Identification and quantification of nine compounds in Fangwen Jiuwei decoction by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Fangwen Jiuwei Decoction is a traditional Chinese medicine preparation for the treatment of pneumonia developed by Shenzhen Bao'an Chinese Medicine Hospital, which shows remarkable clinical responses. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the main active compounds are crucial for the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine prescription in clinical application. In this study, we identified nine active compounds essential for the pharmacological effects of Fangwen Jiuwei Decoction based on the analysis of the Network Pharmacology and relevant literature. Moreover, these compounds can interact with several crucial drug targets in pneumonia based on molecular docking. We applied high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was established these nine active ingredients' qualitative and quantitative detections. The possible cleavage pathways of nine active components were determined based on secondary ions mass spectrometry. The results of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry were further validated, which show a satisfactory correlation coefficient (r > 0.99), recovery rate (≥93.31%), repeatability rate (≤5.62%), stability (≤7.95%), intra-day precision (≤6.68%), and inter-day precision (≤9.78%). The limit of detection was as low as 0.01 ng/ml. In this study, we established a high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the chemical components in the Fangwen Jiuwei Decoction extract.

Determination of six core components from Mahuang Xuanfei Zhike syrup in rat plasma and tissues by UPLC-MS/MS: Application to a pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution study.

Mahuang Xuanfei Zhike (MXZ) syrup, a Chinese patent medicine, has been widely used in the clinical treatment of cough. However, there is no reported method for the quantitative analysis of the effective components of MXZ syrup in biological samples. In this study, the effective components of MXZ syrup were screened by network pharmacology and molecular docking technology. A sensitive and rapid ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was established to test the active components of MXZ syrup in rat plasma and tissue homogenates, including ephedrine, amygdalin, chlorogenic acid, harpagoside, forsythin and forsythoside A. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Waters Acquity UPLC HSS T3 column (2.1 × 50 mm, 1.8 µm) and the mass analysis was conducted using a Waters Xevo TQ mass spectrometer using multiple reaction positive and negative ion simultaneous monitoring mode. The results showed that the linearity ranged from 0.3 to 409.4 ng/ml. The extraction recoveries were all <8.33%, and the matrix effects were all <8.45, which met the requirements. The pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution results indicated that the main active components of MXZ syrup were absorbed quickly and eliminated slowly in vivo, and there may be a reabsorption process.

[Study of anticoagulant activity of ethanol extracts from leech in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To study the anticoagulant activity of different portions of leech ethanol extracts (LEEs). METHODS: Anticoagulant activity was determined by measuring prothrombin time(PT), thrombin time (TT), activated partial throboplstin time (APTT) and fibrinogen coagulation time (FCT). RESULTS: PT, TT, APTT and FCT were remarkably prolonged by ethyl acetate portion of LEEs. Portions of petroleum ethrer, n-butanol and water extracted from LEEs was much weaker on anticoagulant activity. CONCLUSION: The anticoagulant effect of ethyl acetate extract portion of LEEs is the strongest among the four portions, and this results may be from its inhibitory effect on thrombin-catalyzed fibrinogen hydrolysis.