Dose-dependent exposure profile and metabolic characterization of notoginsenoside R1 in rat plasma by ultra-fast liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry

Notoginsenoside R1 reduces acquired lymphedema and increases lymphangiogenesis by promoting VEGF-C expression via cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling

BACKGROUND

Acquired lymphedema is a global health concern with limited treatment options. While vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) administration has shown promise for the treatment of this patient population, no small-molecule compounds have hitherto been identified to improve lymphedema by stimulating VEGF-C expression and lymphangiogenesis.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the therapeutic effect of notoginsenoside R1 (R1) on a mouse model of tail acquired lymphedema and explored the underlying mechanisms.

METHODS

C57BL/6J mice and lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) specific VEGFR-3 knockout transgenic mice underwent surgical induction of tail acquired lymphedema. Tail circumference, lymphatic drainage function, VEGF-C expression, and lymphangiogenesis were measured. LECs' function was assessed using wound healing and tube formation assays. Quantitative PCR (q-PCR) and western blot were conducted to measure VEGF-C expression levels. In addition, RNA sequencing analysis and western blot were performed to elucidate the signal pathways involved. Luciferase reporter assays assessed VEGF-C promoter activity.

RESULTS

R1 treatment improved lymphedema, lymphatic function, and lymphangiogenesis in the mouse model. R1 enhanced migration, tube formation, and VEGF-C expression of LECs. These effects were abolished by VEGF-C siRNA and VEGFR-3 inhibitors. VEGFR3 knockout in LECs completely blocked R1's ability to promote lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic drainage while partially but significantly reducing its improvement on lymphedema. R1 activated the cAMP/PKA signaling pathway, leading to PKA and CREB phosphorylation. The PKA inhibitor and CREB siRNA inhibited R1-induced VEGF-C expression. Additionally, R1 activated VEGF-C promoter activity in a CREB-dependent manner.

CONCLUSION

R1 emerges as the first reported small natural compound to promote VEGF-C expression. It reduces acquired lymphedema and enhances lymphangiogenesis via the cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway. These findings suggest R1 as a potential novel oral medication for treating acquired lymphedema patients.

The potential therapeutic effects of Panax notoginseng in osteoporosis: A comprehensive review

BACKGROUND

Accumulating evidence shows that Panax notoginseng, a well-known medicinal herb, has an ideal effect on prevention and treatment of skeletal diseases. In this study, we reviewed clinical applications of clinical application as well as phytochemistry, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology in improving bone quality and toxicity of Panax notoginseng.

PURPOSE

Review the phytochemistry, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology involved in the improving bone metabolism and toxicity of Panax notoginseng and evaluate its potential as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine for osteoporosis.

METHODS

Several databases were consulted, including PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, National Science and Technology Library and Web of Science. The following words or phrases were used alone or in combinations in the titles and/or abstracts: "","Panax notoginseng", "Sanqi", "osteoporosis", "bone", "osteoblast", "osteoclast", "phytochemistry", "pharmacology" and "pharmacokinetics". Altogether 160 papers were cited.

RESULTS

8 clinical trials of Panax notoginseng alone for the treatment of osteoporosis were identified, most of which used traditional Chinese patent medicines to treat osteoporosis fractures. In these clinical trials, Panax notoginseng preparations have achieved relatively good therapeutic effects. However, more rigorous large-scale experiments are expected to prove their efficacy. Phytochemistry study showed that saponins, flavonoids, polysaccharides are the main active ingredients extracted from Panax notoginseng and the transformation of saponins during the processing explains the different effects of raw and cooked Panax notoginseng. The pharmacokinetics data reveals that protopanaxdiol-type (ppd-type) saponins possesses higher bioavailability than protopanaxtriol-type(ppt-type) saponins and ppd-type saponins such as ginsenoside Ra3, Rb1, and Rd can represent suitable pharmacokinetic markers for Panax notoginseng extracts. The data from animal experiments demonstrates that Panax notoginseng can improve bone quality in ovariectomized, diabetic, hyperlipidemia, radiation-induced, and arthritis rats through the regulation of anti-adipogenesis, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, angiogenesis and estrogenic effects. In vitro experiments, the activities of improving bone quality of Panax notoginseng and its ingredients may be attributed to the regulation of multiple signaling pathways, including Wnt/β-catenin, BMP/BMP-R, AMPK/mTOR, GPER/PI3K/AKT, etc. Acute and chronic toxicity as well as genotoxicity studies show that Panax notoginseng is well tolerated while long term use may lead to liver and kidney toxicity.

CONCLUSIONS

Panax notoginseng is a superior medicinal herb that contains multiple active ingredients and could play a potential role in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Further studies should concentrate on developing Panax notoginseng products with higher curative effect and bioavailability.

Zhongfeng Xingnao Liquid ameliorates post-stroke cognitive impairment through sirtuin1 (SIRT1)/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) pathway

The activation of the sirtuin1 (SIRT1)/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) pathway has been shown to mitigate oxidative stress-induced apoptosis and mitochondrial damage by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Clinical trials have demonstrated that Zhongfeng Xingnao Liquid (ZFXN) ameliorates post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). However, the underlying mechanism, particularly whether it involves protecting mitochondria and inhibiting apoptosis through the SIRT1/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, remains unclear. This study employed an oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) cell model using SH-SY5Y cells and induced PSCI in rats through modified bilateral carotid artery ligation (2VO). The effects of ZFXN on learning and memory, neuroprotective activity, mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, and the SIRT1/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway were evaluated both in vivo and in vitro. Results indicated that ZFXN significantly increased the B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2)/Bcl2-associated X (Bax) ratio, reduced terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end-labeling (TUNEL)+ cells, and markedly improved cognition, synaptic plasticity, and neuronal function in the hippocampus and cortex. Furthermore, ZFXN exhibited potent antioxidant activity, evidenced by decreased ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA) content and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione (GSH) levels. ZFXN also demonstrated considerable enhancement of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), Tom20 fluorescence intensity, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and energy charge (EC) levels, and mitochondrial complex I and III activity, thereby inhibiting mitochondrial damage. Additionally, ZFXN significantly increased SIRT1 activity and elevated SIRT1, nuclear Nrf2, and HO-1 levels. Notably, these effects were substantially counteracted when SIRT1 was suppressed by the inhibitor EX-527 in vitro. In conclusion, ZFXN alleviates PSCI by activating the SIRT1/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and preventing mitochondrial damage.

Existing Forms of Notoginsenoside R1 in Rats and Their Potential Bioactivities

Notoginsenoside R1 (NG-R1) is a primary active constituent in Panax notoginseng, a medicinal and edible plant. It is a saponin with protopanaxatriol (PPT) as its aglycone. UHPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS was used to clarify the existing forms of NG-R1 and their distributions in rats. The nomenclature of the ESI MS fragmentation pathway and ions of PPT was proposed for the first time. Totally, 105 metabolites with 89 new metabolites were identified. In terms of their LC-MS data, 7 were accurately identified by comparison with reference compounds, and 41 were clearly identified. Polyhydroxylation, pentosylation, acetylation, glucuronidation, and amino acid conjugation are new metabolic reactions of NG-R1. In total, 69, 48, 47, 43, 24, 15, and 7 metabolites were detected in the large intestine, stomach, small intestine, liver, lungs, kidneys, and heart, respectively. Then, 48 metabolites were predicted to be effective by PharmMapper, and their mechanisms of action on three diseases were predicted by network pharmacology. Finally, the antitumor effects on cell proliferation and the anti-inflammatory effects of the eight compounds were verified by cellular experiments. These results help further elucidate the in vivo existing forms of dammarane-type triterpenoids and form the basis for discovering their effective forms in the future.

Rare ginsenosides: A unique perspective of ginseng research

BACKGROUND

Rare ginsenosides (Rg3, Rh2, C-K, etc.) refer to a group of dammarane triterpenoids that exist in low natural abundance, mostly produced by deglycosylation or side chain modification via physicochemical processing or metabolic transformation in gut, and last but not least, exhibited potent biological activity comparing to the primary ginsenosides, which lead to a high concern in both the research and development of ginseng and ginsenoside-related nutraceutical and natural products. Nevertheless, a comprehensive review on these promising compounds is not available yet.

AIM OF REVIEW

In this review, recent advances of Rare ginsenosides (RGs) were summarized dealing with the structurally diverse characteristics, traditional usage, drug discovery situation, clinical application, pharmacological effects and the underlying mechanisms, structure-activity relationship, toxicity, the stereochemistry properties, and production strategies.

KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW

A total of 144 RGs with diverse skeletons and bioactivities were isolated from Panax species. RGs acted as natural ligands on some specific receptors, such as bile acid receptors, steroid hormone receptors, and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) receptors. The RGs showed promising bioactivities including immunoregulatory and adaptogen-like effect, anti-aging effect, anti-tumor effect, as well as their effects on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system, central nervous system, obesity and diabetes, and interaction with gut microbiota. Clinical trials indicated the potential of RGs, while high quality data remains inadequate, and no obvious side effects was found. The stereochemistry properties induced by deglycosylation at C (20) were also addressed including pharmacodynamics behaviors, together with the state-of-art analytical strategies for the identification of saponin stereoisomers. Finally, the batch preparation of targeted RGs by designated strategies including heating or acid/ alkaline-assisted processes, and enzymatic biotransformation and biosynthesis were discussed. Hopefully, the present review can provide more clues for the extensive understanding and future in-depth research and development of RGs, originated from the worldwide well recognized ginseng plants.

Exploring the antimicrobial activity of rare ginsenosides and the progress of their related pharmacological effects

BACKGROUND

Panax ginseng C. A. Mey is a precious medicinal resource that could be used to treat a variety of diseases. Saponins are the most important bioactive components of, and rare ginsenosides (Rg3, Rh2, Rk1 and Rg5, etc.) refer to the chemical structure changes of primary ginsenosides through dehydration and desugarization reactions, to obtain triterpenoids that are easier to be absorbed by the human body and have higher activity.

PURPOSE

At present, the research of P. ginseng. is widely focused on anticancer related aspects, and there are few studies on the antibacterial and skin protection effects of rare ginsenosides. This review summarizes the rare ginsenosides related to bacterial inhibition and skin protection and provides a new direction for P. ginseng research.

METHODS

PubMed and Web of Science were searched for English-language studies on P. ginseng published between January 2002 and March 2024. Selected manuscripts were evaluated manually for additional relevant references. This review includes basic scientific articles and related studies such as prospective and retrospective cohort studies.

CONCLUSION

This paper summarizes the latest research progress of several rare ginsenosides, discusses the antibacterial effect of rare ginsenosides, and finds that ginsenosides can effectively protect the skin and promote wound healing during use, so as to play an efficient antibacterial effect, and further explore the other medicinal value of ginseng. It is expected that this review will provide a wider understanding and new ideas for further research and development of P. ginseng drugs.

Pharmacokinetic analysis of febuxostat in human serum by UFLC based on fluorimetric derivatization

An ultra fast liquid chromatographic (UFLC) method using fluorimetric detection for the quantitation of Febuxostat (FEB) in human serum was developed by precolumn derivatization with 4-bromomethyl-7-methoxy coumarin (BrMmC). The derivatization was catalyzed with dibenzo-18-crown-6-ether to produce a fluorescent derivative which was determined through fluorescence measurement with excitation at 320 nm and emission at 395 nm wavelengths. A C18 column with 100 cm x 4.6 mm, 3 µm particule size was used for the UFLC separation procedure. A mixture of acetonitrile: methanol: 0.05 M aqueous ammonium acetate (pH 5.0) (40:40:20, v/v/v) was used as mobile phase. During the procedure, the flow rate was maintained at 0.5 mL/min. A calibration curve was then plotted as 0.005–3.0 µg/mL with a detection limit of 0.0022 µg/mL and quantification limit of 0.0073 µg/mL. The mean recovery to reveal the accuracy and relative standard deviation (RSD) that indicates the precision of the method were found out to be 85.20 % and less than 3.52 %, respectively. The utility of the new method has been demonstrated by measuring the pharmacokinetics of FEB by administration of 80 mg tablets to a healthy female volunteer, aged 42.

Pharmacokinetic and metabolism study of ginsenoside Rb2 in rat by liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, a simple and rapid ultra-fast liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was established and validated to determine ginsenosides Rb2 in rat plasma. Acetonitrile-mediated protein precipitant was applied to the sample preparation. Chromatographic separation was carried out on an Acquity UPLC HSS T3 column (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm). The analytes were monitored using multiple reactions monitoring mode with precursor-to-product ion transitions at m/z 1077.4-945.3 and m/z 799.8 → 637.8 for ginsenoside Rb2 and internal standard, respectively. The mobile phase was composed of 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution and acetonitrile. The assay showed excellent linearity over the concentration range of 2-1,000 ng/ml, with correlation coefficient >0.995. The method was further validated for selectivity, precision, accuracy, recovery, and stability according to the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The validated method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic and bioavailability studies of ginsenoside Rb2 in rat plasma. Based on the pharmacokinetic results, ginsenoside Rb2 showed slow clearance and low oral bioavailability (0.15%). In addition, the metabolites of ginsenoside Rb2 in rat urine and feces were characterized according to their accurate masses and fragment ions. The proposed metabolic pathway was deglycosylation.

Pharmacokinetic studies of ginsenosides Rk1 and Rg5 in rats by UFLC-MS/MS

A rapid ultra-fast liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated to determine ginsenosides Rk1 and Rg5, a pair of isomers, in rat plasma, which was successfully applied to their pharmacokinetic studies. Two ginsenosides were given to male Sprague-Dawley rats via intragastrical and intravenous routes, respectively, and the impact of double bond position on the pharmacokinetic features of the two ginsenosides was elucidated in rats. Ginsenoside Rg3 was used as internal standard and ethyl acetate was applied to extract analytes and internal standard. Chromatographic separation was carried out on a reverse-phase UPLC HSS T3 column (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm). The flow rate was set to 0.4 ml/min. The fragmentation transition was m/z 765.4 → m/z 101.1 for two ginsenosides. The mobile phases were composed of 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution and acetonitrile. The linear range was 2-1,000 ng/ml for the two ginsenosides. Intra- and inter-day precisions were <11.67%, and accuracy fluctuated from -7.44 to 6.78%. The extraction recovery, matrix effect and stability were within acceptable levels. After treatment with ginsenosides Rk1 and Rg5, some differences were found in their pharmacokinetic profiles in rats. The maximum plasma drug concentration and the area under the plasma drug concentration-time curve of ginsenoside Rg5 were about 5 times bigger than those of ginsenoside Rk1 after oral administration, and 3 times higher after intravenous administration. The oral bioavailabilities of ginsenosides Rk1 and Rg5 were 0.67 and 0.97%, respectively. The results indicated that ∆²⁰⁽²²⁾ -ginsenosides showed better pharmacokinetic features than ∆²⁰⁽²¹⁾ -ginsenosides with the same glycosylation.

Notoginsenoside R1 for Organs Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury: A Preclinical Systematic Review

Notoginsenoside R1 (NGR1) exerts pharmacological actions for a variety of diseases such as myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, acute renal injury, and intestinal injury. Here, we conducted a preclinical systematic review of NGR1 for ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury. Eight databases were searched from their inception to February 23rd, 2019; Review Manager 5.3 was applied for data analysis. CAMARADES 10-item checklist and cell 10-item checklist were used to evaluate the methodological quality. Twenty-five studies with 304 animals and 124 cells were selected. Scores of the risk of bias in animal studies ranged from 3 to 8, and the cell studies ranged from 3 to 5. NGR1 had significant effects on decreasing myocardial infarct size in myocardial I/R injury, decreasing cerebral infarction volume and neurologic deficit score in cerebral I/R injury, decreasing serum creatinine in renal I/R injury, and decreasing Park/Chiu score in intestinal I/R injury compared with controls (all P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). The multiple organ protection of NGR1 after I/R injury is mainly through the mechanisms of antioxidant, anti-apoptosis, and anti-inflammatory, promoting angiogenesis and improving energy metabolism. The findings showed the organ protection effect of NGR1 after I/R injury, and NGR1 can potentially become a novel drug candidate for ischemic diseases. Further translation studies are needed.