Metabonomics Combined with UPLC-MS Chemical Profile for Discovery of Antidepressant Ingredients of a Traditional Chinese Medicines Formula, Chaihu-Shu-Gan-San

Pithecellobium clypearia: Amelioration Effect on Imiquimod-Induced Psoriasis in Mice Based on a Tissue Metabonomic Analysis

Pithecellobium clypearia Benth. (accepted name: Archidendron clypearia (Jack) I.C.Nielsen; Mimosaceae), a popular traditional Chinese medicine, has a significant anti-inflammatory effect. The crude water extract of the aerial part of P. clypearia has been clinically applied to treat upper respiratory tract infections, acute gastroenteritis, laryngitis, and pharyngitis. However, the therapeutic mechanism of ethanol fraction of water extract (ESW) of P. clypearia to treat psoriasis should be complemented. The aim of our research was to clarify the protective effects of ESW from P. clypearia against psoriasis-like skin inflammation induced by imiquimod (IMQ) in mice with efficacy indexes and target tissue (spleen and serum) metabolomics. The ingredient of ESW was analyzed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method. The imiquimod-induced psoriatic mouse model was employed to investigate the effect of ESW against psoriasis, where the treatment method was implemented for 6 days both topically (Gel at 5%) and orally (at 2.4 g/kg p.o.). Traditional pharmacodynamic indicators (phenotypic characteristics, psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score, H&E staining, immunohistochemical staining, the thickness of epidermis, body weight change, and spleen index) were conducted to appraise the efficacy of ESW. Furthermore, a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) coupled with multivariate analysis was integrated and applied to obtain serum and spleen metabolic profiles for clarifying metabolic regulatory mechanisms of ESW. The current study illustrated that ESW is composed mainly of gallic acid, ethyl gallate, quercitin, 7-O-galloyltricetiflavan, quercetin, and myricetin by UHPLC-MS/MS analysis. ESW could distinctly improve IMQ-induced psoriasis in mouse through reducing PASI score, alleviating tissue damage, restoring spleen index, and inhibiting proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression in psoriasis-like skin tissue. From the metabolomics study, 23 markers with significant changes are involved in eight main pathways in spleen and serum samples, including linoleic acid metabolism and glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism. The current study showed that ESW had obvious antipsoriasis effects on IMQ-induced psoriasis in mice, which might be attributed to regulating the dysfunction of differential biomarkers and related pathways. In summary, ESW of P. clypearia showed a favourable therapeutic effect on IMQ-induced psoriasis, and metabolomics provided insights into the mechanisms of ESW to the treatment of psoriasis.

Salvia miltiorrhiza and Pueraria lobata, two eminent herbs in Xin-Ke-Shu, ameliorate myocardial ischemia partially by modulating the accumulation of free fatty acids in rats

BACKGROUND

Xin-Ke-Shu (XKS), a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, has been clinically proven to be effective for treatment of acute myocardial ischemia (AMI). Numerous studies underscore the important role of fatty acid metabolism in the pathogenesis of AMI.

PURPOSE

This study examined the relationship between free fatty acids (FFAs) and AMI and the contributions of individual herbs found in XKS to provide a basis for the study of the compatible principle of XKS.

METHODS

UFLC-MS/MS-based targeted metabolomics was performed to analyze the levels of 15 FFAs in the plasma and myocardium of isoproterenol (ISO)-induced AMI rats treated with XKS and the subtracted prescriptions of XKS. Electrocardiogram data, H&E staining, biochemical analysis and western blotting were assayed to illustrate the cardioprotection of XKS and its subtracted prescription in AMI. Correlation analysis was used to reveal the relationship between the levels of FFAs and overexpressed proteins/biochemical enzymes.

RESULTS

We found aberrant fatty acid metabolism in AMI rats. In both plasma and myocardium, the concentrations of most of quantified FFAs were significantly altered, whereas the concentrations of stearic acid and behenic acid were similar between the control and AMI groups. Correlation analysis revealed that palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and arachidonic acid were potentially the most relevant FFAs to inflammatory and apoptotic proteins and CK-MB. Moreover, XKS effectively alleviated pathological alterations, FFA metabolism abnormity, inflammation and apoptosis found in the myocardium of AMI rats. Notably, the removal of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Pueraria lobata from XKS resulted in markedly regulation loss of cardioprotection during AMI, especially mediation loss of FFA metabolism. The other three herbs of XKS also played a role in improving AMI.

CONCLUSION

Fatty acid metabolism aberrance occurred during AMI. S. miltiorrhiza and P. lobata play vital roles in the anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic action partially by regulating FFA levels. Our findings revealed potential novel clinical FFAs for predicting AMI and extended the insights into the compatible principle of XKS in which S. miltiorrhiza and P. lobata can potently modulate FFA metabolism.

Serum metabolomics reveals the intervention mechanism and compatible regularity of Chaihu Shu Gan San on chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depression rat model

OBJECTIVES

To provide a comprehensive study of the intervention mechanism and compatible regularity of Chaihu Shu Gan San (CSGS) in a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression model.

METHODS

Ethological study and ELISA assay were applied to measure the phenotypes of depression after CUMS stimulate and assess the antidepressant activity of fluoxetine, CSGS and its compatibilities. The serum metabolic profile changes were revealed by untargeted Q/TOF MS-based metabolomics followed by multivariate statistical analysis.

KEY FINDINGS

CSGS exhibits an significant intervention effect on CUMS-induced depression. After the multivariate statistical analysis, 17 potential serum biomarkers were identified and 16 of them could be regulated by CSGS. The intervention of CSGS on CUMS-induced depression involved five key pathways. Moreover, each functional unit (monarch, minister, assistant and guide medicine) in CSGS regulates different metabolites and metabolic pathways to achieve different effects on antidepressant; however, their intervention efficacies are inferior to the holistic formula, which may be due to the synergism of bioactive ingredients in the seven herbs of CSGS.

CONCLUSIONS

CSGS produced an obvious antidepressant activity. The comprehensive and holistic metabolomics approach could be a powerful tool to study the intervention mechanism and the compatibility rule of traditional Chinese medicine.

The Antiproliferative Effects of Flavonoid MAO Inhibitors on Prostate Cancer Cells

Prostate cancer (PCa) patients commonly experience clinical depression. Recent reports indicated that monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) levels elevate in PCa, and antidepressant MAO-Is show anti-PCa properties. In this work, we aimed to find potential drugs for PCa patients suffering from depression by establishing novel anti-PCa reversible monoamine oxidase-A inhibitors (MAO-AIs/RIMA); with an endeavor to understand their mechanism of action. In this investigation, twenty synthesized flavonoid derivatives, defined as KKR compounds were screened for their inhibitory potentials against human MAO-A and MAO-B isozymes. Meanwhile, the cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects were determined in three human PCa cell lines. MAO-A-kinetics, molecular docking, SAR, cell morphology, and cell migration were investigated for the most potent compounds. The screened KKRs inhibited MAO-A more potently than MAO-B, and non-toxically inhibited LNCaP cell proliferation more than the DU145 and PC3 cell lines, respectively. The results showed that the three top MAO-AI KKRs compounds (KKR11, KKR20, and KKR7 (IC₅₀s 0.02-16 μM) overlapped with the top six antiproliferative KKRs against LNCaP (IC₅₀s ~9.4 μM). While KKR21 (MAO-AI) and KKR2A (MAO-I) were ineffective against the PCa cells. Furthermore, KKR21 and KKR11 inhibited MAO-A competitively (K_is ≤ 7.4 nM). Molecular docking of the two compounds predicted shared hydrophobic and distinctive hydrophilic interactions-between the KKR molecule and MAO-A amino acid residues-to be responsible for their reversibility. The combined results and SAR observations indicated that the presence of specific active groups-such as chlorine and hydroxyl groups-are essential in certain MAO-AIs with anti-PCa effects. Additionally, MAO-A inhibition was found to be associated more with anti-PCa property than MAO-B. Distinctively, KKR11 [(E)-3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-(2-hydroxy-4,6-dimethoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one] exhibited anti-metastatic effects on the DU145 cell line. The chlorine substitution groups might play vital roles in the KKR11 multiple actions. The obtained results indicated that the flavonoid derivative KKR11 could present a novel candidate for PCa patients with depression, through safe non-selective potent inhibition of MAOs.

Metabonomics study on Polygonum multiflorum induced liver toxicity in rats by GC-MS

Polygonum multiflorum, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, is widely used in liver and liver nourishing. Recent years, drug regulatory departments reported that Polygonum multiflorum caused serious adverse reaction in clinic, especially liver injury. In this study, we detected the changes in rat serum and liver tissue metabolites through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Mass spectrometry, partial least squares-discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) and other diversified techniques were used to analyze the differences among their metabolites. Compared to the control group, the serum concentrations of L-threonine and serine in water extraction groups increased. The serum concentrations of 9,12-octadecadienoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, oleic acid, D-glucose and octadecanoic acid in alcohol extraction groups increased, while lactic acid decreased to a great extent. For liver tissue, compared to the control group, the concentrations of myo-inositol, oleic acid and cholesterol in water extraction groups increased, while those of hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, ribitol and butanedioic acid decreased to a great extent. The concentrations of myo-inositol, phosphoric acid, uridine, oleic acid, cholesterol and butanoic acid in alcohol extraction groups increased to a great extent, while those of hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, ribitol and butanedioic acid decreased. The results indicate that Polygonum multiflorum induces the metabolic disorders of energy metabolism, amino acid and lipid metabolism. What's more, liver injury of alcohol extraction group was more serious than group of water extraction.

Identification of the chemical constituents in aqueous extract of Zhi-Qiao and evaluation of its antidepressant effect

The immature fruit of Citrus aurantium L. (Zhi-Qiao, ZQ) has been used as a traditional medicine in China. Our previous study has shown that ZQ decoction may contribute to the antidepressant-like action of Chaihu-Shu-Gan-San. However, there are no reports on the chemical constituents of ZQ aqueous extract or its anti-depression effects. Firstly, this research reported the on-line identification of the chemical constituents in the aqueous extract of ZQ by coupling ultra-performance liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS). A total of 31 chemical constituents were identified in ZQ aqueous extract, including one tannic acid, five flavones, 13 flavanones, one limonoid, three coumarins, three cyclic peptides, and five polymethoxylated flavonoids. The antidepressant effect of ZQ aqueous extract was evaluated in vivo and the results indicated that the mice immobility time during the forced swimming test and the tail suspension test were significantly reduced with ZQ treatment. MTT assays showed both ZQ aqueous extract and its major constituents (naringin, hesperidin, neohesperidin, and nobiletin) had neuroprotective effect on corticosterone-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells. The in vivo and in vitro results suggest that ZQ has an antidepressant effect.

Comparative pharmacokinetics of naringin in rat after oral administration of chaihu-shu-gan-san aqueous extract and naringin alone

Chaihu-Shu-Gan-San (CSGS), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula containing seven herbal medicines, has been used in the clinical treatment of gastritis, peptic ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome and depression in China. In order to explore the interaction between naringin and other constituents in CSGS, the pharmacokinetic difference of naringin in rats after oral administration of CSGS aqueous extract and naringin alone was investigated. The pharmacokinetic parameters of naringin in rats were achieved by quantification of its aglycone, naringenin by LC-MS/MS method. The double peaks phenomenon was observed in both serum profiles of rats after orally administered CSGS aqueous extract and naringin alone. However, the T_1/2β was significantly decreased in rats given CSGS aqueous extract compared with naringin alone, and the mean residence time (MRT) and the area under the serum concentration–time curve (AUC_0-τ) were higher than those of naringin, which indicated that naringin in CSGS had higher bioavailability, longer term efficacy and somewhat faster metabolism and excretion than those of naringin. The results suggested that certain ingredients co-exist in CSGS could influence pharmacokinetic behavior of naringin. This also provides a reference for human studies.