A pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic study to elucidate the cardiovascular protective constituents in Danhong Injection

Exploring the tissue distribution propensity of active alkaloids in normal and stomach heat syndrome rats following oral administration of Zuojin Pill based on pharmacokinetics and mass spectrometry imaging

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Zuojin Pill (ZJP) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula composed of Coptidis Rhizoma and Euodiae Fructus in a ratio of 6:1 (w/w), which has been widely used for treating gastrointestinal disorders, especially stomach heat syndrome (SHS). However, the active alkaloids in ZJP showed low plasma exposure in rats following oral administration, which failed to explain their potent pharmacological effects, thereby limiting further mechanism studies.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study aimed to investigate the in vivo exposure and tissue distribution propensities of the active alkaloids in normal and SHS rats following oral administration of ZJP.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A rat model of SHS was induced by oral administration of chili pepper decoction and anhydrous ethanol. Then, the plasma and tissue pharmacokinetics of active alkaloids, including four protoberberine alkaloids (PBAs) and three indole alkaloids (IDAs), were investigated following oral administration of ZJP. Furthermore, desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI-MSI) was employed to characterize the spatial distribution of active alkaloids in the stomach and liver. Western blot and immunofluorescence were used to evaluate the gastric mucosal barrier integrity.

RESULTS

Based on the tissue-to-plasma partition coefficient (Kp) values, the in vivo exposure levels of berberine (BBR), palmatine (PAL), coptisine (COP), and dehydroevodiamine (DHE) were found to be higher in tissues than in plasma, indicating a distinct tissue distribution propensity. Each alkaloid displayed the highest exposure in the gastrointestinal tissues, due to local penetration facilitated by its direct contact with the mucosal lining. Pathological states reduced the overall exposure of PBAs in the gastric mucosa. In non-gastrointestinal tissues, most alkaloids, especially BBR and COP, exhibited a potent liver distribution propensity with minimal impact from pathological states. According to DESI-MSI results, PBAs showed high exposure in the damaged regions of gastric mucosa, which was attributed to mucosal barrier damage and enhanced permeability. In the liver, PBAs were primarily localized in the parenchyma surrounding the central vein and portal area.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated the stomach and liver distribution propensity of the active alkaloids in ZJP, providing a scientific basis for these alkaloids as the pharmacodynamic material basis of ZJP against SHS from the perspective of drug exposure.

Traditional chinese medicine injections with activating blood circulation, equivalent effect of anticoagulation or antiplatelet, for acute myocardial infarction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

BACKGROUND

Traditional Chinese medicine injection for Activating Blood Circulation (TCMi-ABC), which exhibits comparable anticoagulant and antiplatelet effects, is commonly used as an adjuvant treatment for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in China.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of TCMi-ABC in combination with conventional western medicine in reducing mortality associated with AMI.

METHODS

We conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, CBM, WanFang Data, and CNKI databases. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the use of TCMi-ABC (including Danhong injection, sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate injection, salvia miltiorrhiza ligupyrazine injection, and puerarin injection) for the treatment of AMI were included. The search included studies published from the inception of the databases up to December 2022. Two authors independently screened RCTs, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 17.0. The quality of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE approach.

RESULTS

A total of 52 RCTs involving 5363 patients were included in the analysis, none of which described independent testing of the purity or potency of the TCMi-ABC product used. 19/52 reported random sequence generation. All RCTs lack adequate description of allocation concealment. 51/52 failed to assess blinding. The meta-analysis results demonstrated that the combined application of TCMi-ABC, compared with conventional western medicine treatment alone, significantly reduced in-hospital mortality in AMI patients [RR= 0.41, 95% CI (0.29, 0.59), P < 0.05], decreased the incidence of malignant arrhythmia [RR= 0.40, 95% CI (0.26, 0.61), P < 0.05], and increased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) [MD= 5.53, 95% CI (3.81, 7.26), P < 0.05]. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups (P > 0.05). The GRADE evidence quality classification indicated that the evidence for in-hospital mortality, malignant arrhythmia, and adverse events was of moderate quality, while the evidence for LVEF was of low quality.

CONCLUSION

TCMi-ABC demonstrates additional clinical value in reducing mortality and the risk of malignant arrhythmia in patients with AMI. However, further validation of these findings is warranted through high-quality clinical trials due to methodological weaknesses in randomization, blinding, allocation concealment, and insufficient assessing for the purity/potency of herbs and the gram amount of active constituents.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

[INPLASY], identifier [INPLASY202170082].

Danhong formula alleviates endothelial dysfunction and reduces blood pressure in hypertension by regulating MicroRNA 24 - Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase-Serine/Threonine Kinase- Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase axis

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Essential hypertension (EH) is one of the important risk factors of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, and it can significantly increase the incidence and mortality of acute myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction and hemorrhage. Danhong Formula (DHF) was consisting of Radix et Rhizoma Salviae Miltiorrhizae (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge., Labiatae, Danshen in Chinese) and Flos Carthami (Carthamus tinctorius L., Compositae, Honghua in Chinese) (Plant names have been checked with http://www.the plant list.org on June 28th, 2023) was approved by State Food and Drug Administration of China, that has been used for thousands of years in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in China with proven safety and efficacy. Though our previous studies have found that DHF improved endothelial dysfunction (ED) and decreased high blood pressure (BP), the underlying mechanisms of its antihypertensive effect still remain unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study investigated whether DHF regulated MicroRNA 24- Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase-Serine/Threonine Kinase- Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase (miR-24 - PI3K/AKT/eNOS) axis to produce antihypertensive effect and improve endothelial dysfunction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Firstly, the chemical components of DHF were analyzed by UHPLC-MS. After that, BP was continuously monitored within the 1st, 3rd, and 4th week in SHR to evaluate the antihypertensive effect of DHF intraperitoneal injection. In addition, not only the contents of serum nitric oxide (NO), prostacyclin (PGI2), and angiotensin II (Ang II) were detected, but also the isolated aorta ring experiment was conducted to evaluate the vasomotoricity to evaluate of DHF on improving endothelial dysfunction. Key proteins or mRNA expression associated with miR-24 - PI3K/AKT/eNOS axis in aorta were detected by capillary Western blot, immunohistochemistry or RT-PCR to explore the underlying mechanisms. Index of NO, Ang II PGI2 and key proteins or mRNA expression were also conducted in miR-24-3p over-expression HUVECs model.

RESULTS

Compared with SHR control group, DHF (4 mL/kg/day, 2 mL/kg/day, 1 mL/kg/day) treatment significantly reduced high BP in SHR and selectively increased acetylcholine (Ach) induced vasodilation, but not sodium nitroprusside (SNP) in a manner of concentration dependency in isolated aorta ring. DHF (4 mL/kg/day, 1 mL/kg/day) treatment was accompanying an increment of NO and PGI2, and lowering AngII in SHR. Moreover, DHF treatment significantly up-regulated expression of p-PI3K, p-AKT, mTOR, eNOS and p-eNOS, but down-regulated miR-24-3p expression in aorta. Compared with miR-24-3p over-expression HUVECs model group, DHF treatment inhibited miR- 24-3p expression and up-regulated p-PI3K, p-AKT, mTOR and eNOS mRNA expression. Similarly, DHF treatment increased PI3K, AKT, mTOR and eNOS protein expression in HUVECs by Western blot.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that DHF alleviates endothelial dysfunction and reduces high BP in SHR mediated by down-regulating miR-24 via ultimately facilitating up-regulation of PI3K/AKT/eNOS axis. This current study firstly demonstrates a potential direction for antihypertensive mechanism of DHF from microRNA aspect and will promote its clinical applications.

Strategy strengthens structural identification through hyphenating full collision energy ramp-MS2 and full exciting energy ramp-MS3 spectra: An application for metabolites identification of rosmarinic acid

"MS/MS spectrum to structure" analysis is the most challenging task for MS/MS-relied qualitative characterization. The conventional database- and computation-assisted strategies cannot reach confirmative identification, notably for isomers. Hence, an advanced strategy was proposed here through tackling the two determinant obstacles such as the transformation from elemental compositions to fragment ion structures and the linkage style amongst substructures. As typical conjugated structures, esters were measured for strategy illustration, and metabolite identification of a famous natural antioxidant namely rosmarinic acid (RosA) in rat was undertaken for applicability justification. Through programming online energy-resolved (ER)-MS for the first collision cell of Qtrap-MS device, full collision energy ramp (FCER)-MS2 spectrum was configured for [M-H]- ion of each ester to provide optimal collision energies (OCEs) for all concerned diagnostic fragment ions (DFIs), i.e. a-, b-, c-, y-, and z-type ions. The linear correlations between masses and OCEs were built for each ion type to facilitate DFIs recognition from chaotic MS2 spectrum. To identify 1st-generation fragment ions, full exciting energy ramp (FEER)-MS3 spectra were configured for key DFIs via programming the second ER-MS in the latter collision chamber. FEER-MS3 spectrum of 1st-generation fragment ion for ester was demonstrated to be identical with FEER-MS2 spectrum of certain hydrolysis product when sharing the same structure. After applying the advanced strategy to recognize DFIs and identify 1st-generation fragment ions, a total of forty metabolites (M1-M40), resulted from hydrolysis, methylation, sulfation, and glucuronidation, were unambiguously identified for RosA after oral administration. Together, the advanced bottom-up strategy hyphenating FCER-MS2 and FEER-MS3 spectra, is meaningful to strengthen "MS/MS spectrum to structure" analysis through recognizing and identifying fragment ions.

Recent advances in anti-inflammatory active components and action mechanisms of natural medicines

Inflammation is a series of reactions caused by the body's resistance to external biological stimuli. Inflammation affects the occurrence and development of many diseases. Anti-inflammatory drugs have been used widely to treat inflammatory diseases, but long-term use can cause toxic side-effects and affect human functions. As immunomodulators with long-term conditioning effects and no drug residues, natural products are being investigated increasingly for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. In this review, we focus on the inflammatory process and cellular mechanisms in the development of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, atherosclerosis, and coronavirus disease-2019. Also, we focus on three signaling pathways (Nuclear factor-kappa B, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription-3) to explain the anti-inflammatory effect of natural products. In addition, we also classified common natural products based on secondary metabolites and explained the association between current bidirectional prediction progress of natural product targets and inflammatory diseases.

Comparative pharmacokinetics of four bioactive components in normal and chronic heart failure rats after oral administration of Qiangxin Lishui Prescription by microdialysis combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography

Qiangxin Lishui Prescription (QLP) has been clinically applied for treating heart failure with remarkable curative effects. A multi-component pharmacokinetic research is very necessary for determining active substances in it. This study aims to profile the traits and differences in the pharmacokinetics of salvianolic acid B, astragaloside IV, calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside and kaempferol in QLP between normal and chronic heart failure (CHF) rats by microdialysis combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Sensitive, selective, and online microdialysis combined with the UHPLC-MS/MS method was successfully established and applied to study the pharmacokinetics of QLP. The pathological condition of CHF could lead to the enhancement of systematic exposure and reduction of the metabolic rate of four bioactive components for better bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. The pharmacokinetic results will provide data support for the clinical application of QLP.

Flavonoids contribute most to discriminating aged Guang Chenpi (Citrus reticulata 'Chachi') by spectrum-effect relationship analysis between LC-Q-Orbitrap/MS fingerprint and ameliorating spleen deficiency activity

To further explore the mechanism of "the longer storage time, the better bioactivity" of aged Guang Chenpi, the dry pericarp of Citrus reticulata 'Chachi' (CRC), a series of activity assessments were performed on spleen deficiency mice. The constituents in CRC with different storage years were analyzed by LC-Q-Orbitrap/MS. A total of 53 compounds were identified, and CRC stored for more than 5 years showed higher flavonoid content, especially that of polymethoxyflavones. Anti-spleen deficiency bioactivity analysis among various CRC with different storage years showed aged CRC (stored for more than 3 years) could significantly alleviate fatigue and depression behaviors much better, increase D-xylose and gastrin secretion, and upregulate the expression of the linking protein occludin in the colon walls. Results from 16S rDNA sequencing showed that aged CRC could downregulate the abundance of Enterococcus, Gemmata, Citrobacter, Escherichia_Shigella, and Klebsiella, which were significantly overrepresented in the model group. Bacteroides, Muribaculum, Alloprevotella, Paraprevotella, Alistipes, Eisenbergiella, and Colidextribacter were downregulated in the model group but enriched in the CRC groups. At last, the spectrum-effect relationship analysis indicated that flavonoids such as citrusin III, homoeriodictyol, hesperidin, nobiletin, and isosinensetin in aged CRC showed the highest correlation with better activity in ameliorating spleen deficiency by regulating gut microbiota. Flavonoids contribute most to discriminating aged CRC and could disclose the basis of "the longer storage time, the better bioactivity" of aged Guang Chenpi.

Effect of Danhong injection on prognosis and inflammatory factor expression in patients with acute coronary syndrome during the perioperative period of percutaneous coronary intervention: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives

In China, Danhong injection (DHI) is recommended by expert consensus and is widely used in the perioperative management of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This study investigates the effect of perioperative DHI administration and the timing of DHI administration on patients with ACS undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) by analyzing the prognosis and anti-inflammatory effects. This article summarizes the most up-to-date clinical evidence on DHI, and in this study, we assesses treatment efficacy of DHI in patients with ACS.

Methods

A total of seven databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, SINOMED, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP) were searched from the time of their inception to 1 July 2022. Clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of DHI combined with PCI for the treatment of ACS were included. RCT quality was assessed using the Cochrane Handbook risk-of-bias tool, and STATA 17.0 was used for meta-analysis.

Results

In total, 33 studies including 3,458 patients with ACS undergoing PCI were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with conventional therapy alone, the combination of DHI and conventional therapy significantly decreased the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs; P&lt;0.001) and improved the reperfusion rate (P &lt; 0.001). Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and interleukin (IL)-6 levels were substantially reduced in the test group (P&lt;0.001). In addition, the plasma levels of myocardial injury markers and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) declined significantly (P &lt; 0.01). Compared with the control group, DHI improved the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; P &lt; 0.001) and reduced B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP; P &lt; 0.001) levels. Subgroups were established based on different timings of DHI administration: preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative groups. The results showed that the incidence of MACEs and the reperfusion rate did not differ between the groups. Among the subgroups, the postoperative group exhibited significantly lower levels of BNP, hs-CRP, and IL-6 serum and a significantly higher level of LVEF (P &lt; 0.05).

Conclusion

The combination of DHI and conventional therapy results in a better therapeutic effect than that observed with conventional therapy alone in patients with ACS. To improve treatment efficacy, postoperative initiation of DHI is recommended as a standard treatment. Further research is needed to confirm these results.

Systematic review registration

Identifier: CRD42022344830.