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The treatment of cardiovascular diseases and obesity, two diseases posing a major risk to human health, has been plagued by the scarcity of potent and effective medication with fewer side effects. To address this problem, numerous efforts, and some progress, have been made. Among possible treatments are some medicinal herbs; particularly promising is Alisma orientale (AO). In the last decade, an increasing amount of research has shown that AO has some desirable therapeutic effects on cardiovascular diseases and obesity. Because of its efficacy, natural origin, and minimal adverse effects, AO has aroused great attention. Based on this, this review provides an overview of the latest progress from the last decade regarding the pharmacological and therapeutic effects, molecular mechanisms, and related effective constituents of AO in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and obesity. Results from the research currently available reveal that active constituents of AO, such as alisol B 23-acetate, alisol A 24-acetace, and alisol A, have been proven to be effective for treating cardiovascular diseases by modulating the lipid metabolism of macrophages, improving the biological behavior of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and enhancing anti-inflammatory effects. Moreover, the active constituents of AO can also intervene in obesity by modulating abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism and fat decomposition of the body by activating the AMPK- and PPAR-related signaling pathways. In summation, based upon our research of available literature, this review reveals that AO and its active constituents have a great potential to be used as drugs for treating cardiovascular diseases and ameliorating obesity.

Zhizi Baipi decoction is a classic traditional Chinese medicine formula for the treatment of jaundice and various liver diseases. The chemical components of Zhizi baipi decoction were not clear resulting of the paucity of relevant studies, which hindered the elucidation of the pharmacological mechanism, and the comprehensive development and utilization of Zhizi baipi decoction in clinical. In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry combined with the UNIFI natural product information analysis platform was used to rapidly analyze and identify the chemical components in Zhizi baipi decoction. A total of 122 chemical components, including 53 flavonoids, 16 alkaloids, 25 terpenoids, five phenylpropanoids, 14 organic acids, and seven others, were identified from Zhizi baipi decoction. These compounds may be the active components of Zhizi baipi decoction. The method established in this study can systematically, rapidly, and accurately resolve the chemical components in Zhizi baipi decoction, which lays the foundation for further establishment of the pharmacodynamic substance basis and quality control of Zhizi baipi decoction.

Background and Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an increasingly serious disease worldwide that can damage the joints and bones of sufferers. Sanmiao Pill (SMP), a classical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, has been used for effective treatments for RA in the clinic. To comprehensively illuminate the therapeutic mechanism of SMP in the treatment of RA, the effects of SMP on biomarkers and metabolic pathways in rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) were examined. Methods: Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into two control (CC, Control) groups, two model (MM, Model) groups, a methotrexate group (MTX, 7.6 mg/kg body weight per week), and two SMP groups (San-L, 28.7 mg/kg body weight per day and San-H, 57.4 mg/kg body weight per day). Rats' body weight, paw swelling, arthritis scores, biochemical parameters, histopathology, and so on were used to evaluate the success of the model and the therapeutic effects of SMP. The metabolic techniques were used to characterize the metabolic profile and biomarkers of the serum and urine samples of rats to reveal the metabolic changes that occurred after SMP treatment. Results: After 21 days of treatment, SMP improved weight gain, reduced the severity of paw swelling, lowered the levels of biochemical indicators (CCP-Ab, IL-6, TNF-α, RF), decreased destruction of articular cartilage and bone erosion, and protected the affected joints.Additionally, 17 and 19 potential biomarkers associated with RA were identified in the serum and urine, respectively. SMP significantly reversed 14 potential biomarkers, such as arachidonic acid, lysoPC(20:4(5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)), L-tryptophan, 9-cis-Retinoic acid, hippuric acid, pyridoxine, and pantothenic acid. These metabolites are associated with arachidonic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid catabolism, tryptophan metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, vitamin B6 metabolism, etc. Conclusion: These results indicated that RA-related biomarkers reflected the metabolic profile of AIA rats. Meanwhile, SMP could effectively treat RA mainly by reducing inflammation and regulating abnormal lipid metabolic pathways and amino acid metabolisms. It showed that metabolomics could be used to analyze the metabolic profiles involved in RA and reveal the mechanism of SMP treatment of RA.

The fruit of Acanthopanax senticosus (Rupr. and Maxim.) has been newly developed for the treatment of blood deficiency syndrome clinically, but the effective constituents are still unclear, restricting its quality control and the new medicinal development based on it. This study elucidated the efficacy of A. senticosus fruit (ASF) for treating blood deficiency syndrome and accurately characterize the constituents. Chinmedomics strategy was used to identify the metabolic biomarkers of the model and the overall effect of ASF was evaluated based on the biomarker when it showed intervention effects for blood deficiency syndrome. ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was used to analyze the components in the blood absorbed from A. senticosus fruit, and the components highly relevant to the biomarker are regarded as potential effective constituents for blood deficiency syndrome. Twenty-two of the 28 urine metabolites of blood deficiency syndrome were significantly regulated by A. senticosus fruit, 97 compounds included 20 prototype components, and 77 metabolites were found in vivo under the acting condition. The highly relevant constituents were isofraxidin, eleutheroside B, eleutheroside B1, eleutheroside E, and caffeic acid, which might be the effective constituents of A. senticosus fruit. It is a promising new medicinal resource that can be used for treating blood deficiency syndrome.

A herbal prescription in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has great complexity, with multiple components and multiple targets, making it extremely challenging to determine its bioactive compounds. Yinchenhao Tang (YCHT) has been extensively used for the treatment of jaundice disease. Although many studies have examined the efficacy and active ingredients of YCHT, there is still a lack of an in-depth systematic analysis of its effective components, mechanisms, and potential targets—especially one based on clinical patients. This study established an innovative strategy for discovering the potential targets and active compounds of YCHT based on an integrated clinical and animal experiment platform. The serum metabolic profiles and constituents of YCHT in vivo were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-ToF-MS)-based metabolomics combined with a serum pharmacochemistry method. Moreover, a compound–target–pathway network was constructed and analyzed by network pharmacology and ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA). We found that eight active components could modulate five key targets. These key targets were further verified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which indicated that YCHT exerts therapeutic effects by targeting cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1), multidrug-resistance-associated protein 2 (ABCC2), multidrug-resistance-associated protein 3 (ABCC3), uridine diphosphate glucuronosyl transferase 1A1 (UGT1A1), and farnesoid X receptor (FXR), and by regulating metabolic pathways including primary bile acid biosynthesis, porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, and biliary secretion. Eight main effective compounds were discovered and correlated with the key targets and pathways. In this way, we demonstrate that this integrated strategy can be successfully applied for the effective discovery of the active compounds and therapeutic targets of an herbal prescription.

Qi Zhi capsule (QZC) is approved by the State Drug Administration of China. QZC consists of nine crude drugs, including astragalus, leeches, ground beetles, curcuma zedoary, hawthorn, semen cassiae, rhizoma sparganii, polygonum multiflorum and peach kernel, of which leeches and ground beetles are Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) of animal origin. Nucleosides are animal substances with pharmacological effects that are easy to extract and quantify. Different nucleoside analogs in distinct animal-based formulations can be used to characterize animal-based medicines. However, the quality control of a single indicator does not reflect the overall quality of Chinese medicine. Here, we developed a method to simultaneously determine the nucleoside analogs uracil, xanthine, hypoxanthine, uridine, guanine, and uric acid in QZC using high-performance liquid chromatography. Hypoxanthine was used as an internal reference to determine relative correction factors for the other five components. The six components were determined in ten different batches of Qi Zhi capsules. There was no significant difference between the quantitative multicomponent analysis results of a single marker (QAMS) and the external standard method (ESM). The RSD of total nucleosides analogs of ten batches of samples was 7%. This method can be applied to simultaneously determine multiple active components in Qi Zhi capsules and other nucleoside analog drugs, enabling multi-indicator quality control.

Naoling Pian is a prescription composed of 15 herbs, which is mainly used for the treatment of insomnia in clinical practice. However, the chemical constituents in Naoling Pian are numerous and unclear, which hinders the interpretation of its bioactive constituents and the subsequent research on the material basis for pharmacodynamics. The purpose of this study is to develop a rapid method for identifying the chemical constituents of Naoling Pian using high-throughput ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight coupled with mass spectrometry combined with a software platform for data processing. The whole composition of Naoling Pian was characterized in positive and negative ion modes. In this experiment, an overall total of 201 constituents were identified by using reference standards, online and self-built databases matching, fragmentation rules analysis of mass spectrometry peaks with a software platform. Meanwhile, Naoling Pian was analyzed for the first time using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method, the constituents could be identified in a quick and accurate manner, and the results could provide a scientific basis for the follow-up research on the pharmacodynamic material basis and quality control of Naoling Pian.

Anemia is a common clinical hematological disease with a high incidence, which seriously affects human health. Shengyu Decoction is often used in the treatment of anemia. However, pharmacodynamic substance basis and therapeutic mechanism are still unclear, which hinders the comprehensive development and utilization of Shengyu Decoction. In this study, 143 compounds were identified in Shengyu Decoction using high-throughput ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry, 24 of which were absorbed into blood. Taking these blood entering ingredients as the research object, we found through network pharmacology research that ferulic acid, calycosin and astragaloside A can act on AKT1, MAPK1 and MAPK14, and play a role in treating anemia through PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and Pathways in cancer. Finally, it was demonstrated that the active compound could bind to the core target with good affinity by molecular docking. The research shows that Shengyu Decoction has multi-component, multi-target and multi-channel effects in the treatment of anemia, which provides a basis for the development and clinical application of Shengyu Decoction. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Metabolomics has been used as a promising strategy to evaluate the efficacy of and potential targets for natural products. Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) as a result of chronic ethanol consumption has high morbidity and mortality. Geniposide possesses a hepatoprotective activity against ALD, but its mechanism of action is still not clear. In this study, serum metabolomics based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS) combined with ingenuity pathway analysis was used to explore the therapeutic mechanisms of geniposide. We found that the levels of AST, ALT, MDA, TG, and γ-GT in the geniposide-treated group were significantly decreased, and the level of GSH was significantly increased, compared with the model group. Meanwhile, geniposide effectively inhibits apoptosis and caspase-3 activity in liver tissue. A total of 33 metabolites were identified and related with the model group to illuminate the pathogenesis of ALD, 21 of which are regulated by geniposide, involving the relevant metabolic pathways, such as amino acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, TCA cycle, etc. Furthermore, a significant change in amino acid metabolism suggested that it might be a promising mechanism-related target for geniposide against ALD. It also showed that a metabolomic strategy using UPLC-Q/TOF-MS combined with ingenuity pathway analysis is a potentially powerful tool for providing a comprehensive understanding of the therapeutic mechanisms of natural products, but it also offers a theoretical basis for the prevention or treatment of disease.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been long time used in China and gains ever-increasing worldwide acceptance. Er Miao San (EMS), a TCM formula, has been extensively used to treat inflammatory diseases, while its bioactive components and therapeutic mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we conducted an integrative approach of network pharmacology and experimental study to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of EMS in treating human rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory conditions. Quercetin, wogonin and rutaecarpine were probably the main active compounds of EMS in RA treatment as they affected the most RA-related targets, and TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β were considered to be the core target proteins. The main compounds in EMS bound to these core proteins, which was further confirmed by molecular docking and bio-layer interferometry (BLI) analysis. Moreover, the potential molecular mechanisms of EMS predicted from network pharmacology analysis, were validated in vivo and in vitro experiments. EMS was found to inhibit the production of NO, TNF-α and IL-6 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells; reduce xylene-induced mouse ear edema; and decrease the incidence of carrageenan-induced rat paw edema. The carrageenan-induced up-regulation of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β mRNA expression in rat paws was down-regulated by EMS, consistent with the network pharmacology results. This study provides evidence that EMS plays a critical role in anti-inflammation via suppressing inflammatory cytokines, indicating that EMS is a candidate herbal drug for further investigation in treating inflammatory and arthritic conditions.

Evaluation of the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) is an important prerequisite for discovering effective substances, lead compounds, and quality markers (Q markers). At present, there is an urgent need to develop a biological language that can act as abridge for the scientific elaboration of the efficacy of TCMs, and to further highlight the significant value of TCM. Chinese medicinal syndromes and formulae are two essential parts of TCM that directly relate to its efficacy. Syndromes and formulae have been taken as the research objects. The serum pharmacochemistry of the TCM approach with metabolomics were integrated to establish an innovative chinmedomics strategy, which is able to explore syndrome biomarkers and evaluate TCM efficacy in order to discover effective substances from TCMs. A great deal of concrete work in chinmedomics has already performed to bridge the gap between Chinese and Western medicine, and to provide a powerful approach to enhance the scientific value of TCM theory and clinical practice. This article summarizes the application of chinmedomics in identifying the candidate biomarkers of a syndrome and revealing the efficacy of the related formula. We also highlight the discovery of lead compounds and Q markers from TCMs. Keywords: Chinmedomics, Serum pharmacochemistry of TCM, Efficacy, Metabolomics, Syndrome, Biomarkers, Quality markers

Given the highly increased incidence of human diseases, a better understanding of the related mechanisms regarding endogenous metabolism is urgently needed. Mass spectrometry-based metabolomics has been used in a variety of disease research areas. However, the deep research of metabolites remains a difficult and lengthy process. Fortunately, mass spectrometry is considered to be a universal tool with high specificity and sensitivity and is widely used around the world. Mass spectrometry technology has been applied to various basic disciplines, providing technical support for the discovery and identification of endogenous substances in living organisms. The combination of metabolomics and mass spectrometry is of great significance for the discovery and identification of metabolite biomarkers. The mass spectrometry tool could further improve and develop the exploratory research of the life sciences. This mini review discusses metabolomics biotechnology with a focus on recent applications of metabolomics as a powerful tool to elucidate metabolic disturbances and the related mechanisms of diseases.

In this review, we systematically discuss the role of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease treatment. TCM classifies the subtypes of RA through its own theoretical method, which is beneficial for more accurate diagnosis and treatment with Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) that are more suitable for different syndromes. TCM mainly uses a flexible combination of CHMs to play an important role in RA treatment. The main components of these extracts can be subdivided into alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenes, saponins and other compounds. Using a platform of transgenic and induced arthritis models, we explore the potential mechanisms of TCM against RA with the help of omics analysis techniques and methods. These mechanisms are mainly CHM and its extracts can inhibit RA patients and experimental animal models, including synovitis, vascular proliferation and bone injury; this involves many biological signal exchange targets and pathways. In conclusion, the role of TCM in RA treatment mainly involves reducing the expression and secretion of pro-inflammatory factors, thus decreasing the degree of abnormal immune response.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is still a major problem nowadays. Under the circumstance of many chemical drugs have poor effects on AD, traditional Chinese medicine has become a hot spot for us due to its multi-target and multi-path advantages. To explore the potential therapeutic targets of Kaixinsan (KXS) protects against AD in APP/PS1 transgenic mice model. All mice were divided into three groups: control group, model group and KXS group. Orally given KXS from two month old, and the control and model groups were given the same dose of distilled water. We collected all mice's serum samples at the 12th month age to determine the lipid markers of AD by compare with the model and control groups in full-scan analysis based on high-throughput serum lipidomics technology. Then we found the lipid molecules called back by KXS from the KXS protects against AD. Compared with the control group, the metabolic profile of the model mice was obviously disordered, and we identified 16 lipid-related biomarkers associated with AD. After KXS treatment, the metabolic profiles of these disorders tended to recover compared with the model group. And we identified eight key lipid molecules, of which four had statistical significance. We found that the main perturbation pathways related to AD were linoleic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism. All these metabolic pathways showed different degrees of rotation after KXS administration. Through the pathways analysis, we found 4 lipids molecules with significant differences, which could be used as new targets for the treatment of AD.

In this study, a combination of network pharmacology and metabolomics was used to explore the mechanism by which mirabilite regulates bile acid metabolism in the treatment of colorectal cancer. The PharmMapper web server was applied to make preliminary predictions for the treatment targets of mirabilite and to predict the interaction between mirabilite and disease targets using Discovery Studio 2.5. Furthermore, the urine metabolic profile was analyzed by the UPLC-Q-TOF-MS technology. The original data were processed by Progenesis QI software and analyzed by multivariate pattern recognition, which allowed us to reveal the metabolic disturbance in colorectal cancer and explain the therapeutic effect of mirabilite. The network pharmacology results showed that mirabilite can act on the disease targets, and the sites of action include amino acid residues Arg-364 and Asp-533, as well as nucleotides TPC-11, DG-112 and DA-113. Based on metabolomics, potential biomarkers were found to lie in the relevant pathways of bile acid metabolism, such as taurine, chenodeoxycholic acid, cholic acid, and deoxycholic acid. The results showed that mirabilite could regulate the distribution of overall metabolic disturbance, and bile acid metabolism was the main targeted pathway. Additionally, we predicted the upstream targets by ingenuity pathway analysis and found that mirabilite played a significant role in regulating the bile acid-related biomarkers, which allowed comprehensive analysis of the effect of mirabilite on colorectal cancer. This study fully explained the role of mirabilite in inhibiting colorectal cancer, which mainly occurs through bile acid metabolism, via the approach of network pharmacology combined with functional metabolomics.

Natural products are the most representative form of conventional therapy as compared to any other traditional or alternative medicine systems. They have numerous active components, either primary or secondary metabolites, which are associated with the diverse, intricate, and distinct characteristics of natural products and result in various pharmacological effects in clinic. However, some problems are associated with research on herb quality, which is the core of the drug industry, and restrict the development of this field to a certain extent. Quality-markers (Q-markers), a novel concept for quality assessment, open up a new avenue for promotion of healthy development of traditional medicine industry and improvement of the quality standard system to enhance traditional medicine or product quality standards. In this study, we first summarized the main factors affecting the quality of traditional medicines and natural products and importance for safety and then presented the concept of background and relevant factors of Q-markers. Moreover, the modern science technology and related methods used to identify the chemical composition have been discussed. Especially, based on the systematic analysis and discussion of the basic properties and clinical features of natural products, we have discussed new trends and effective strategies for identifying relevant Q-markers from herbs and probed the future research directions and challenges.

Background: Caowu (Radix Aconiti kusnezoffii, CW), the root of Aconitum kusnezoffii Reichb., has widely used clinically in rheumatic arthritis, painful joints, and tumors for thousands of years. However, the toxicity of heart and central nervous system induced by CW still limited the application. Materials and Methods: Metabolomics was performed to identify the sensitive and reliable biomarkers and to characterize the phenotypically biochemical perturbations and potential mechanisms of CW-induced toxicity, and the detoxification by combinatorial intervention of CW with Gancao (Radix Glycyrrhizae) (CG), Baishao (Radix Paeoniae Alba) (CB), and Renshen (Radix Ginseng) (CR) was also analyzed by pattern recognition methods. Results: As a result, the metabolites were characterized and responsible for pentose and glucuronate interconversions, tryptophan metabolism, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, fructose and mannose metabolism, and starch and sucrose metabolism, six networks of which were the same to the metabolic pathways of Chuanwu (Radix Aconiti, CHW) group. The ascorbate and aldarate metabolism was also characterized by CW group. The urinary metabolomics also revealed CW-induced serious toxicity to heart and liver. Thirteen significant metabolites were identified and had validated as phenotypic toxicity biomarkers of CW, five biomarkers of which were commonly owned in Aconitum. The changes of toxicity metabolites obtained from combinatorial intervention of CG, CB, and CR also were analyzed to investigate the regulation degree of toxicity biomarkers adjusted by different combinatorial interventions at 6th month. Conclusion: Metabolomics analyses coupled with pattern recognition methods in the evaluation of drug toxicity and finding detoxification methods were highlighted in this work. SUMMARY Metabolomics was performed to characterize the biochemical potential mechanisms of Caowu toxicityThirteen significant metabolites were identified and validated as phenotypic toxicity biomarkers of CaowuMetabolite changes of toxicity obtained can be adjusted by different combinatorial interventions.Pattern recognition plot reflects the toxicity effects tendency of the urine metabolic fluctuations according to time after treatment of herbal Caowu. Abbreviations used: CW: Caowu (Radix Aconiti kusnezoffii); CHW: Chuanwu (Radix Aconiti); TCM: Traditional Chinese Medicine; CG: Caowu and Gancao; CB: Caowu and Baishao; CR: Caowu and Renshen; QC: Quality control; UPLC: Ultra performance liquid chromatography; MS: Mass spectrometry; PCA: Principal component analysis; PLS-DA: Partial least squares-discriminant analysis; OPLS: Orthogonal projection to latent structures analysis.

A multi-omics approach could yield in-depth mechanistic insights. Here, we performed an integrated analysis of miRNAome, proteome and metabolome, aimed to investigate the underlying mechanism of active product geniposide in ethanol-induced apoptosis. We found that integrative meta-analysis identified 28 miRNAs, 20 proteins and 7 metabolites significantly differentially expressed, respectively. Further analysis identified geniposide extensively regulated multiple metabolism pathways and the most important related pathway was citrate cycle (TCA cycle). In addition, geniposide can improve energy metabolism benefits using the Extracellular Flux Analyzer. Of particular significance, miR-144-5p exhibits a high positive correlation with oxoglutaric acid, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1 and 2 that involved in the TCA cycle. Furthermore,we discovered that miR-144-5p regulates TCA cycle metabolism through IDH1 and IDH2. Collectively, we describe for the first time the hepatoprotective effect of geniposide decreased miR-144-5p level, capable of regulating TCA cycle by directly targeting IDH1 and IDH2 and promoting functional consequences in cells. Integrating metabolomics, miRNAomics and proteomics approach and thereby analyzing microRNAs and proteins as well as metabolites can give valuable information about the functional regulation pattern and action mechanism of natural products.

Herbal preparation has recently increased health awareness and its efficacy is brought about by the multi-constituents. Therefore, the application of mass spectrometry (MS) in herbal preparation has been dramatically growing due to the improved detection capabilities. It offered high sensitivity, high-throughput and selectivity, has better accuracy, and can be utilized to quantitative, qualitative and imaging. High-throughput screening method integrated with MS platform is an excellent tool to analyze the multi-components of herbal preparation in the post-genomic era. For providing an up-to-date overview of MS application on the HM-derived compounds, the papers published in the latest years involving quantitative and qualitative analysis of chemical constituents and MS platform integrated with high-throughput screening method are summarized in this review. Examples of the application of MS in the HM sciences focusing on chemical analysis are highlighted, and new developments and future prospects are also highlighted.

Acanthopanax senticosus (Rupr. et Maxim.) Harms, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used to improve the function of skeleton, heart, spleen and kidney. This fruit is rich in nutrients, but the chemical constituents of Acanthopanax senticosus fruit are still unclear. A rapid method based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry was developed for the compound analysis of Acanthopanax senticosus fruit in vitro and in vivo. In this study, the Acanthopanax senticosus fruit could significantly increase the weight of immune organs, promote the proliferation of lymphatic T cells, regulate the lymphatic B cell function, and decrease the ability of natural killer cells. A total of 104 compounds of Acanthopanax senticosus fruit including lignans, flavones, triterpenoidsaponins, phenolic acids, and other constituents were identified. Among them, seven chemical compounds were reported for the first time in the Acanthopanax senticosus fruit. Compared with the serum sample of blank and dosed samples, 24 prototype compositions were characterized. The results of our experiment could be helpful to understand the complex compounds of Acanthopanax senticosus fruit in vitro and in vivo for further pharmacological activity studies.

Background Quality control of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is the basis of clinical efficacy. Due to the complexity of TCM, it is difficult to unify the quality control, and hinders the further implementation of the quality standardization of TCM. As a new concept, quality-marker (Q-marker) plays a powerful role in promoting the standardization of quality control system of TCM. Hypothesis/Purpose The present review aims to provide reference and scientific basis for further development of Q-marker and assist standardization of quality control of TCM. Methods Extensive search of various documents and electronic databases such as Pubmed, Royal Society of Chemistry, Science Direct, Springer, Web of Science, and Wiley, etc., were used to search scientific contributions. Other online academic libraries, e.g. Google Scholars, Scopus and national pharmacology literature were also been employed to learn more relevant information about Q-marker. Results Q-markers play vital role in promoting the standardization of quality control of TCM. The factors that affect the quality of TCM, the advantages and disadvantages of the analytical techniques commonly used in Q-marker research were reviewed, as well as the systematic research strategies, which were verified by practices. Conclusion The proposal of Q-marker not only provided a new perspective to break through the bottleneck of current quality control, but also can be used in the evaluation of pharmacological efficiency, therapeutic discovery, toxicology, etc. In addition, the Q-marker analysis strategies summarized in this paper is helpful to standardize the quality control of TCM and promote the internationalization of TCM.

Essential hypertension (EH) is a chronic disease characterized by a variety of causes of elevated systemic arterial pressure, which often causes functional or organic damage to important organs such as the heart, brain, and kidney. Hypertension of excessive liver-fire syndrome is a type of classification for young people with essential hypertension. The disease is slower in its onset and its symptoms are more ambiguous, and thus its pathogenesis is complicated and still unclear. In this study, aconite, dried ginger and cinnamon extracts were combined with L-NAME to establish a model of excessive liver-fire hypertension. Blood pressure (systolic blood pressure), ANGII, NE and 5-HT were used as evaluation indicators to establish the model. Urinary metabolomics based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to characterize the metabolic changes and potential biomarkers in modeled rats. Compared to the treatment group, 32 potential biomarkers were initially identified in the model using multivariate statistical analysis involving 11 metabolic pathways. After oral administration of Luozhen capsules, eight biomarkers that can be adjusted in high, medium and low doses of Luozhen capsules in urine were preliminarily determined, mainly involving two metabolic pathways of amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism. In conclusion, this study explored the metabolomic changes in rats with hypertension of liver-fire hyperactivity syndrome and the post-dose metabolomics, determined the relevant biomarker groups, and clarified the metabonomic connotation of Luozhen capsules in the treatment of liver-fire excessive type hypertension.

Functional metabolomics could bring correlative information about specific cell types under different conditions for exploring cell properties and functions. In this study, we adopt a non-targeted cell metabolomics strategy to reveal the proliferation inhibition mechanism of obacunone on 22RV1 prostate cancer cells. Using high-throughput liquid chromatography-high definition mass spectrometry combined with pattern recognition methods was performed to analyze the cell metabolic profiles and pathway of obacunone on prostate cancer. A total of twenty one proposed metabolites in prostate cancer cell and nine vital metabolic pathways such as nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism as well as tryptophan metabolism were identified from large amounts of data. Then, we have built an overall metabolic description network of obacunone to defense prostate cancer. In addition, morphological observation, cell proliferation and apoptosis analysis of 22RV1 human prostate cancer cells were performed to better understand physiopathologic changes after obacunone treatment. Functional metabolomics is a valuable tool that insight into the natural product mechanisms and contributes to new drug discovery. SIGNIFICANCE: In this study, we probe into the proliferation inhibition effect of obacunone on 22RV1 prostate cancer cells by differentiating metabolic changes of cell sample in control and obacunone administration. Using the non-targeted and targeted cell metabolomics approaches, our findings were manifested that obacunone effectually control proliferation and promote apoptosis in 22RV1 prostate cancer cells, which were related to twenty one proposed metabolites, and nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism as well as ascorbate metabolism. These data were suggested that functional metabolomics analysis have potential to explore the pharmacodynamic mechanism through resolving metabolic changes in cancer cells that possesses higher clinical application value. The advances in the molecular understanding of the roles of metabolomic pathway concerned with particular metabolites in obacunone administration attract more attention in favor of burgeoning therapeutic measures resisting prostate cancer.

Background Quality control of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has always been a hot issue to TCM. However, due to the complexity of TCM ingredients, the current quality standards of TCM have problems that are difficult to guarantee clinical efficacy. American ginseng, the dried roots of Pawajc quinquefolium L. (Araliaceae), is a valuable herbal medicine due to various pharmacological effects and huge health benefit, which are associated with numerous active ingredients such as ginsenosides. Although a large number of studies have investigated the active ingredients of American ginseng, Q-markers reflecting comprehensive review on its efficacies has yet been unrevealed. Purpose The study aims to discover the Q-markers of Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng), provides a powerful method to clarify the significant ingredents of TCM and help further discovering extensive quality evaluation model,contributing to a significant improvement of TCM quality standard. Methods Mice general status, biochemical indexes assay, urine metabolic profile, and serum metabolic profile were utilized for model replication and efficacy evaluation. The in vitro and in vivo constituents of American ginseng using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) with Serum Pharmacochemistry of TCM were in-depth investigated. Q-markers that were associated with core markers of therapeutic effects were excavated by a plotting of correlation between marker metabolites and serum constituents (PCMS) approach. Results Correlation analysis of 41 blood and urine labeled metabolites with 14 serum components showed that 24-methyl-7-cholesten-3β-ol, zizybeoside II, betulin, ginsenoside Rd, cinnamyl alcohol, pseudoginsenoside F11 is highly correlated with the therapeutic effects of Compound Zaofan Pill (CZP), while pseudoginsenoside F11 and ginsenoside Rd are highly correlated with the therapeutic effects of American ginseng. The six absorbed blood compounds can be considered as potential Q-markers for compound, of which two compounds, such as pseudoginsenoside F11 and ginsenoside Rd, can be considered as potential Q-markers for American ginseng. Conclusion The study has demonstrated that the Chinmedomics is an effective, comprehensive and fire-new method for discovering the Q-markers of TCM, and it may be more reasonable choices to establish quality standards of TCM.