Effect of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma and Eupolyphaga Steleophaga on liver protection mechanism based on pharmacokinetics and metabonomics

Objective

Based on metabonomics technology of high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) and hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), the pharmacokinetic characteristics and therapeutic mechanism of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (RhRR, Dahuang in Chinese), Eupolyphaga Steleophaga (EuS, Tubiechong in Chinese) combined with RhRR acting on acute liver injury were explored.

Methods

Models of acute liver injury were established, and the pharmacokinetic methods of five components of RhRR-EuS in rats were found by HPLC-MS/MS. The liver tissues of different groups of mice were analyzed by 1H NMR spectroscopy combined with multivariate statistical analysis to investigate the metabolomics of RhRR-EuS and RhRR.

Results

Pharmacokinetic results showed there were different levels of bimodal phenomenon in different groups, and the absorption of free anthraquinone in RhRR increased after compatibility with EuS. In addition, the pathological state of acute liver injury in rats can selectively promote the absorption of emodin, chrysophanol, physcion and aloe emodin. Through 15 differential metabolites in the liver tissue of acute liver injury mice, it was revealed that RhRR-EuS and RhRR could protect the liver injury by regulating the metabolism of glutamine and glutamic acid, alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid, and phosphoinositide. However, the regulation of RhRR was weaker than that of RhRR-EuS.

Conclusion

For the first time, we studied the pharmacokinetics and metabolomics differences of RhRR-EuS and RhRR in rats and mice with acute liver injury, in order to provide theoretical reference for clinical treatment of liver disease by DHZCP.

[Simultaneous determination of aflatoxin B_1,B_2,G_1,G_2,M_1,M_2 in Eupolyphaga Steleophaga by immunoaffinity column clean-up and HPLC-FLD with post-column photochemical derivatization]

The contamination of aflatoxin B_1,B_2,G_1,G_2,M_1 and M_2 in Eupolyphaga Steleophaga was determined by immunoaffinity column clean-up and HPLC-FLD with post-column photochemical derivatization. Chromatographic separations were carried out using a Cloversil C_(18) column( 4. 6 mm×250 mm,5 μm) that were eluted in isocratic with methanol-acetonitrile-water( 20 ∶ 20 ∶ 60) as the mobile phase. The excitation wavelength and the emission wavelength of fluorescence detector were maintained at 360 nm and 450 nm,respectively. The flow rate was 0. 8 m L·min~(-1),and the column temperature was 30 ℃ ． The sample was prepared using the immunoaffinity column,then the recovery was measured with 75. 47%-101. 8% with RSD values lower than 6. 7%. A total of 20 batches of Eupolyphaga Steleophaga samples were assayed. According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia( 2015 edition,part 1),the aflatoxin B_1 limit should be less than 5 μg·kg~(-1),and the sum of aflatoxins( AFB_1,AFB2,AFG_1,AFG_2) should be less than 10 μg·kg-1. Therefore,the positive rate of the 20 samples was 50. 0%,and 7 batches of samples exceeded the standard,and the over-standard rate was as high as 70. 0%. Among them,aflatoxins B_1,B_2,G_1,G_2,M_1,and M_2 were detected in three batches( SD-1,AH-1,AH-3),and aflatoxins B_1,B2,G1,G2,and M1 were detected in one batch( AH-7). The results showed that the newly developed method in this work is suitable for the simultaneous determination of six aflatoxins in Eupolyphaga Steleophaga,and also suggested that it should be of high values to take the contamination with aflatoxins into concerns.