Effect of Different Cultivation Modes on Microbial Diversity and Secondary Metabolites of Rhizosphere Soil of Gentiana crassicaulis / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of different cultivation modes on the yield of Gentiana crassicaulis and its microbial diversity and secondary metabolite content in the rhizosphere soil. MethodWith G. crassicaulis of different cultivation modes and its rhizosphere soil as the research objects， the composition of bacterial and fungal communities， dominant bacteria， and differential microorganisms in the rhizosphere soil were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing technology. HPLC was used to determine the content of iridoids in G. crassicaulis with different cultivation modes. ResultCompared with plastic film mulching， planting without mulch and intercropping of peony， white kidney bean， potato， and corn increased the yield of fresh products by 16.11%-17.68%， 22.48%-26.34%， 29.37%-32.19%， 34.82%-36.57%， and 35.34%-39.71%， respectively， and increased the yield of dry products by 19.75%-23.17%， 25.86%-29.32%， 30.18%-34.94%， 35.22%-39.87%， and 39.72%-43.73%. The total content of four iridoids， including gentiopicrin， loganic acid， sweroside， and swertiamarin， increased by 10.17%-37.83%， 5.93%-47.44%， 9.09%-28.84%， and 10.71%-28.57%， respectively. The diversity of bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere soil increased significantly （P<0.05）. The relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria such as Sordariomycetes， Leotiomycetes， Tremellomycetes， Eurotiomycetes， Fusarium， and Cladophialophora decreased， and the proportions of beneficial bacteria such as Proteobacteria， Acidobacteria， and Actinobacteriota increased and they gradually became the dominant bacteria. ConclusionDifferent cultivation modes can affect the yield of G. crassicaulis and its microbial diversity and iridoid content in the rhizosphere soil. Cultivation without mulch and intercropping patterns have certain advantages， which can provide theoretical references for the planting of G. crassicaulis.

Difference analysis of chemical components in roots and rhizomes of 3 medicinal plants of Gentiana from the same origin / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To provide reference for exploring alternative resources of Gentiana rigescens from the plants of Gentiana. METHODS The contents of four components （gentiopicroside， swertiamarin， swertioside and amarogentin） in the roots and rhizomes from 3 plants of Gentiana （G. rigescens， G. cephalantha， G. delavayi） were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）. The chemical compositions in the above roots and rhizomes were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization quarter-time of flight mass spectrometry （UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS）， and the differences were analyzed by principal component analysis （PCA）. RESULTS Four active components such as gentiopicroside， swertiamarin， swertioside and amarogentin were detected in the roots and rhizomes of G. rigescens and G. cephalantha， and the contents of the four components were similar in both. The contents of gentiopicroside in the root and rhizome of G. cephalantha and G.rigescens were more than four times of the limit standard of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia （Part Ⅰ） in 2020； However， only swertiamarin， swertioside and amarogentin were detected in the roots and rhizomes of G.delavayi， and the contents of swertioside and amarogentin were 34.12 and 8.81 times of those of G. rigescens， respectively. In addition， a total of 33 compounds 术。E-mail：515227235@qq.com were identified from the roots and rhizomes of 3 plants of Gentiana by UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS， mainly iridoids. Additionally， G. rigescens and G. cephalantha contained xantones， G. delavayi contained flavonoids. PCA showed that there was a small difference between G. rigescens and G. cephalantha； however， there was a big difference between G. delavayi and G. rigescens. CONCLUSIONS The difference between the roots and rhizomes of G. cephalantha and G. rigescens from the same origin is small and there is substitutability； while the difference in the chemical components from roots and rhizomes between G. delavayi and G. rigescens is great and G. delavayi cannot be used as medicine instead of G. rigescens.

Simultaneous determination of 7 components in Dipsacus asper by HPLC / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To establis h the method for the simultaneous determination of six iridoids （loganic acid ，loganin， sweroside，dipsanoside B ，dipsanoside A ，sylvestroside Ⅰ）and one triterpene saponin （asperosaponin Ⅵ）in Dipsacus asper . METHODS High performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） method was adopted. The determination was performed on Symmetry® C18 column with mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile- 0.1％ phosphoric acid solution （gradient elution ）at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection wavelengths were set at 212 nm（asperosaponin Ⅵ）and 237 nm（dipsanoside B ，dipsanoside A ， sweroside，loganic acid ，sylvestroside Ⅰ，loganin）. The column temperature was set at 30 ℃，and sample size was 20 μL. RESULTS The linear range of loganic acid ， loganin， sweroside， sylvestroside Ⅰ ， dipsanoside B ， dipsanoside A and asperosaponin Ⅵ were 399.24-931.56，50.30-150.90，48.24-168.84，27.00-70.20，12.93-38.80，40.64-121.92，42.08-147.28 µg/mL （all r＞0.999 0）. RSDs of precision ，reproducibility and stability tests （24 h）were all less than 2％. Average recoveries were 104.43％（RSD＝0.63％，n＝6），101.74％（RSD＝1.11％，n＝6），100.76％（RSD＝1.06％，n＝6），98.00％（RSD＝1.58％，n＝6）， 99.03％（RSD＝2.31％，n＝6），102.93％（RSD＝2.26％，n＝6），102.31％（RSD＝1.00％，n＝6），respectively，The contents were 142.5-280.6，5.5-49.0，28.0-112.9，7.2-35.8，4.4-16.9，17.2-79.3，0.8-54.5 mg/g，respectively. CONCLUSIONS Established method is accurate and reliable ，and can be used for the content determination of 7 components in D. asper .

Structure of Gardenia Blue Pigment and Its Inhibitory Activity on Monoamine Oxidase B / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo study the chemical structure of gardenia blue pigment and its inhibitory activity against monoamine oxidase B （MAO-B）， in order to seek a potential feasible way for rational utilization and value enhancement of iridoids in Gardeniae Fructus. MethodIridoid glycosides in Gardeniae Fructus were hydrolyzed by cellulase to obtain their aglycones and reacted with amino acids. Then， the products were purified by column chromatography packed with D101 macroporous resin and preparative liquid chromatography to obtain gardenia blue pigments， and the gardenia blue pigments were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance （NMR） and mass spectrometry （MS）. Benzylamine was used as the reaction substrate of MAO-B and in vitro incubated with gardenia blue pigment monomers， high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） was employed to determine the production of benzaldehyde for evaluating the inhibitory effect of gardenia blue pigments on MAO-B， the mobile phase was methanol （A） -50 mmol·L-1 potassium phosphate buffer （B， pH 3.2） （2∶3）， and the detection wavelength was 245 nm. ResultEight compounds of gardenia blue pigment A-H were synthesized and identified. In MAO-B inhibition test， compared with geniposide， the inhibitory activity of gardenia blue pigment D and E was significantly enhanced （P<0.05）. Compared with the 6β-hydroxygeniposide， the inhibitory activity of gardenia blue pigment G and H was significantly enhanced （P<0.05， P<0.01）. All the four gardenia blue pigments showed better MAO-B inhibitory activity than the prototype compounds. ConclusionGardenia blue pigment is a simple compound formed by one molecule of amino acid and one molecule of iridoid. Some gardenia blue pigments have better MAO-B inhibitory activity than the prototype compounds. The activity of gardenia blue pigment produced by different substrates is different， and the high-value gardenia blue pigment can be prepared based on experimental optimization， which can expand the application range of gardenia blue pigment and enrich the comprehensive utilization of iridoids from Gardeniae Fructus.

Analysis of Chemical Constituents in Different Parts of Gentiana straminea Based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveUltra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS） was used to analyze the chemical constituents in the aerial part and roots of Gentiana straminea from different areas of Qinghai province， and the main chromatographic peaks and differential components of different parts were identified. MethodThe chromatographic separation was performed on a Waters ACQUITY UPLC HSS T3 column （2.1 mm×100 mm， 1.8 μm） with 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution （A）-acetonitrile （B） as the mobile phase for gradient elution （0-1 min， 1%-13%B； 1-5 min， 13%-18%B； 5-7 min， 18%-50%B； 7-9.5 min， 50%-60%B； 9.5-11 min， 60%-99%B； 11-14 min； 99%B； 14-15 min， 99%-1%B； 15-16 min， 1%B）， the column temperature at 40 ℃， and the flow rate of 0.3 mL·min-1. Electrospray ionization （ESI） and negative ion full scan mode were selected for the mass spectrometric conditions to analyze the samples， and the detection range was m/z 50-1 200. Chemical constituents of the aerial part were qualitatively analyzed with the reference substances， literature information and ChemSpider. Principal component analysis （PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis （OPLS-DA） were used to analyze the classification trend， correlation and differential chemical components between aerial part and roots of G. straminea. ResultA total of 68 components， including 24 iridoids， 13 flavonoids， 8 triterpenoids， 6 xanthones， 5 fatty acids， 4 saccharides， 3 phenolic glycosides， 2 alkaloids， 2 sterols and 1 lignan， were preliminarily identified from the aerial part of G. straminea. Among them， 42 components were firstly reported in 4 Gentiana species included in the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Eight differential components were screened out， namely sucrose， maltotriose， loganic acid， shanzhiside methyl ester， 6′-O-β-D-glucosylgentiopicroside， swertiamarin， gentiopicrin and isovitexin. ConclusionThe aerial part of G. straminea is rich in chemical constituents and has good medicinal potential. There were significant differences in the chemical components between the aerial part and roots of G. straminea， and the main differential components were iridoids， which could provide a basis for exploring efficacy differences in different parts of G. straminea.

Research progress on the mechanism of iridoids from Gardenia jasminoides against Alzheimer ’s disease / 中国药房

Alzheimer’s disease （AD）is a common latent neurodegenerative disease ，which is characterized by cognitive impairment，loss of learning and memory function ，abnormal behavior and dementia. At present ，there is no specific drug to effectively prevent or reverse AD. Gardenia jasminoides is the dried and mature fruit of G. jasminoides J. Ellis ，a gardenia plant in Rubiaceae. Its chemical components mainly include iridoids ，triterpenoids，organic acids and volatile oils ，among which iridoids are the main active components of G. jasminoides . This paper summarizes the researches on the mechanism of iridoids from G. jasminoides against AD at home and abroad in recent years ，in order to provide reference for the development of new drugs against AD.

Transcriptome analysis and validation of key genes involved in biosynthesis of iridoids in Gentiana lhassica / 中国中药杂志

As the main chemical constituents, iridoids are widely distributed within Gentiana, Gentianaceae, with promising bioactivities. Based on the previous work, the transcriptome of G. lhassica, an original plant of Tibetan herb "Jieji Nabao", was sequenced and analyzed in this study, and the transcriptome databases of roots, stems, leaves, and flowers were constructed so as to explore unigenes that may encode the key enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway of iridoids. Then, qRT-PCR was used to validate the relative expression levels of 11 genes named AACT, DXS, MCS, HDS, IDI, GPPS, GES, G10H, 7-DLNGT, 7-DLGT, and SLS in roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. Also, the total contents of gentiopicroside and loganic acid were determined by HPLC, respectively. The results are as follows:(1)a total of 76 486 unigenes with an average length of 852 bp were obtained;(2)335 unigenes were involved in 19 stan-dard secondary metabolism pathways in KEGG database, with phenylpropanoid biosynthesis having the maximum number(75 unigenes), and no isoflavone biosynthetic pathway was annotated;(3)171 unigenes participatedin 27 key enzymes encoding in the biosynthetic pathway of iridoids, and 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase(DXR) gene was highly expressed;(4)qRT-PCR results were approximately consistent with RNA-Seq data and the relative expression levels of the 11 genes were higher in the aboveground parts(stem, leaf, and flower) than in the underground part(root);(5)the total contents of gentiopicroside and loganic acid were higher in the aboveground parts(stem, leaf, and flower) than in the underground part(root), and the difference was significant. This study provides basic scientific data for accurate species identification, evaluation of germplasm resources, research on secondary pro-duct accumulation of medicinal plants within Gentianaceae, and protection of endangered alpine species.

Transcriptome analysis and exploration of genes involved in the biosynthesis of iridoids in Gentiana crassicaulis (Gentianaceae) / 药学学报

italic>Gentiana crassicaulis Duthie ex Burk. in Gentiana (Sect. Cruciata), Gentianaceae, is one of the original plants of both Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix and Tibetan herb Jie-Ji Na-Bao, which contain such bioactive iridoids as gentiopicroside, loganic acid and others. In this study, based on previous work, the transcriptome of G. crassicaulis was sequenced and analyzed to construct transcriptome databases of roots, stems, leaves and flowers. qRT-PCR verification was conducted for parts of unigenes that may be key enzymes in the pathway of iridoid biosynthesis. The results are as follows: ① a total of 159 534 unigenes were obtained, with an average length of 679 bp. According to the functional classification of GO, unigenes can be divided into 3 categories with 67 branches. The unigenes were aligned in the KOG database and were classified into 25 categories according to function. ② In the KEGG database, 215 unigenes were implicated in 20 standard secondary metabolism pathways. The analysis shows that 305 unigenes encoded 28 key enzymes in the pathway of iridoid biosynthesis, and their expression in different organs is different; and ③ qRT-PCR was approximately consistent with RNA-Seq results. The 7 annotated unigenes identified in this study, HMGS, DXS, MCS, GPPS, G10H, 7-DLNGT and STR, all had higher relative expression levels in the above-ground parts (stem, leaf and flower) than in the underground part (root). Iridoids are common active and index components of such traditional Chinese medicines as Qinjiao, Longdan, Dangyao, and Qingyedan, among others. Therefore, this work provides basic scientific data for further development including obtaining active components or intermediates through biotechnology, exploring the accumulation of effective components, evaluating the quality of different ecotype varieties, and identifying authentic biosynthesis pathways of medicinal materials.

Correlation between color and content of eight components of Gardeniae Fructus at different harvest time / 中国中药杂志

This research is to establish an HPLC method for determination of geniposidic acid, genipin-1-β-D-gentiobioside, geniposide, p-trans-coumaroylgenipin gentiobioside, chlorogenic acid, crocin-Ⅰ, crocin-Ⅱ and crocin-Ⅲ in Gardeniae Fructus at different harvest time. The detection wavelength was 238, 320 and 440 nm. Principal component analysis(PCA), correlation analysis, regression analysis and partial least squares(PLS) analysis were used to explore the relationship of color and content of eight components in Gardeniae Fructus. The result showed that the trend of the eight components in Gardeniae Fructus at harvest time in different three years was varied similarly. According to the variation of eight components at different harvest time, the mature and immaturate Gardeniae Fructus were discriminated. The content of crocin-Ⅰwas correlated positively with a~* of color significance. The redder color of Gardeniae Fructus showed the higher value of a~* and content of crocin-Ⅰ, indicating the better quality of Gardeniae Fructus. This method provided reference for justifying the color and quality of Gardeniae Fructus and scientific evidence for "assessing quality by distinguishing color".

1H-NMR Metabolomic Analysis of Brain Tissue of CUMS-Induced Depressed Mice Intervened by Iridoid Part of Valerianae Jatamansi Rhizoma et Radix / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:Metabolomics was used to analyze the brain tissue samples of model mice with chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) depression, in order to find out the differential metabolites related to depression and to explore the possible antidepressant mechanism of iridoid part of Valerianae Jatamansi Rhizoma et Radix (IEFV). Method:Forty-two Kunming mice were randomly divided into 6 groups, including the normal group, the model group, the fluoxetine group (2.5 mg·kg-1) and the IEFV low, medium, and high dose groups (doses were 5.73, 11.47, 22.94 mg·kg-1, respectively). The behavioral and biochemical indicators of CUMS model mice were used for pharmacodynamic evaluation with IEFV and a positive drug (fluoxetine) as the intervention drugs. Then, the effect of IEFV on endogenous substances of the brain tissue in CUMS model mice were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectrum (1H-NMR) metabolomics, and multivariate statistical analysis was used to identify the differential metabolites and to enrich the metabolic pathways involved in the differential metabolites. Result:After modeling, the immobility time of the model mice increased significantly, their sucrose preference rate and the excitatory neurotransmitters [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE)] decreased significantly, indicating the success of modeling. The depression was relieved after IEFV administration, mainly manifested by the recovery of the immobility time, sucrose preference rate and the excitatory neurotransmitters (5-HT and NE). Principal component analysis (PCA) of endogenous metabolites in brain tissue showed that the model group could be significantly separated from the normal group, while the IEFV groups and fluoxetine group all showed a trend of deviating from the model group to the normal group, which was consistent with the behavioral results. The results of orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) showed that there were 16 different metabolites between the model group and the normal group, including 12 water-soluble metabolites and 4 liposoluble metabolites. Seven potential metabolism pathways were obtained through MetPA analysis, including metabolism of phenylalanine, metabolism of phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan, metabolism of taurine and hypotaurine acid, metabolism of alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid, biosynthesis of valine, leucine and isoleucine, metabolism of D-glutamine and D-glutamate and tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA). IEFV-high dose group could significantly recall 11 differential metabolites. Conclusion:IEFV may play an antidepressant role mainly by affecting energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism and neurotransmitter levels, which provides a reference for further study on the antidepressant mechanism of IEFV.

Analysis of components of crude and sweated Dipsaci Radix by UPLC-Triple-TOF/MS / 中草药

Objective: To establish a quick method of ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-fight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Triple-TOF/MS) for the analysis of components of crude and sweated Dipsaci Radix. Methods: The separation was performed on the chromatographic column of Agilent Eclipse XDB-C18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5.0 μm), and the mobile phase was 0.1% formic acid solution-methanol, with a gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min, the detection wavelength was 215 nm, the column temperature was 25 ℃. UPLC-Triple-TOF 5600+ time of flight liquid and mass spectrometer was used for mass spectrometry. Electrospray ion source negative ion mode was adopted, and the scanning range was m/z 100-1 500. The components of crude and sweated Dipsaci Radix were quickly identified according to the information obtained by high-resolution mass spectrometry combined with secondary mass spectrometry. Results: Fifty-two common components were identified or tentatively characterized based on the retention time and MS spectra. They were triterpenoid saponins, iridoids, phenolic acids etc. The crack rules of primary components were also analyzed. And comparing the components of crude and sweated Dipsaci Radix, it showed that the content of 20 components such as loganin acid, chlorogenic acid, loganin, isochlorogenic acid A, and asperosaponin VI was decreased after sweating, and caffeic acid, isochlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid C, and triplostoside A was increased. Conclusion: The types of components of crude and sweated Dipsaci Radix are identical, but there are differences in the content of the components. The content of the components of crude are higher than the sweated Dipsaci Radix. UPLC-Triple-TOF-MS technology was used to analyze the influence of “sweating” on the chemical composition of the Dipsaci Radix, so as to provide a theoretical basis for the study of the chemical constituents of sweated Dipsaci Radix and further research on the origin processing of Dipsaci Radix.

Research progress on chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix and quality markers (Q-marker) prediction and analysis / 中草药

Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix is a Chinese medicinal material with unique efficacy and rich resources, which is widely distributed in northwest China. Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix contains a variety of chemical components, including iridoids, lignans, flavonoids, triterpenes, alkaloids, and other components, with anti-inflammatory and analgesic, liver protection, anti-virus, anti-tumor, immunosuppression, antihypertensive and other activities. Because of its various chemical components and wide range of pharmacological activities, it can be used as a kind of medicinal plant with great development and utilization value. With the great increase in the demand for Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix resources, the wild Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix resources are extremely shrinking. There are many medicinal sources of Gentiana Macrophylla Radix, and the medicinal parts are different, resulting in mixed sources of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix. Not only the medicinal ingredients are unstable, the market chaos is also very serious, and the quality standard needs to be improved urgently. Based on the analysis of the present situation of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix resources, chemical composition and pharmacological action, combined with the concept of quality markers, the quality markers of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix were predicted and analyzed from the aspects of chemical composition and traditional medicinal properties, traditional efficacy, clinical efficacy, different compatibility and so on, in order to provide reference for the establishment of quality evaluation system of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix.

Iridoids from Valeriana jatamansi and their related anti-influenza virus activity / 中草药

Objective: To investigate the iridoids from the roots of Valerianajatamansi and their anti-influenza virus activity. Methods: The compounds were isolated and purified over several chromatographic methods, such as silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, HPLC and so on. Their structures were identified by the analysis of their physicochemical properties and NMR data. Their anti-influenza virus activity was evaluated by A/WSN/33/2009 (H1N1) infected MDCK cells. Results: Twenty known iridoids (1-20) were isolated from the EtOAc-soluble fraction of 95% EtOH extract of V. jatamansi, and their structures were identified as baldrinal (1), 11-methoxyviburtinal (2), desacylbaldrinal (3), isovaltrate (4), deacetylisovaltrate (5), 10-isovaleroxy-valtrathydrin (6), jatamanvaltrate Q (7), valeriandoid F (8), isovaltrate acetoxyhydrin (9), jatamanvaltrate K (10), rupesin B (11), patriscadoid II (12), jatamanvaltrate W (13), patriscadoid I (14), valeriandoid D (15), valjatrate E (16), jatamanin C (17), (1S,3R,5S,7S,8S,9S)-1-methoxy-7-hydroxy-8-methyl-3,8-epoxy-Δ4,11-dihyronepetane (18), (3S,4S,5S,7S,8S,9S)-3,8-ethoxy-7-dihydroxy-4,8-dimethylperhydrocyclopenta[c]pyran (19) and 8,9-didehydro-7-hydroxy-dolichodial (20). Conclusion: Compounds 5, 9, 12, 14, and 20are isolated from V. jatamansi for the first time. Furthermore, compounds 4 and 9 exhibit anti-influenza A virus activity with IC50 values of 85.45 and 19.26 μmol/L.

Research progress on chemical constituents, pharmacological effects and clinical application of Tanreqing Injection / 中草药

Tanreqing Injection has the functions of clearing heat, resolving phlegm and detoxifying. It mainly contains amino acids, iridoids, flavonoids, phenylethanoid glycosides, steroids and other chemical components. Studies show that Tanreqing Injection has many pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammation, anti-bacteria, anti-virus, inhibition of liver injury and etc. Numerous domestic and foreign research efforts have been focused on the study of Tanreqing Injection. This paper comprehensively reviewed the recent progress in research on chemical constituents, pharmacological actions and clinical application of Tanreqing Injection, so as to provide some reference for its further study.

Identification of Morindae Officinalis Radix root cortex and woody core based on UPLC characteristic chromatogram and chemical pattern recognition method / 中草药

Objective: A method for identification of root cortex and woody core of Morindae Officinalis Radix (MOR) was established based on Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) characteristic chromatogram and chemical pattern recognition technique. Methods: Using UPLC technique, the characteristic chromatograms of iridoids and oligosaccharides of root cortex and woody core of MOR were established, combined with the similarity analysis, variance analysis, cluster analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) methods for chemical pattern recognition research. Results: The UPLC characteristic chromatograms of iridoids and oligosaccharides of different parts of MOR were established, and 12 and 20 common characteristic peaks were confirmed, respectively. The UPLC characteristic chromatograms of root cortex and woody core of MOR were obviously different. Conclusion: UPLC characteristic chromatograms of iridoids and oligosaccharides of MOR combined with chemical pattern recognition analysis method can reflect the difference of root cortex and woody core of MOR integrally, comprehensively and truly, which provides more sufficient basis for the necessity of removing woody core from MOR.

Main chemical constituents of Changyanning Tablets based on HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS / 中草药

Objective: To study the chemical constituents of Changyanning Tablets, a high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) was established to recognize and classify the ingredients accurately and rapidly. Methods: Agilent ZORBAX Eclipse XDB-C18 chromatographic column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) was employed and the separation was performed with the mobile phase consisting of methanol-0.05% acetic acid aqueous solution. The information of accurate mass and multistage fragment ions were obtained by the monitored simultaneously for positive and negative ions. The main chemical constituents of Changyanning Tablets were identified by high resolution mass spectrometry data, combining with Pubmed, Hmdb, Massbank network database, reference literature and comparing the reference. Results: Fifty-one chemical components were finally identified in this study, including two phenylpropanoids, eight iridoids, 12 flavonoids, four tannins, 23 organic acids, and two other classes. Conclusion: This study comprehensively studies the material basis in Changyanning Tablets, which provides a basis for improving the quality evaluation system of Changyanning Tablets and lays the foundation for elucidating the active components mechanism.

Chemical profiling and tissue distribution study of Jingyin Granules in rats using UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap HR-MS / 中国中药杂志

In this study, the chemical profiling of Jingyin Granules and the tissue distribution of nine major constituents in this Chinese medicine were performed after oral administration of Jingyin Granules to rats, by using UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap HR-MS. An Acquity UPLC BEH C_(18) chromatographic column(2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm) was used as solid phase, while the mobile phase was methanol and 0.1% formic acid water for gradient elution. The major constituents in this Chinese medicine were quickly and accurately identified, via comparison with the retention times and MS/MS spectra of the standards. A total of 106 chemicals were identified from Jingyin Granules, including 24 kinds of organic acids, 47 kinds of flavonoids, 10 kinds of iridoids, and 21 kinds of saponins and 4 kinds of other compounds. After oral administered Jingyin Granules to rats, 48, 30, 25, 23, 45, 34, 39, 26, 19 prototype compounds were identified in serum, heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, brain, fat, and testicles, respectively. Meanwhile, an LC-MS based analytical method was established for simultaneous determination of chlorogenic acid, swertiamarin, caffeic acid, sweroside, liquiritin, prim-O-glucosylcimifugin, arctiin, 5-O-methylvisammioside and arctigenin in biological samples. The tissue distribution(serum, liver and lung) of these nine aim constituents in rats after oral administration of Jingyin Granules were investigated. It was found that these nine constituents could be quickly absorbed into circulation system and then distributed to liver and lung tissues. Except arctigenin, the exposure of other eight aim constituents to serum and lung was peaked at 1 h. At 1 h, the exposure of these components to lung tissue were ranked as follows: swertiamarin [(75 191.0±3 483.21) ng·g~(-1)]>arctiin [(2 716.5±36.06) ng·g~(-1)]>5-O-methylvisammioside [(585.1±0.71) ng·g~(-1)]>arctigenin [(437.45±3.18) ng·g~(-1)]>chlorogenic acid [(308.1±5.66) ng·g~(-1)]>prim-O-glucosylcimifugin [(211.35±2.19) ng·g~(-1)]>sweroside [(184.3±9.05) ng·g~(-1)]>caffeic acid [(175.95±2.05) ng·g~(-1)]>liquiritin [(174.78±153.34) ng·g~(-1)]. In summary, an UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap HR-MS method has been established for rapid and accurate identification of the constituents in Jingyin Granules, while the tissue distribution of nine major absorpted constituents were investigated in rats following oral administration of Jingyin Granules. These findings provided key information and guidance for further studies on pharmacodynamic substances and clinical applications of Jingyin Granules.

Isoflavones' effects on pharmacokinetic profiles of main iridoids from Gardeniae Fructus in rats / 药物分析学报

Gardeniae Fructus (GF) and Semen Sojae Praeparatum (SSP) are both medicine food homologies and widely used in Chinese clinical prescriptions together. The research investigated the pharmacokinetics of four iridoids in normal rats and isolfavones-fed rats, which were administered with isolfavones from SSP for 7, 14, 21 and 28 consecutive days. A validated LC-MS/MS method was developed for determining shanzhiside, genipin-1-gentiobioside, geniposide and their metabolite genipin in rat plasma. Plasma samples were pretreated by solid-phase extraction using paeoniflorin as the internal standard. The chromatographic separation was performed on a Waters Atlantis T3 (4.6 mm × 150 mm, 3μm) column using a gradient mobile phase consisting of acetonitril and water (containing 0.06％acetic acid). The mass detection was under the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode via polarity switching between negative and positive ionization modes. The calibration curves exhibited good linearity (r>0.997) for all components. The lower limit of quantitation was in the range of 1-10 ng/mL. The intra-day and inter-day precisions (RSD) at three different levels were both less than 12.2％ and the accuracies (RE) ranged from -10.1％ to 16.4％. The extraction recovery of them ranged from 53.8％ to 99.7％. Pharmacokinetic results indicated the bioavailability of three iridoid glycosides and the metabolite, genipin in normal rats was higher than that in rats exposed to isoflavones. With the longer time of administration of iso-flavones, plasma concentrations of iridoids decreased, while genipin sulfate, the phase II metabolite of genposide and genipin-1-gentiobioside, appeared the rising exposure. The pharmacokinetic profiles of main iridoids from GF were altered by isoflavones.

Analysis of Chemical Constituents in Baihe Dihuangtang by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective::To study the chemical constituents in Baihe Dihuangtang by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Method::The separation was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.7 μm) by a gradient elution of acetonitrile-0.1%formic acid solution. The flow rate was 0.4 mL·min-1 and the column temperature was 30 ℃, the injection volume was 5 μL. Electrospray ionization was applied and the data were collected via positive and negative ion modes. By using SCIEX OS 1.4 software, the chemical constituents were analyzed based on the retention time, excimer ion peak and fragment ion peak of the compounds, as well as comparison with reference substances and literature data. Result::A total of 49 chemical constituents in Baihe Dihuangtang were identified, including 5 phenolic glycerides, 15 phenylethanoid glycosides, 11 iridoids, 8 lonones, 3 phenylpropanoids, 2 nucleosides, 1 organic acid, and 4 other compounds. Among them, phenolic glycerides belonged to Lilii Bulbus, and other components mainly belonged to Rehmanniae Radix. Four chemical constituents (acteoside, isoacteoside, ferulic acid and caffeic acid) were identified by comparison of reference substances. Conclusion::The established detection method can quickly and accurately analyze the chemical constituents of Baihe Dihuangtang. The information of chemical constituents in Baihe Dihuangtang is comprehensively expounded. The study establishes a foundation for the research of quality control, material foundation of efficacy and the development of compound preparations of Baihe Dihuangtang.

Analysis of transcriptomes to explore genes contributing to iridoid biosynthesis in Gentiana waltonii and Gentiana robusta (Gentianaceae) / 药学学报

The roots and flowers of Gentiana waltonii and Gentiana robusta are used as Tibetan herb Jie-Ji in traditional Tibetan medicine, with iridoids as the main active ingredient and index components. To study the pathway of iridoid biosynthesis, roots, stems, leaves and flowers of G. waltonii and G. robusta were subjected to a high-throughput transcriptomic sequencing analysis by Illumina HiseqXTen. After removing insignificant reads and de novo splicing, 79 455 and 78 466 unigenes were obtained from G. waltonii and G. robusta respectively, with average length as 834 bp and 862 bp. The unigene GO functions could be divided into three categories of 65 branches. The unigenes were aligned in KOG database and were classified into 25 classes according to function. In KEGG database, 315 and 340 unigenes of G. waltonii and G. robusta were implicated in 20 standard secondary metabolic pathways, respectively. Furthermore, 80 and 57 unigenes of the two species were analyzed to encode 24 key enzymes in the pathway related to iridoid biosynthesis. There were differences in gene expression among different organs. Based on sequence data, significant amounts of SSRs, SNPs and InDels were detected in each dataset. This study provides a platform for further development of molecular markers, excavation of functional genes, and research into metabolic pathways and their regulatory mechanism within G. waltonii and G. robusta.