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This study aimed to optimize subcritical water extraction process, characterize chemical composition and investigate the biological activities of Nitraria sibirica Pall. (NSP) anthocyanin. Overall, the optimization was achieved under following conditions: extraction temperature 140 °C, extraction time 45 min and flow rate 7 mL/min with the extraction yield of 1.075 mg/g. 3 cyanidin, 3 petunidin, 1 delphinidin and 1 pelargonidin compounds were identified in the anthocyanic extract from NSP via UPLC–Triple–TOF–MS/MS. NSP anthocyanin exhibited better DPPH free-radical scavenging activity than ascorbic acid. It displayed superior α-glucosidase inhibition activity, which was ∼14 times higher than that of acarbose. Moreover, enzyme kinetics results indicated that NSP anthocyanin behaved as a reversible, mixed-type inhibitor. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation results revealed that NSP anthocyanin interacted with α-glucosidase mainly via van der Waals forces, hydrogen bond and possessed fairly stable configuration. Therefore, NSP anthocyanin is a promising α-glucosidase inhibitor for diabetes mellitus.

To compare the chemical distinctions of Panax ginseng Meyer in different growth environments and explore the effects of growth-environment factors on P. ginseng growth, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem triple quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Triple-TOF-MS/MS) was used to characterize the ginsenosides obtained by ultrasonic extraction from P. ginseng grown in different growing environments. Sixty-three ginsenosides were used as reference standards for accurate qualitative analysis. Cluster analysis was used to analyze the differences in main components and clarified the influence of growth environment factors on P. ginseng compounds. A total of 312 ginsenosides were identified in four types of P. ginseng, among which 75 were potential new ginsenosides. The number of ginsenosides in L15 was the highest, and the number of ginsenosides in the other three groups was similar, but it was a great difference in specie of ginsenosides. The study confirmed that different growing environments had a great influence on the constituents of P. ginseng, and provided a new breakthrough for the further study of the potential compounds in P. ginseng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • First identification of alkaloids composition of NRK fruit. • First evaluation of sucrase and maltase inhibitory effects in vivo and in vitro. • Identification of one new β -carboline alkaloid and five new cyclic peptides. Nitraria roborowskii Kom (NRK), with high economic and ecological value, is mainly distributed in the Qaidam Basin, China. However, research on its chemical components and bioactivities is still rare. In this study, its chemical constituents (52) including 10 β -carboline alkaloids, nine cyclic peptides, three indole alkaloids, five pyrrole alkaloids, eight phenolic acids and 17 flavonoids were identified tentatively using UPLC-triple-TOF-MS/MS. Notablely, one new β -carboline alkaloid and five new cyclic peptides were confirmed using MS/MS fragmentation pathways. In addition, experiments in vitro indicated that NRK-C had strong maltase and sucrase inhibitory activities (IC 50 of 0.202 and 0.103 mg/mL, respectively). Polysaccharide tolerance experiments confirmed NRK-C (400 mg/kg) was associated with decreased postprandial blood glucose (PBG) in diabetic mice. These results suggested that NRK fruit might be used as a functional ingredient in food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to optimize subcritical water extraction process, characterize chemical composition and investigate the biological activities of Nitraria sibirica Pall. (NSP) anthocyanin. Overall, the optimization was achieved under following conditions: extraction temperature 140 °C, extraction time 45 min and flow rate 7 mL/min with the extraction yield of 1.075 mg/g. 3 cyanidin, 3 petunidin, 1 delphinidin and 1 pelargonidin compounds were identified in the anthocyanic extract from NSP via UPLC-Triple-TOF-MS/MS. NSP anthocyanin exhibited better DPPH free-radical scavenging activity than ascorbic acid. It displayed superior α-glucosidase inhibition activity, which was ∼14 times higher than that of acarbose. Moreover, enzyme kinetics results indicated that NSP anthocyanin behaved as a reversible, mixed-type inhibitor. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation results revealed that NSP anthocyanin interacted with α-glucosidase mainly via van der Waals forces, hydrogen bond and possessed fairly stable configuration. Therefore, NSP anthocyanin is a promising α-glucosidase inhibitor for diabetes mellitus., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Lycium ruthenicum Murr. is mainly distributed in the northwest region of China and its berries are rich in anthocyanin. This study evaluated the hypoglycaemic activity of the anthocyanin-enriched fraction (AEF) of L. ruthenicum Murr. on α-glucosidase in vivo and in vitro. Overall, 10 anthocyanins were identified via UPLC – Triple-TOF-MS/MS. The AEF exhibited strong inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase, with an IC 50 value of 4.468 mg/mL. It behaved as a reversible, mixed-type inhibitor. Molecular docking and dynamic results indicated that the compounds in AEF interacted with enzymes primarily through van der Waals and hydrogen bond and the complex system was stable. The postprandial blood glucose and area under the curve of diabetic mice was significantly decreased by AEF in the carbohydrate tolerance experiments. The results indicate that the AEF from L. ruthenicum Murr. berries could be as a promising food supplement for managing blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes mellitus. [Display omitted] • Anthocyanin enriched fraction (AEF) of LRM berry with content >70% was achieved. • 10 anthocyanins of AEF were identified by UPLC – Triple-TOF-MS/MS. • AEF exhibited strong α-glucosidase inhibition in a reversible, mixed-type way. • Molecular docking and dynamics predicted acting force and stability of complex. • AEF exhibited excellent hypoglycaemic activity in carbohydrate tolerance experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compare the chemical distinctions of Panax ginseng Meyer in different growth environments and explore the effects of growth-environment factors on P. ginseng growth, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem triple quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Triple-TOF-MS/MS) was used to characterize the ginsenosides obtained by ultrasonic extraction from P. ginseng grown in different growing environments. Sixty-three ginsenosides were used as reference standards for accurate qualitative analysis. Cluster analysis was used to analyze the differences in main components and clarified the influence of growth environment factors on P. ginseng compounds. A total of 312 ginsenosides were identified in four types of P. ginseng, among which 75 were potential new ginsenosides. The number of ginsenosides in L15 was the highest, and the number of ginsenosides in the other three groups was similar, but it was a great difference in specie of ginsenosides. The study confirmed that different growing environments had a great influence on the constituents of P. ginseng, and provided a new breakthrough for the further study of the potential compounds in P. ginseng.

The Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Triple-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (UPLC-Triple-TOF-MS/MS) based platform was developed to investigate the serum metabolic profile associated with the growth performance in Chinese softshell turtle fed with the diet added with Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) feeding additive. 0.0%, 1.0%, 2.0%, 3.0%, 4.0% of TCMs were added to the base ration of the control group (CG), TCMs treatment group1 (TG1), TCMs treatment group2 (TG2), TCMs treatment group3 (TG3) and TCMs treatment group4 (TG4), respectively. Compared with control group (CG), the weight gain and special growth ratio firstly increased and lately decreased with increased dietary TCMs levels. The highest weight gain (5.824 ± 1.205) and specific growth rate (3.887 ± 0.367) were found in the TCMs treatment group 2 (TG2) (P < 0.05), and the lowest feed conversion ratio (1.785±0.015) also appeared in the TG2 group (P < 0.05). In the metabolomics assay, a total of 795 (VIP> 1) out of 3089 variable metabolites were significantly different between the TG2 and CG. 43 potential biomarkers between TG2 and CG groups were finally screened out on the basis of VIP > 1 and P < 0.05. The potential networks and pathways for the model were explored using MetaboAnalyst. A total of 43 potential biomarkers were confirmed involving thirteen different metabolic pathways. Following the diet added with 2% TCMs feeding additive, five metabolic pathways were affected, these included the following: phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, tyrosine metabolism, cysteine and methionine metabolism and arginine biosynthesis. This study indicated that the dietary supplementation TCMs as feed additives could influence the growth performance of the healthy juvenile turtles, and the optimal dose of supplementing TCMs to juvenile turtleswas 20 g/kg in diet.

Ponicidin is an active natural ent-kaurane diterpenoid ingredient originating from many Isondon herbs and is expected to become a new anticancer agent. In this study, a practical strategy was developed for the identification of ponicidin metabolites in vivo and in vitro utilizing ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid triple quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS). The analytical strategy was as follows: potential ponicidin metabolites were detected by a novel on-line data acquisition approach, i.e., sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment-ion spectra (SWATH™). Compared to the traditional information-dependent acquisition (IDA) method, SWATH™ significantly improved the hit rate of low-level or trace metabolites because it could obtain all MS/MS spectra. Moreover, many data post-processing methods were used to deduce the metabolites structures. As a result, a total of 20 metabolites were characterized in vivo and in vitro . The results showed that ponicidin could undergo general metabolic reactions, such as oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis, methylation and glucuronidation. Furthermore, there was an obvious difference in the ponicidin metabolites among four species in vitro . This is the first time that the SWATH™ data acquisition mode has been used to characterize ponicidin metabolites in trace amounts or in a biological matrix. These results not only provided a better understanding of the safety and efficacy of ponicidin but also showed a valuable methodology for the identification of other ent -kaurane diterpenoid metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oridonin (ORI) is an active natural ent -kaurene diterpenoid ingredient with notable anti-cancer and anti-inflammation activities. Currently, a strategy was developed to identify metabolites and to assess the metabolic profiles of ORI in vitro using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-Triple/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Triple-TOF-MS/MS). Meanwhile, the metabolism differences of ORI in the liver microsomes of four different species were investigated using a principal component analysis (PCA) based on the metabolite absolute peak area values as the variables. Based on the proposed methods, 27 metabolites were structurally characterized. The results indicate that ORI is universally metabolized in vitro , and the metabolic pathway mainly includes dehydration, hydroxylation, di-hydroxylation, hydrogenation, decarboxylation, and ketone formation. Overall, there are obvious inter-species differences in types and amounts of ORI metabolites in the four species. These results will provide basic data for future pharmacological and toxicological studies of ORI and for other ent -kauranes diterpenoids. Meanwhile, studying the ORI metabolic differences helps to select the proper animal model for further pharmacology and toxicological assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]