) values of the compounds were compared with those of the markers, propranolol and atenolol. Compounds 1-5 and 7 were assigned to well-absorbed compounds, while 6 and 8 were assigned to moderately absorbed compounds. The transport of 1-7 increased linearly as a function of time up to 180 min and concentration within the test range of 10-200 µM, thus their passive diffusion mechanism was proposed. The results provided some useful information for predicting the intestinal absorption in vivo of these compounds.

Objective To study the chemical constituents in the dried roots of Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz.) Schischk. Method The chemical constituents were isolated by various column chromatographic methods and structurally elucidated by IR, UV, MS and NMR evidences. Result Two compounds were obtained and identified as nodakenetin (1) and 8-[4-(beta-D-glucopyrano-sy-loxy)-3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl]oxy-5-methoxy-6,7-furanocoumarin (2), respectively. Conclusion Compound 2 is a new compound and named sapodivarin.