Background: Due to the complexity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the current quality evaluation of TCM are difficult to associate with clinical efficacy. Shenqi Jiangtang Granule (SJG), a classical TCM formula, is proven as a therapy for treatment of type II diabetes mellitus (DM) and complications while the substantial basis of the therapeutic effects is not clear. Purpose: The present study proposed an integrated approach to discriminate the quality markers (Q-markers) based on multi-dimensional characteristic network for quality control of TCM. Methods: The multi-dimensional characteristic network was established by "Spider-web" mode, which was comprehensively integrating "compatibility-content-activity- efficiency-stability" of the candidate ingredients. The activity dimension was evaluated by the inhibitory activity of SJG on alpha-glucosidase and aldose reductase. The efficacy dimension was assessed through the association between the compounds and the target pathway of diabetic nephropathy (DN) based on integrated pharmacology platform. Each dimension for the feature network was quantified by multivariate statistical analysis, and regression area of the candidate compounds was constructed in the network. Finally, the candidate compounds were sorted comprehensively by the regression area. Results: A total of 30 chemical compounds with effective hypoglycemic activity were identified as the potential Qmarkers. From the data analysis, three dimensions of activity, efficacy and content performed a greater impact on the regression area of the characteristic network. Among these compounds, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rd, ginsenoside Rg1, calycosin, ginsenoside Rb1, formononetin, astragaloside IV, ginsenoside Rf, ginsenoside Rc, notoginsenoside Fe, schisandrol A, gomisin D were screened out as the candidate Q-markers of SJG. Conclusion: The multi-dimensional characteristic network integrating compatibility, content, activity, efficiency and stability is efficient to discriminate the potential Q-markers of TCM prescription. Our results demonstrated that 12 candidate compounds from Panax Ginseng, Radix Astragali and Schisandrae Chinensis might select as Qmarkers for qualitative evaluation of SJG.

BACKGROUND:Shenqi Jiangtang Granule (SJG), a classical prescription of traditional Chinese medicine, is widely used to treat diabetes and its complications. Although, the clinical efficacy of SJG, is sufficient, the pharmacokinetic behavior of various substances in the plasma of SJG is unknown. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to investigate the plasma pharmacokinetics during absorption of SJG after oral administration in rats. METHODS:A rapid and accurate ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC- MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of eight analytes in SJG, including gomisin D, schisandrin A, schisandrin B, schizandrol A, schizandrol B, ginsenoside Rd, ginsenoside Re and notoginsenoside Ft1. The analysis was carried out on a BEH C18 column (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 1.7 μm) with gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min in a mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid water and acetonitrile. In addition, lignans and saponins were detected in positive ion mode and negative ion mode, respectively. RESULTS:Eight analytes in SJG, including gomisin D, schisandrin A, schisandrin B, schizandrol A, schizandrol B, ginsenoside Rd, ginsenoside Re and notoginsenoside Ft1, showed good linearity (R2 in the range of 0.9955 ~ 0.9999). The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 5, 0.8, 0.8, 8, 0.8, 5, 0.6 and 10 ng/mL. The accuracy and precision of all analytes were at ±15%. Matrix effect and average extraction recovery were > 85%. All analytes performed well under four storage conditions. CONCLUSION:The results showed that in vivo absorption and exposure of gomisin D and ginsenoside Rd were better than other analytes, while schizandrol B and notoginsenoside Ft1 were poorly absorbed. This approach could be applied to study the pharmacokinetic characteristics of various analytes in plasma after oral administration of SJG in rats.

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Shenqi Jiangtang granule (SJG) is an ancient Chinese herbal formula used for treatment of Diabetes mellitus and its complications. Aim of the study: To establish an integrated approach for discovery of effective Aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs) from SJG. Materials and methods: An integrated approach combining ultrafiltration-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UF-LC-MS) with in silico molecular docking was established for development of ARIs. AR enzyme was separated from the rabbit's crystalline lens. The inhibitory activities of these compounds were detected by UV spectrophotometry with DL-glyceraldehyde as a substrate. Furthermore, molecular docking was used to understand the binding mechanism of these screened compounds interacting with AR. Results: After optimization of AR reaction system and ultrafiltration incubation system, 17 active ingredients were screened from SJG by OF-LC-MS technique. Among these potential AR inhibitors, ginsenoside Rd exhibited the strongest activity with IC50 value of 45.77 mu M. Three of them, calycosin, gomisin J and schisandrin A were demonstrated to be potential inhibitors for the first time, with IC50 at 447.34 ktM, 181.73 mu M, and 429.00 mu M, respectively. Most of the active compounds exhibited competitive inhibition against AR. The docking scores of saponins were higher than that of lignans, which was consistent with the verification results. Conclusion: The results indicated that TCM formula with clinical efficacy was indeed hopeful source for screening active ingredients, and the combination of OF-LC-MS and in silico molecular docking was a universal and promising approach for development of effective enzyme inhibitors.

目的 建立舒筋活血制剂(舒筋活血胶囊、舒筋活血片)HPLC指纹图谱的方法,为其整体质量评价提供参考.方法 色谱柱为Agilent Poroshell 120 SB-C18(150 mm×4.6 mm,2.7 μin),以乙腈-0.2％甲酸水溶液为流动相,进行梯度洗脱;体积流量0.5 mL/min,检测波长277 nm,柱温30℃.采用“中药色谱指纹图谱相似度评价系统”(2012版)考察23批舒筋活血制剂的相似度,结合主成分分析(principal component analysis,PCA)、聚类分析(cluster analysis,CA)以及正交偏最小二乘判别分析(orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis,OPLS-DA)对舒筋活血制剂进行整体质量评价.结果 舒筋活血制剂的HPLC指纹图谱中18批样品(S1～S17和S23)的相似度＞0.900,通过PCA、CA和OPLS-DA,23批样品聚成3类,S1～S16来自同一厂家为一类;S23和S17为一类;S18～S22为一类,并从10个共有峰中确定差异较大的4个共有峰,分别为1、3(5-羟甲基糠醛)、6(苯乙酸)和10(4-甲氧基水杨醛)号峰.结论 所建立的指纹图谱结合化学模式识别方法稳定、简单,可用于评价舒筋活血制剂质量.

As an emerging method for active ingredients screening, ultrafiltration-mass spectrometry (UF-MS) has the characteristics of simple operation, fast analysis, strong specificity, and high throughput. It plays an important role in the screening of natural active ingredients. In this paper, using the different disease-related targets as key point, the application of UF-MS in the rapid screening of natural active ingredients in Chinese meteria medica extracts were reviewed. Combining the practice of the research group for many years, the deficiencies and the development of the UF-MS technology were prospected to provide a reference for related research.

Two β-adrenergic blocking agents, 1-[(1-methylethyl)amino]-3-phenoxy-2-propanol (1) and 1-[(1-methylethyl)amino]-3-(3-methylphenoxy)-2-propanol (2; Toliprolol), were enantioseparated by pH-zone-refining countercurrent chromatography. A two-phase solvent system composed of chloroform containing 0.10 mol/L of di-n-hexyl l-tartrate/0.10 mol/L of boric acid aqueous solution (1:1, v/v) was selected, in which 20 mmol/L triethylamine was added in the organic phase as a retainer and 2 mmol/L HCl was added in the aqueous phase as an eluter. Fifty milligrams of each racemate was completely enantioseparated by pH-zone-refining countercurrent chromatography to yield each enantiomer with a purity of more than 98%, and the recovery of each separated enantiomer reached around 76-82%.

Shenqi Jiangtang Granule, a well-known traditional Chinese herbal preparation, has been widely used for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus. In this work, an ultrafiltration liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method was proposed for the rapid identification of bioactive ingredients from Shenqi Jiangtang Granule using α-glucosidase as an example. First, the chemical profile of this preparation was clarified, including 37 saponins, 17 flavonoids, 37 lignans, and seven other compounds. After incubation with α-glucosidase in vitro, the methanol extract with an IC50 value of 0.19 mg/mL exhibited significant inhibitory activity. Then, 18 specific binding peaks were screened, and 15 peaks were identified. Among these, ten compounds were reported to have potential α-glucosidase inhibitory activity for the first time. Subsequently, the inhibitory activities of these active compounds were evaluated by ultraviolet spectrophotometry with p-nitrophenyl α-d-glucopyranoside as a substrate. As a result, gomisin J and gomisin D exhibited stronger α-glucosidase inhibitory activities than other active compounds with IC50 values of 77.69 and 133.85 μM, respectively. The results demonstrated that the integrated ultrafiltration liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry method was an effective and powerful tool for the discovery of active ingredients in Shenqi Jiangtang Granule.