Extraction, purification, structural characterization and biological activity of polysaccharides from Fritillaria: A review.

Fritillaria is a traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) with a history of thousands of years. Fritillaria always contain saponins, alkaloids, amino acids, flavones, and polysaccharides. Among them, Fritillaria polysaccharide has a variety of biological activities. Its anti-inflammatory and antiaging activities are new study hotspots. The extraction, purification, quantitative determination, monosaccharide composition, and biological activity of Fritillaria polysaccharides have been examined for several years in an attempt to identify the active components and understand the pharmacological process. In this review, ample original publications related to the distribution, extraction, purification, quantitative determination, monosaccharide composition and biological activities of Fritillaria until 2023 were searched and collected by using various literature databases. Databases included the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP database, Wan Fang database, PubMed, Elsevier, Springer, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Web of Science database, as well as the classic Chinese medical books and PhD and MSc theses. The properties and outcomes of various extractions, purifications, quantitative determination methods, monosaccharide compositions, and biological activities of Fritillaria polysaccharides are discussed here. Additionally, we summarize the research potential of Fritillaria polysaccharide and identify promising research direction candidates.

Simultaneous Determination and Pharmacokinetics Study of Three Triterpenes from Sanguisorba officinalis L. in Rats by UHPLC-MS/MS.

A selective and rapid ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was established and validated for the determination of ziyuglycoside I, 3ß,19α-dihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic-acid 28-ß-d-glucopyranosyl ester, and pomolic acid in rats after the oral administration of ziyuglycoside I, 3ß,19α-dihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic-acid 28-ß-d-glucopyranosyl ester, pomolic acid, and Sanguisorba officinalis L. extract. The separation was carried out on an ACQUITY UPLC®HSS T3 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.8 µm), using methanol and 5 mmol/L ammonium acetate water as the mobile phase. The three compounds were quantified using the multiple reaction monitoring mode with the electrospray ion source in both the positive and negative mode. Liquid-liquid extraction was applied to the plasma sample preparation. Bifendate was selected as the internal standard. The intra-day and inter-day precision and the accuracy of the method were all within receivable ranges. The lower limit of quantification of ziyuglycoside I, 3ß,19α-dihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic-acid 28-ß-d-glucopyranosyl ester, and pomolic acid were 6.50, 5.75, and 2.63 ng/mL, respectively. The extraction recoveries of analytes in rat plasma ranged from 83 to 94%. The three components could be rapidly absorbed into the blood (Tmax, 1.4-1.6 h) both in the single-administration group or S. officinalis extract group, but the first peak of PA occurred at 0.5 h and the second peak at 4-5 h in the S. officinalis extract. Three compounds were eliminated relatively slowly (t1/2, 7.3-11 h). The research was to establish a rapid, sensible, and sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS method using the multi-ion mode for multi-channel simultaneous mensuration pharmacokinetics parameters of three compounds in rats after oral administration of S. officinalis extract. This study found, for the first time, differences in the pharmacokinetic parameters of the three compounds in the monomer compounds and S. officinalis extract administration, which preliminarily revealed the transformation and metabolism of the three compounds in vivo.

Biotransformation and pharmacokinetic studies of four alkaloids from Uncaria rhynchophylla in rat plasma by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.

Uncaria rhynchophylla (Miq.) Miq. ex Havil (U. rhynchophylla), a traditional Chinese medicine that has been officially included in the Chinese Pharmacopeia, is used to treat cardiovascular and central nervous system diseases. The major alkaloids isolated from U. rhynchophylla are two pairs of epimer including rhynchophylline (RIN) and isorhynchophylline (IRN), along with corynoxeine (CN) and isocorynoxeine (ICN). An ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method (UHPLC-MS/MS), which was highly accurate, stable and sensitive, was established and validated for the simultaneous determination of four alkaloid compounds (RIN, IRN, CN, ICN) in rat plasma samples after oral administration of RIN, IRN, CN, ICN and U. rhynchophylla extract. In this study, the biotransformation and pharmacokinetics of RIN, IRN, CN and ICN were determined for the first time. An ACQUITY UPLC®HSS T3 column (1.8 µm, 2.1 mm × 100 mm) was used to complete the chromatographic separation within 3 min. The isocratic mobile phase was composed of 0.1 % formic acid water (v/v) and acetonitrile, and the flow rate was 0.2 mL/min. The multireaction monitoring mode was adopted, and the tandem mass spectrometry in the positive ion mode was detected by the electrospray ionization source. The method was fully verified and linear at a wide concentration (r > 0.9913), and the linear concentration range was 0.1552-124.5 ng/mL. The intraday and interday precisions of the four analytes were lower than 8.20 % and 13.42 %, respectively. The accuracy range was - 2.64 % and 13.63 %. The extraction recoveries of the analytes exceeded 83.74 %, and the matrix effect range was 98.43-103.7 % in the plasma samples. The four alkaloids can be quickly absorbed into the blood (Tmax, 0.22-3.83 h) and cleared comparatively slowly (T1/2, 7.67-12.13 h). This method has been successfully applied to the biotransformation and pharmacokinetic studies of SD rat plasma after oral administration of U. rhynchophylla extracts. This proved that RIN with IRN and CN with ICN can transform into each other in vivo. The results are of great significance for determining the mechanism of action and guiding the clinical application of U. rhynchophylla extracts.

Determination of Triterpenoids and Phenolic Acids from Sanguisorba officinalis L. by HPLC-ELSD and Its Application.

A novel analytical method involving high-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD) was developed for simultaneous determination of 11 phenolic acids and 12 triterpenes in Sanguisorba officinalis L. Chromatographic separation was conducted with gradient elution mode by using a DiamonsilTM C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) with the mobile phase of 0.1% acetic acid water (A) and methanol (B). The drift tube temperature of ELSD was set at 70 °C and the nitrogen cumulative flow rate was 1.6 L/min. The method was fully validated to be linear over a wide concentration range (R2 ≥ 0.9991). The precisions (RSD) were less than 3.0% and the recoveries were between 97.7% and 101.4% for all compounds. The results indicated that this method is accurate and effective for the determination of 23 functional components in Sanguisorba officinalis L. and could also be successfully applied to study the influence of processing method on those functional components in Sanguisorba officinalis L.