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In metabolomics studies, metabolic pathway recognition (MPR) is performed by software tools to screen out the significant pathways disturbed by diseases or reinstated by drugs. To achieve MPR, the significantly changed metabolites determined in different biospecimens (e.g. plasma and urine) are analyzed either independently (metabolites from each biospecimen as a dataset) or integratively (metabolites from all biospecimens as a dataset). However, whether the choice of these two processing approaches affects the results of MPR remains unknown. In this study, this issue was addressed by selecting evaluation of the effects of the herbal medicine Rehmanniae Radix (RR) on anemia and adrenal fatigue by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS-based metabolomics as an example. The significant pathways disturbed by the modeling of anemia and adrenal fatigue and those reinstated by treatments with raw and processed RR were recognized using MetPA software tool (MetaboAnalyst 3.0), and compared by independent and integrative processing of the significantly changed metabolites determined in plasma and urine. The results showed that the two processing approaches could yield different impact values of pathways and thereby recognize different significant pathways. The differences appear to happen more easily when metabolites from different biospecimens shared the same metabolic pathway. Such pathway could be recognized as a significant pathway by integrative processing but could be excluded by independent processing due to the converged and dispersed importance contributions of the involved metabolites to MPR in the two processing approaches. This issue should concern researchers because MPR is crucial not only to understanding metabolomics data but also to guiding subsequent mechanistic research.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a hazardous residue in sulfur-fumigated herbs. Standards limiting SO2 content have been adopted worldwide for quality control of sulfur-fumigated herbs, and herbs with less SO2 are believed to be better. However, the standards are based only on the safe dose of SO2 and may not characterize changes in herbal quality, thereby the efficacy and toxicity, resulting from sulfur fumigation. To confirm this, here the correlation of residual SO2 content with the quality/efficacy/toxicity of sulfur-fumigated herb was investigated, and ginseng was selected as a pilot study object. Four sulfur-fumigated ginseng samples with different SO2 contents were systemically compared regarding their quality, anti-inflammatory, anti-shock and anti-stress efficacies, as well as acute and chronic toxicities. The results demonstrated that the SO2 content did not correlate with the quality, efficacy and toxicity changes of ginseng; more specifically, less SO2 residue did not indicate higher quality, better efficacy nor weaker toxicity. This fact suggests that SO2 content cannot characterize the variations in quality, efficacy and toxicity of sulfur-fumigated herbs. Therefore, the standard limiting SO2 content alone may be inadequate for quality control of sulfur-fumigated herbs, and new standards including other indicators that can exactly reflect herbal efficacy and safety are necessary.

Si-Jun-Zi decoction (SJZD) with ginseng as the principal medicinal herb is a traditional Chinese Medicine multi-herb prescription that commonly employed to treat colorectal cancer etc. Previous studies showed that nearly half of the commercial ginseng was sulfur-fumigated, one of the postharvest processing methods that commonly causes sulfur-dioxide (SO

In present study, an integrating UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS chemical profiling and UPLC-TQ-MS/MS quantification strategy was developed for the holistic quality evaluation of Hibisci Mutabilis Folium (HMF), a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. Using UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, a total of 58 components were characterized in HMF sample, of which 36 flavonoids, 3 coumarins, 7 organic acids and 4 triterpene acids were unambiguously identified by comparing the chromatographic behavior and mass spectrum with that of reference compounds, or tentatively assigned by comparing the fragmentation pathways and characteristic fragment ions with that of reference substances and/or published literatures together with mass defect filtering (MDF) screening. Meanwhile, 29 representative major components, including 16 flavonoids, 3 coumarins, 7 organic acids and 3 triterpene acids, were quantified by a newly established UPLC-TQ-MS/MS method that was validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, precision, repeatability, accuracy and stability. The integrated strategy was applied to simultaneously qualifying and quantifying HMF commercial samples and self-prepared samples harvested in difference periods and dried with different methods. It was found that the contents of 29 major components were obviously different in commercial samples or self-prepared samples, suggesting that the holistic quality of HMF commercial samples was inconsistent, and harvesting period and drying method might be the main factors that affect the holistic quality consistency of commercial HMF samples. Standardized harvesting period and drying method should be established for ensuring the holistic quality consistency of HMF.

Aliphatic aldehydes are toxic substances that correlate with the onset of many diseases. However, up to date, the methods to identify aliphatic aldehydes in biological samples are less selectivity and/or robustness. In this study, a strategy based on 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) capturing combined with mass defect filtering (MDF) was established and validated to identify aliphatic aldehydes in two biological samples (serum of immunosuppressed rats and oxidative damaged cells). Firstly, the mass spectrometric characteristic ions (m/z 163.01, 163.02 and 191.04) and fragmentation pathways of aldehyde-DNPHs were acquired through analyzing the standard references. Then, biological samples were derivatized by DNPH, a routine reagent, and subsequently assessed on an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS). Thirdly, the raw chromatogram was processed by MDF method to obtain interference-free chromatogram. Fourthly, the aldehyde-DNPHs were characterized through investigating the mass spectrometric information of each peak referred to the identified characteristic ions and fragmentation pathways. Finally, 6 and 8 aliphatic aldehydes were exclusively identified in serum of immunosuppressed rats and supernatant of oxidative damaged cells. Among which, propanal and butanal were positively correlate with immunosuppression, while formalin was more relevant to oxidative stress. The results demonstrated that the established strategy could robustly characterize the aliphatic aldehydes in biological samples, which would be helpful to evaluate the physical conditions of subjects.

Sulfur-fumigation undoubtedly alters the chemical and metabolic profiles, but controversially affects the efficacy and safety of medicinal herbs.To comprehensively evaluate the effects of sulfur-fumigation on the efficacy and safety of medicinal herbs using a meta-analysis approach and further investigate the potential contributory factors.Literatures were retrieved on PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese VIP Information and Wanfang, and the outcomes involved activities and toxicities were extracted using standard data extraction forms. The effects of sulfur-fumigation on the efficacy and safety of medicinal herbs were evaluated by meta-analysis approaches.A total of sixteen studies were included in this study. Sulfur-fumigation reduced the efficacies of medicinal herbs with immune activity [thymus index (SMD = -1.81; P 0.00001); spleen index (SMD = -1.11; P 0.0001)], anti-oxidative activity [MDA (SMD = 2.60; P = 0.04); SOD (SMD = -2.21; P 0.00001)], analgesic activity [heat tolerate time (SMD = -2.51; P = 0.001); writhing time (SMD = 0.36; P = 0.006)], anti-platelet aggregation activity (SMD = -1.84; P = 0.001), and anti-inflammatory activity [ear swelling degree (SMD = 0.47; P = 0.006)]. The reductions might be ascribed to sulfur-fumigation significantly reduced the contents of active ingredients in medicinal herbs, leading to dramatic decrease in the absorption of these ingredients and their metabolites in vivo. Furthermore, sulfur-fumigation induced the toxicities of medicinal herbs, mainly on hepatotoxicity, which might due to fumigation-induced residues of sulfur dioxide and heavy metal, and generations of sulfur-containing derivatives and toxic metabolites. Besides, administrated with sulfur-fumigated medicinal herbs with high sulfur ratio and/or higher dosage showed more significant toxicity.Sulfur-fumigation reduced the efficacy and safety of medicinal herbs, indicating sulfur-fumigation might not a feasible approach to process medicinal herbs. However, with obvious limitations, much more rigorous designed-trials are still needed to confirm the conclusion.

The hydrogen generating characteristics of typical Mg-Mg2X (Cu, Sn) eutectic alloys in the hydrolysis of seawater were investigated. Cu and Sn are cheaper than Nd, Ni, Co, and rare earth elements, and these were used as catalysts in the rapid (30 min) formation of Mg-Mg2X (Cu, Sn) eutectic alloy in an induction furnace. Hydrogen was evolved in 3.5 wt % NaCl solution (to mimic seawater). Both bulk Mg-Mg2Cu and Mg-Mg2Sn eutectic alloys reacted until the Mg ran out. This typical process involves the unique eutectic lamellar structure of multi-layered Mg2X (as the cathode) stock with Mg (as the anode). This eutectic structure creates numerous nano galvanic-cells in the alloy matrix that accelerates the hydrolysis reaction. The better hydrogen evolution performance was achieved using Mg-Mg2Cu eutectic alloy because it has the highest electrochemical potential difference (Mg vs. Mg2Cu:0.32 V > Mg vs. Mg2Sn:0.17 V). The by-product of hydrolysis was not wasted: an extraction method for recycling the valuable metals (Cu and Sn) at room temperature was developed.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) play key roles in maintaining health and treating disease. Quantification of important fecal SCFAs is necessary to facilitate the clarification of their biological roles. However, the existing quantifying methods mainly depend on complicated precolumn derivatization, and/or are unable to determine formic acid, a SCFA commonly associated with toxicity. In this study, a direct gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method for simultaneous quantification of ten SCFAs including formic acid in rat feces was developed. The approach was optimized in terms of chromatographic and spectrometric conditions as well as sample preparation. DB-FFAP capillary column with temperature programming was used to get baseline separation and symmetrical peak shape of SCFAs without precolumn derivatization in a relatively short running time (8 min). Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) scan mode was employed to enhance the sensitivity and selectivity of SCFAs. Acidification with 50% HCl and immediate extraction with diethyl ether were utilized to achieve sample preparation of ten SCFAs from feces. Furthermore, the developed method was validated with wide linear range, high sensitivity and precision, low matrix effect and acceptable accuracy. The established method was successfully applied to compare the contents of fecal SCFAs between normal and immunosuppressed animal models.

Gut microbiota is associated with tumor progress and host metabolic disorder, but whether gut microbiota regulation can affect cancer growth through interfering host metabolism maintains unknown yet. Here, we used combined antibiotics (ABX) to build an extremely altered gut microbiota ecosystem and study its influence on the xenograft MC38 tumor as well as the associations of the effects with host metabolisms. The MC38 tumor bearing mouse was treated with ABX (vancomycin, neomycin and imipenem-cilastatin) to build the extremely altered microbiota ecosystem, the gut microbiota diversity alteration was determined by 16S rRNA based gene sequencing. The effects of the altered microbiota on tumor were assessed by cell apoptosis and growth rate of the tumor. The potential metabolic biomarkers and involved metabolism pathways were screened out by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS based untargeted metabolomics and KEGG analysis respectively. The correlations between key metabolites and microbiota were analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. Compared with the un-treated mice, the tumor growth of ABX-treated mice was significantly suppressed, and the cell apoptosis was obviously promoted. The gut microbiota diversity was decreased significantly with the dominant bacteria phylum Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes replaced by Proteobacteria, which involved 14 significantly altered bacteria genera. Four potential targeted metabolism pathways, including sphingolipid, glycerophospholipid, arginine-proline and primary bile acid metabolism, were screened out, and the involved key metabolites such as ceramide, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, taurocholic acid and L-proline were correlated significantly with the altered bacteria genera. Through the integrated analysis of microbiome and metabolomics, it was revealed that gut microbiota regulation may inhibit the xenograft MC38 tumor growth potentially by interfering host lipid and amino acid metabolisms, such as sphingolipid, glycerophospholipid, primary bile acid and arginine-proline metabolisms in this case.

In present study, a comprehensive strategy integrating multiple chromatographic and chemometric methods to simultaneously characterize the volatile and non-volatile components was developed for the holistic quality evaluation of commercial Agastache rugosa (AR), a common edible and medicinal herb, collected in China. The volatile components and the non-volatile components were characterized by GC-MS and UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, respectively. And the data were analyzed either independently or integratively by multivariate statistical analysis (MVS) for the quality assessment of commercial samples. The results revealed that the commercial AR samples were different in both the composition and the content of volatile components. However, the compositions of non-volatile components in commercial AR were generally similar, whereas the contents of some components were different. All the results indicated that the holistic quality of commercial AR was inconsistent, and the commercial samples collected could be classified into two main groups, the volatile components were majorly responsible for the classification. Whether or not the holistic quality variations affect the efficacy of AR deserves further investigation.

In this study, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with photo-diode array spectrometry (UPLC-DAD) were firstly integrated to qualitatively characterize the chemical profiles and quantitatively determine the major components in Impatiens Caulis (IC), a Chinese medicinal herb derived from the dried stem of Impatiens balsamina. The qualitative analysis revealed that there was no difference in chemical profiles of twenty commercial IC samples. A total of 45 components were characterized, there in 5 naphthoquinones, 3 coumarins, 5 phenolic acids, 12 flavonoids and 3 other compounds were identified definitely. However, the quantitative results showed a significant difference in these IC samples. In particular, the highest content of total quantified compounds was even 9.49 times of the lowest one. Furthermore, the average contents of these quantified compounds in twenty commercial IC samples had high values of relative standard deviation (RSD) ranged from 15.64% to 98.76%, suggesting a poor quality consistency in these commercial IC samples. Therefore, efficacy related chemical markers as well as the cultivation region, harvest time and/or post-harvest handling of IC should be further investigated for ensuring its quality and efficacy consistency.

Owing to fascinating optical and electronic properties, graphene has attracted significant attention as an active component in energy harvesting. Steady advances have been achieved in last decade on the hybrid graphene/silicon Schottky solar cells that are based on an unconventional Schottky structured junction. In this brief review, we outlined the device physics and technical strategies devised to improve the power conversion efficiency of the hybrid graphene/silicon Schottky solar cells. The research results accumulated in the graphene/silicon prototype are expected to promote the low-cost solar cells.

Chang-Kang-Fang formula (CKF), a multi-herbs traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription for treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), has been clinically applied in the traditional form of mixed-herb decoction (MHD), or in the modern form of combined single-herb decoction (cSHD, so called dispensing granule decoction) in the near decades, but the chemical consistency between the MHD and cSHD is still unknown. Herein, a new strategy by integrating multiple-chromatographic approaches to characterize both polysaccharides and small molecules was developed to compare the chemical consistency between MHD and cSHD. Sixteen small molecules were simultaneously qualified and quantified by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, the molecular weight distribution of polysaccharides was characterized by HPGPC-ELSD, while the monosaccharide composition and total saccharides content were determined by HPLC-PDA and UV-VIS, respectively. It was found that the molecular weight range and monosaccharide composition of polysaccharides, as well as the composition of small molecules, were identical between MHD and cSHD. However, the contents of berberine, epiberberine, coptisine, palmatine, albiflorin and paeoniflorin in MHD were significantly lower than those in cSHD, whereas the content of polysaccharides in MHD was higher than that in cSHD, indicating that there is a significant difference in the quality between MHD and cSHD, in particular for the relative contents of major small molecules and polysaccharides. Whether or not these quality variations affect the efficacy and safety of CKF deserves further investigation.

Exploring processing chemistry, in particular the chemical transformation mechanisms involved, is a key step to elucidate the scientific basis in traditional processing of herbal medicines. Previously, taking Rehmanniae Radix (RR) as a case study, the holistic chemome (secondary metabolome and glycome) difference between raw and processed RR was revealed by integrating hyphenated chromatographic techniques-based targeted glycomics and untargeted metabolomics. Nevertheless, the complex chemical transformation mechanisms underpinning the holistic chemome variation in RR processing remain to be extensively clarified. As a continuous study, here a novel strategy by combining chemomics-based marker compounds mining and mimetic processing is proposed for further exploring the chemical mechanisms involved in herbal processing. First, the differential marker compounds between raw and processed herbs were rapidly discovered by untargeted chemomics-based mining approach through multivariate statistical analysis of the chemome data obtained by integrated metabolomics and glycomics analysis. Second, the marker compounds were mimetically processed under the simulated physicochemical conditions as in the herb processing, and the final reaction products were chemically characterized by targeted chemomics-based mining approach. Third, the main chemical transformation mechanisms involved were clarified by linking up the original marker compounds and their mimetic processing products. Using this strategy, a set of differential marker compounds including saccharides, glycosides and furfurals in raw and processed RR was rapidly found, and the major chemical mechanisms involved in RR processing were elucidated as stepwise transformations of saccharides (polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and monosaccharides) and glycosides (iridoid glycosides and phenethylalcohol glycosides) into furfurals (glycosylated/non-glycosylated hydroxymethylfurfurals) by deglycosylation and/or dehydration. The research deliverables indicated that the proposed strategy could advance the understanding of RR processing chemistry, and therefore may be considered a promising approach for delving into the scientific basis in traditional processing of herbal medicines.

Carbohydrates and ginsenosides in ginseng are biologically interrelated. Their synchronous analysis is therefore essential in chemical research on ginseng to characterize its "holistic" quality. Here we investigated the processing chemistry of red ginseng (RG), a ginseng product processed by water-steaming, for which both carbohydrates and ginsenosides were qualitatively and quantitatively determined through multiple analytical techniques. Results revealed that the steam-processing not only qualitatively and quantitatively altered the ginsenosides but also affected the polymeric carbohydrates via changing their physiochemical parameters, i.e. water-solubility, molecular size, types and ratios of constituent monosaccharides. Potential mechanisms involved in the transformation of ginseng chemicals are proposed and discussed, including hydrolysis (deglycosylation, demalonylation, deacetylation), dehydration, polymerization, volatilization, reduction and the Maillard reaction. The study strengthens the research on the processing chemistry of RG, and therefore should be helpful for elucidating the scientific basis of RG preparation and application.

Triptolide (TP) from Tripterygium wilfordii has been demonstrated to possess anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive, and anticancer activities. TP is specially used for the treatment of awkward rheumatoid arthritis, but its clinical application is confined by intense side effects. It is reported that licorice can obviously reduce the toxicity of TP, but the detailed mechanisms involved have not been comprehensively investigated. The current study aimed to explore metabolomics characteristics of the toxic reaction induced by TP and the intervention effect of licorice water extraction (LWE) against such toxicity. Obtained urine samples from control, TP and TP + LWE treated rats were analyzed by UPLC/ESI-QTOF-MS. The metabolic profiles of the control and the TP group were well differentiated by the principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis. The toxicity of TP was demonstrated to be evolving along with the exposure time of TP. Eight potential biomarkers related to TP toxicity were successfully identified in urine samples. Furthermore, LWE treatment could attenuate the change in six of the eight identified biomarkers. Functional pathway analysis revealed that the alterations in these metabolites were associated with tryptophan, pantothenic acid, and porphyrin metabolism. Therefore, it was concluded that LWE demonstrated interventional effects on TP toxicity through regulation of tryptophan, pantothenic acid, and porphyrin metabolism pathways, which provided novel insights into the possible mechanisms of TP toxicity as well as the potential therapeutic effects of LWE against such toxicity.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf (Poria) is a well-known traditional medicinal fungus. It has been considered to possess spleen-invigorating (Jianpi) effects in traditional Chinese medicine, and is used clinically to treat spleen deficiency (Pixu) with symptoms of intestinal disorders such as diarrhea, indigestion, mucositis and weight loss. The aim of this study To investigate the protective effects of Poria and its three component fractions (Water-soluble polysaccharides, WP; alkali-soluble polysaccharides, AP; triterpene acids, TA) on cisplatin-induced intestinal injury and explore the underlying mechanisms. Materials and methods C57BL/6 mice were treated with Poria powder (PP), WP, AP and TA by oral gavage respectively for 13 days, and intraperitoneally injected with 10 mg/kg of cisplatin on day 10 to conduct a cisplatin-induced intestinal injury model. Pathological changes of ileum and colon were examined using H&E staining. The composition of gut microbiota and the alteration of host metabolites were characterized by 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing and UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS based untargeted metabolomics analysis. Results PP and WP attenuated the cisplatin-induced ileum and colon injury, and WP alleviated the weight loss and reversed the elevation of IL-2, IL-6 in serum. Both PP and WP could mitigate cisplatin-induced dysbiosis of gut microbiota, in particular PP and WP decreased the abundance of pathogenic bacteria including Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Ruminococcaceae and Helicobacteraceae, while WP promoted the abundance of probiotics, such as Erysipelotrichaceae and Prevotellaceae. Moreover, WP attenuated the cisplatin-induced alteration of metabolic profiles. The levels of potential biomarkers, including xanthine, L-tyrosine, uridine, hypoxanthine, butyrylcarnitine, lysoPC (18:0), linoleic acid, (R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid, D-ribose, thiamine monophosphate, indolelactic acid and plamitic acid, showed significant correlations with intestinal flora. Conclusions PP and WP possess protective effects against cisplatin-induced intestinal injury via potentially regulating the gut microbiota and metabolic profiles.

It is well-recognized that multiple components, the majority of which are secondary metabolites and carbohydrates, collectively contribute to the therapeutic effects of herbal medicines. The chemical characterization of herbal medicines has focused extensively on secondary metabolites but has largely overlooked carbohydrates. Here, we proposed an integrated chromatographic technique based targeted glycomics and untargeted metabolomics strategy simultaneously determining carbohydrates and secondary metabolites for the overall chemical profiling of herbal medicines; this strategy was successfully exemplified in an investigation of processing chemistry of Rehmanniae Radix (RR), a Chinese medicinal herb. It was demonstrated that the integrated strategy holistically illuminated the variations in the glycome and metabolome of RR samples processed by the traditionally-adopted nine cycles of steaming and drying, and further elucidated the processing-induced chemical transformation mechanisms of carbohydrates and secondary metabolites, and thereby revealed the inherent chemical connections between carbohydrates and secondary metabolites. The result suggested that the proposed strategy meets the technical demands for the overall chemical characterization of herbal medicines, and therefore could serve as a powerful tool for deciphering the scientific basis of herbal medicines.

The residual content of sulfur dioxide is frequently regarded as the exclusive indicator in the safety evaluation of sulfur-fumigated edible herbs. To examine the feasibility of such assessment criteria, here the variations in residual sulfur dioxide content during sulfur-fumigation and the potential mechanisms involved were investigated, using Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR) as a model herb. The residual sulfur dioxide content and ten major bioactive components in sulfur-fumigated ASR samples were dynamically examined at 13 successive time points within 72 h sulfur-fumigation. The relationship between the content variation tendency of sulfur dioxide and the ten chemicals was discussed. The results suggested that sulfur dioxide-involved chemical transformation of the original components in ASR might cause large consumption of residual sulfur dioxide during sulfur-fumigation. It implies that without considering the induced chemical transformation of bioactive components, the residual sulfur dioxide content alone might be inadequate to comprehensively evaluate the safety of sulfur-fumigated herbs.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Cyclophosphamide (CTX) is a first line chemotherapeutic agent, but often limited for its unstable therapeutic effect and serious side effects. Ginsenosides could facilitate the anti-tumor efficiency of CTX, including benefiting therapeutic effect and decreasing side effects. Aim of the study To investigate the potential mechanism of ginsenosides on benefiting the anti-tumor efficiency of CTX. Materials and methods Mammary carcinoma mice were applied to investigate the anti-tumor efficiency and potential mechanism of combinational treatment of ginsenosides and CTX. Therapeutic effect was evaluated based on survival rate, tumor burden, tumor growth inhibition rate, and apoptosis and histological changes of tumor tissues. Anti-tumor immunity was studied by measuring serum level of anti-tumor cytokines. Gut mucositis, one of lethal side effects of CTX, was evaluated by diarrhea degree, gut permeability and tight junction proteins expressions. Gut microbial diversity was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and fecal transplant and antibiotics sterilized animals were performed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of gut microbiota on tumor suppression. Results Ginsenosides facilitated the therapeutic effect of CTX in mice, which manifested as prolonged survival rate, decreased tumor burden, as well as enhanced tumor growth inhibition rate and apoptosis. The favoring effect was related to elevation of anti-tumor immunity which manifested as the increased anti-tumor cytokines (INF-γ, IL-17, IL-2 and IL-6). Further studies indicated the elevation was ascribed to ginsenosides promoted reproduction of gut probiotics including Akkermansia, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. Moreover, co-administration of ginsenosides in mice alleviated CTX-induced gut mucositis, including lower gut permeability, less diarrhea, less epithelium damage and higher tight junction proteins. Further researches suggested the alleviation was related to ginsenosides activated Nrf2 and inhibited NFκB pathways. Conclusion Ginsenosides show dual roles to facilitate the anti-tumor efficiency of CTX, namely promote the anti-tumor immunity through maintaining gut microflora and ameliorate gut mucositis by modulating Nrf2 and NFκB pathways.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Application of cyclosporine A (CsA) as a rescue treatment in acute severe ulcerative colitis (UC) is limited by its narrow therapeutic window and great interpatient variability. As a substrate of cytochrome P450 3A enzyme (CYP3A) and P-glycoprotein (P-gp), the oral pharmacokinetics of CsA is susceptible to disease status and concomitant medications. Combined treatment with ginseng, a famous medicinal herb frequently prescribed for ameliorating abnormal immune response in many diseases including UC, showed immunologic safety in CsA-based immunosuppression. Aim of the study Since the therapeutic levels of CsA can be achieved within 24 h, this study first assessed the impact of acute colitis and ginseng intervention on the single oral dose pharmacokinetics of CsA and explored the underlying mechanisms in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis rats and Caco-2 cells. Materials and methods Rats received drinking water (normal group), 5% DSS (UC group), or 5% DSS plus daily oral ginseng extract (GS+UC group). On day 7, GS+UC group only received an oral dose of CsA (5 mg/kg), while animals of normal or UC group received an oral, intravenous (1.25 mg/kg), or intraperitoneal dose of CsA (1.25 mg/kg), respectively. Blood, liver/intestine tissues and fecal samples were collected for determining CsA and main hydroxylated metabolite HO-CsA or measuring hepatic/intestinal CYP3A activity. Caco-2 cells were incubated with gut microbial culture supernatant (CS) of different groups or ginseng (decoction or polysaccharides), and then CYP3A, P-gp and tight junction (TJ) proteins were determined. Results Oral CsA exhibited enhanced absorption, systemic exposure and tissue accumulation, and lower fecal excretion, while intravenous or intraperitoneal CsA showed lower systemic exposure and enhanced distribution, in colitis rats. Diminished intestinal and hepatic P-gp expression well explained the changes with DSS-induced colitis. Moreover, blood exposures of HO-CsA in both normal and colitis after oral dosing were significantly higher than intravenous/intraperitoneal dosing, supporting the dominant role of intestinal first-pass metabolism. Interestingly, colitis reduced CYP3A expression in intestine and liver but only potentiated intestinal CYP3A activity, causing higher oral systemic exposure of HO-CsA. Oral ginseng mitigated colitis-induced down-regulation of CYP3A and P-gp expression, facilitated HO-CsA production, biliary excretion and colonic sequestration of CsA, while not affected CsA oral systemic exposure. In Caco-2 cells, gut microbial CS from both colitis and GS+UC group diminished P-gp function, while ginseng polysaccharides directly affected ZO-1 distribution and suppressed TJ proteins expression, explaining unaltered oral CsA systemic exposure. Conclusions DSS-induced colitis significantly altered oral CsA disposition through regulating intestinal and hepatic P-gp and CYP3A. One-week ginseng treatment enhanced colonic accumulation while not altered the systemic exposure of CsA after single oral dosing, indicating pharmacokinetic compatibility between the two medications.

Sulfur fumigation and heating desulfurization are used together in the post-harvest processing of many medicinal herbs. However, little is known about the effects of sulfur fumigation on saccharide components, nor about the effects of heating desulfurization on all herbal constituents. In this study, metabolomics and glycomics were integrated to investigate the effects of these two processes on the chemistry of Codonopsis Radix (CR) as a pilot study. The results showed that both sulfur fumigation and heating desulfurization significantly changed the non-saccharide small-molecule metabolome and the glycome of CR in different ways. Chemical mechanisms, such as esterification, glycosidic hydrolysis, esterolysis, amide bond hydrolysis, oxidation and dehydration, are proposed to be involved. These facts strongly inspire that, in addition to investigations of how sulfur fumigation impacts non-saccharide small-molecule metabolites, researches on heating desulfurization and saccharides should be conducted so as to enable accurate, comprehensive evaluation of the quality of sulfur-fumigated herbs.

Background Ginseng has therapeutic potential for treating obesity and the associated gut microbiota dysbiosis. However, whether white ginseng and red ginseng, the two kinds of commonly used processed ginseng, possess different anti-obesity effects remains unknown. Purpose Anti-obesity effects of water extracts of white ginseng and red ginseng (WEWG and WERG) were compared, and the potential mechanisms were discussed. Methods Chemical profiles of WEWG and WERG were characterized by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD). Anti-obesity effects of WEWG/WERG were examined by determining fat accumulation, systemic inflammation, enteric metabolic disorders and gut microbiota dysbiosis in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed obese mice. Results Both WEWG and WERG exerted anti-obesity effects, with WEWG stronger than WERG. Compared to WERG, WEWG contained less contents of carbohydrates (polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, free monosaccharides) and ginsenosides, but chemical structures or compositions of these components in WEWG were characteristic, i.e. narrower molecular weight distribution and higher molar ratios of glucose residues of polysaccharides; higher content ratios of oligosaccharides DP2–3 (di-/tri-saccharides)-to-oligosaccharides DP4–7 (tetra-/penta-/hexa-/hepta-saccharides), sucrose-to-melibiose, maltose-to-trehalose and high-polar-to-low-polar ginsenosides. WEWG better ameliorated fat accumulation, enteric metabolic disorders and gut microbiota dysbiosis in HFD-fed obese mice than WERG. Conclusion The stronger anti-obesity effect of white ginseng appears to correlate with differences in its chemical profile as compared to red ginseng. The carbohydrates and ginsenosides in WEWG potentially present more structural and compositional specificity to the obesity-associated gut bacteria, allowing more beneficial effects of WEWG on the gut microbiota dysbiosis. This consequently better alleviates the enteric metabolic disorders and systemic inflammation, thereby contributing to the stronger anti-obesity effect of WEWG as compared to WERG.

Field-effect transistors based on conjugated polymers have reached mobilities comparable to those of polysilicon rivals and recently demonstrated self-healing capability, indicating their great potential for use in future plastic electronics. For practical applications, the operating speed of polymer transistors must be increased, which requires not only high mobility but also short channel length. Decreasing channel length is an important engineering issue for high-frequency operation and high-density integration. However, shortening channel length has proved challenging because of the poor compatibility of conjugated polymer transistors with conventional lithography; i.e., fragile polymer semiconductor films may be damaged during lithographic processes. The underlying device physics, particularly of those with short channels, remain poorly understood. Here, we fabricated polymer transistors with channel lengths below 1000 nm. A dry self-patterning process lowered the gate leakage current to less than 10–12 A, enabling quantitative analysis of devices with very short channels. We found that a high Schottky barrier with a sizable space-charge region (>1 μm) was responsible for the high off-state current because the space-charge zones at the source and drain joined when the channel was short, lowering the energy barrier to carrier diffusion in the off state. Such diffusion was suppressed simply by controlling the molecular alignment so that the deep traps distributed at the domain boundaries limited the carrier diffusion and thus suppressed the off-state current.

Cicadae Periostracum, which is derived from the slough of Cicadidae insects, is a commonly used crude drug in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). As specified in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Cryptotympana atrata (CA) is the only official species of this crude drug. However, the slough of other three species, i.e., Auritibicen flammatus (AF), Cryptotympana mandrina (CM) and Platypleura kaempferi (PK), have been also used as the origins of Cicadae Periostracum in Chinese herbal market, although whether the quality of these four origins is consistent or not is still unknown. In present study, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) was employed to qualitatively and quantitatively compare the chemical profiles of the four origins. Totally, 34 N-acetyldopamine polymers were identified from the four origins, including 4 N-acetyldopamine dimers, 11 N-acetyldopamine trimers, 10 N-acetyldopamine tetramers, and 9 N-acetyldopamine pentamers. AF, CM and PK had similar chemical profiles with that of CA. The contents and compositional ratio of the four types of polymers in CA, AF and CM were consistent with each other, but significantly lower or different in PK. All these results suggested that AF and CM might be considered as the potential resources of Cicadae Periostracum concerning their consistent holistic quality, whereas whether PK could be used as potential origin of Cicadae Periostracum or not need further evaluation for their different compositional ratios and contents of the four types of N-acetyldopamine polymers. This is the first study on chemical profiling and comparison of N-acetyldopamine polymers in four origins of Cicadae Periostracum, which is beneficial for potential resources utilization and quality standard improvement of Cicadae Periostracum.

An UHPLC–QTOF-MS/MS based metabolomics and chemical profiling approach was developed to identify the characteristic chemical markers for inspecting sulfur-fumigated Radix Angelicae Sinensis (S-RAS). Two sulfur-containing compounds in S-RAS were discovered and deduced to be (3 Z )-6-sulfite-ligustilide and (3 E )-6-sulfite-ligustilide. Furthermore, utilizing extraction ion method with the typical ion ( m/z 271.06) of (3 Z )-6-sulfite-ligustilide/(3 E )-6-sulfite-ligustilide as the diagnostic ion, another six sulfur-containing components were determined in S-RAS, and identified as 6, 8-disulfite-ligustilide and 8-sulfite-ligustilide or their isomers. The generation mechanisms of these compounds were proposed as the addition reaction of sulfurous acid with ( Z )-ligustilide and/or ( E )-ligustilide, two major naturally occurring components in RAS, at the double bonds of C6 C7 and C3 C8 positions. Using (3 Z )-6-sulfite-ligustilide and (3 E )-6-sulfite-ligustilide as the chemical markers, fourteen of sixteen batches of commercial RAS samples were inspected to be S-RAS, suggesting that the newly generated sulfur-containing compounds could be used as characteristic chemical markers for inspecting S-RAS among commercial RAS samples.

An improved high performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (HPLC–ESI-MS) method was developed to quantitatively evaluate the holistic quality of traditional complex herbal medicines (CHMs). Qiong-Yu-Gao (QYG), a classical CHM consisting of Rehmanniae Radix, Poriae and Ginseng Radix, was used as an example. Thirty-eight major components (including six pairs of epimers/isomers) belonging to five chemical types, i.e., iridoid glycosides, phenethylacohol glycosides, furfural derivatives, ginsenosides and triterpenoid acids, were selected as marker compounds. Programmed ionization mode switching and time segment scanning were designed to improve the sensitivity of the MS detection concerning the diverse chemical features of the analytes. The reference compounds of the analytes were individually injected directly into MS to optimize the ionization cone voltage and to select monitoring ion of each analyte. Nine channels with eight time segments were determined for monitoring the thirty-eight analytes, among which six were detected in positive and thirty-two in negative ion modes respectively. Higher signal-to-noise ratios of the analytes were achieved when compared with full time scanning. In addition, the linearity, precision, accuracy and stability of the method were also validated. The established method was applied for the quantitative evaluation of QYG samples prepared with three different methods. Obvious difference in the contents of thirty-eight components, in particular the original ginsenosides, degraded ginsenosides and furfural derivatives, was found among these QYG samples. All these results demonstrated that the established HPLC–ESI-MS with programmed ionization mode switching and time segment scanning approach is very suitable for the standardization investigation of CHMs.

A tridentate betaine derivative, tri-(4-carboxypridinium-ethyl)-amine N[CH2CH2(C5H4N+)COO−]3 (L) has been synthesized. Crystallization of this compound in HClO4/H2O and DMF/H2O yields single crystals of (L·3H+)·3ClO4−·2H2O (1) and L·2H2O (2) suitable for single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, respectively. The results indicate that 1 crystallizes in space group P 1 ¯ with a = 7.681(3) A, b = 13.523(4) A, c = 17.147(5) A, α = 68.86(1) °, β = 86.83(2) °, γ = 80.49(1) °, and Z = 2. 2 crystallizes in space group Pbca with a = 15.397(2) A, b = 10.616(4) A, c = 27.728(6) A, α = 90°, β = 90°, γ = 90°, and Z = 8. Analysis of the crystals and molecular structures of 1 and 2 indicates that the flexible titled compound is a versatile candidate in constructing various hydrogen bonded molecular frameworks due to the existence of the α-H atoms of pyridinium rings and naked carboxylate groups.

Polyphyllin I (PPI), one of the steroidal saponins in Paris polyphylla , is a promising natural anticancer candidate. Although the anticancer activity of PPI has been well demonstrated, information regarding the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability is limited. In this study, a series of reliable and rapid liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry methods were developed and successfully applied to determinate PPI in rat plasma, cell incubation media and cell homogenate. Then the pharmacokinetics of PPI in rats was studied and the result revealed that PPI was slowly eliminated with low oral bioavailability (about 0.62%) at a dose of 50 mg/kg, and when co-administrated with verapamil (VPL) and cyclosporine A (CYA), the oral bioavailability of PPI could increase from 0.62% to 3.52% and 3.79% respectively. In addition, in vitro studies showed that with the presence of VPL and CYA in Caco-2 cells, the efflux ratio of PPI decreased from 12.5 to 2.96 and 2.22, and the intracellular concentrations increased 5.8- and 5.0-fold respectively. These results demonstrated that PPI, with poor oral bioavailability, is greatly impeded by P -gp efflux, and inhibition of P -gp can enhance its bioavailability.

In this study, a improved high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) method for simultaneous quantification of twelve major components belonging to three chemical types was developed and validated, and was applied to quantitatively compare the quality of Radix Paeoniae Alba (RPA) sulfur-fumigated with different durations and purchased from commercial herbal markets. The contents of paeoniflorin, benzoylpaeoniflorin, oxypaeoniflorin, benzoic acid and paeonol decreased whereas that of paeoniflorin sulfonate increased in RPA with the extending of sulfur-fumigation duration. Different levels of paeoniflorin sulfonate were determined in ten of seventeen commercial RPA samples, indicating that these ten samples may be sulfur-fumigated with different durations. Moreover, the relative standard deviation of the contents of each component was higher in the commercial sulfur-fumigated RPA samples than that in commercial non-fumigated RPA samples, and the percentage of the total average content of monoterpene glycosides in the determined analytes was higher in the decoctions of commercial sulfur-fumigated RPA than that in commercial non-fumigated RPA samples. All these results suggested that the established method was precise, accurate and sensitive enough for the global quality evaluation of sulfur-fumigated RPA, and sulfur-fumigation can not only change the proportions of bioactive components, but also cause the reduction of the quality consistency of both raw materials and aqueous decoctions of RPA.

In present study, an ultra high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) based metabolomics approach was established to investigate the metabolic profiles and characteristic chemical markers for distinguishing between leaves of Panax ginseng (LPG) and Panax quinquefolius (LPQ). The UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS data were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squared discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA) to rapidly find the potential characteristic components of LPG and LPQ, and the identities of detected peaks including the potential characteristic components were elucidated. Totally, 86 components were identified from these 2 kinds of leaf samples, in which 9 ginsenosides could be regarded as the characteristic chemical markers for the discrimination of LPG from LPQ. These results suggested that UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS based metabolomics approach is a powerful tool to rapidly find characteristic markers for the quality control of LPG.

A high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector (HPLC-PDA) fingerprinting and ultra high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-PDA-QTOF-MS/MS) based chemical profiling approach was developed to rapidly find characteristic chemical markers for quality control of dispensing granules, taking Chuanxiong Rhizoma (CR) as a model herb. Firstly, CR crude drugs, their traditional decoctions and CR dispensing granules were analyzed by HPLC-PDA to rapidly establish the fingerprints and thereby generate the simulative median chromatograms of CR crude drugs, decoctions and dispensing granules, and by comparing the simulative median chromatograms, major characteristic peaks of CR decoctions and dispensing granules could be determined. Secondary, UHPLC-PDA-QTOF-MS/MS was used to identify the major characteristic peaks of CR decoctions and dispensing granules. The identities of three major peaks were elucidated and confirmed to be ferulic acid (1), senkyunolide I (2) and senkyunolide H (3) by comparing the mass/UV spectra and retention times with that of the reference compounds. Thirdly, an HPLC-PDA method was validated to quantify the three characteristic components in commercial CR dispensing granules. The average contents of ferulic acid and senkyunolide H were found to be less than 1.0mg/g, whereas that of senkyunolide I was 4.40mg/g in CR dispensing granules, which indicated that senkyunolide I might be chosen as a suitable quantitative marker, while ferulic acid and senkyunolide H as qualitative markers for the quality evaluation of CR dispensing granules. It is suggested that this newly established approach could be used to practically and rapidly find suitable marker compounds for quality control of dispensing granules derived from other medicinal herbs.

The magnesium hydrolyzing reaction was catalyzed in situ using a layered Mg 2 Ni compound, rapidly producing hydrogen in NaCl solution. The post-H 2 generation residue (mixture of Mg(OH) 2 and Mg 2 Ni catalyst) was recycled to recover pure Ni powder from the waste mixture. Pure Mg (153 g) and pure Ni (47 g) in a eutectic composition were easily melted to form a molten alloy by a super-high-frequency (35,000 Hz) induction furnace. The lamellar material had an Mg/Mg 2 Ni/Mg/Mg 2 Ni… layered structure, in which each layer was ∼0.8 μm thick; Mg was an anodic phase and Mg 2 Ni was a cathodic phase (the catalyst). Bulk Mg/Mg 2 Ni composite alloy contains many microgalvanic cells. Owing to the lamellar microstructure, no dense hydrated oxide film that might have caused surface passivation was found, allowing continuous H 2 generation until no magnesium remained to participate in the hydrolysis. The activation energy of the hydrolysis reaction in simulated sea water was ∼36.35 kJ mol −1 .

We control the growth of high-quality organic semiconducting crystals in the aim of transistor application. By finely tuning the processing parameters, both isolated crystals showing characteristic facet angles and irregular-shaped, thin crystalline domains are obtained in large sizes (>400 μm). Structural investigations indicate that the various shapes of crystals are in the same crystal structure, and reveal that the irregular-shaped crystalline domains are composed by terrace of molecularly flat regions, which can be up to hundreds of microns in size. When applied in field-effect transistors, the thin crystalline domains exhibit the best performance showing μFET up to 4.4 cm2/V s. This is an order of magnitude higher than that of the transistors made from as-spun films and thick crystals. The approach well demonstrates the importance of fine control of crystal formation and can be generally used for getting organic crystal transistors.

In this study, a sensitive and selective method for simultaneously quantifying eight major components (four iridoid glycosides, three phenethylalcohol glycosides and one furfural derivative) of Rehmanniae Radix by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-TQ-MS) was developed. The sample preparation was executed using an optimised ultrasonic method with complete extraction efficiencies of eight analytes. For mass spectrometry, selected ion recording (SIR) scan mode was used to improve the sensitivity and selectivity. The established method was validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, precision, accuracy and stability, and successfully applied to determine the contents of the eight analytes in different batches of raw and processed Rehmanniae Radix, which confirmed that the established method was reliable and useful for "holistic" quality evaluation of Rehmanniae Radix. The quantitative results indicated that the quality of commercial raw or processed Rehmanniae Radix was remarkably inconsistent.

Papers published in the last two years concerning quantitative analysis of medicinal herbs were searched from Scopus database and viewed to critically discuss reliability of spike recovery for evaluating the accuracy of analytical methods for medicinal herbs without testing extraction efficiencies of analytes. This issue was raised regarding different strategies of analytical method development, i.e., with or without testing extraction efficiencies, employed in these papers, and experimentally verified on an example of determining three major bioactive components aloe-emodin, rhein and emodin of rhubarb by high performance liquid chromatography. The simple experiment was particularly designed to compare the difference between the recoveries of spiked analytes and the extraction efficiencies of native analytes in the sample with the same extraction durations. The results showed that the overall extraction efficiencies of three native analytes with extraction duration of 3, 5, 10 and 20 min was unacceptable from about 73% to 94%, whereas the spike recovery values with the same extraction durations found to be acceptable from nearly 97% to 103%, indicating that spike recovery may not always reflect the true value of the analytical accuracy, and that the spike recovery may be unreliable for accuracy evaluation of analytical methods for medicinal herbs when the extraction efficiencies of analytes were not properly tested. Extraction efficiencies of analytes should always be tested in method development, so that spike recovery can really represent the accuracy of analytical methods for medicinal herbs.

In traditional Chinese medicine practice, white ginseng (WG) and red ginseng (RG) have traditionally been used for different purposes. In the present study, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS)-based metabolomics approach was developed to evaluate the holistic qualities and to explore characteristic chemical components of commercial WG and RG. Through unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA) and supervised orthogonal partial least squared discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA) of the data from UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, holistic quality inconsistencies of commercial WG and RG were identified, and the possible reasons involved were deduced by further elucidating the characteristic components of the groups. Heat treating and sulfur-fumigation were likely the main reasons for the quality differences in WG, and non-standardized processing procedures might have caused the inconsistent quality of RG. Together with ginsenoside Rg(3), a nitrogen-containing component and ginsenoside 20(R)-Rh(1) were detected as characteristic components of RG, whereas malonyl ginsenoside Rb(1)/isomer and malonyl ginsenoside Rg(1)/isomer were found to be characteristic components of WG. It was suggested that post-harvest handling procedures for WG and processing procedures for RG should be standardized using the identified characteristic components as chemical markers to ensure the consistent quality and consequently the efficacy of WG and RG.

Reactive mechanical alloying (RMA) was carried out in a planetary ball mill for the synthesis of ternary hydride Mg2FeH6 for hydrogen storage. The formation mechanism of Mg2FeH6 in RMA process and the sorption properties of the products were investigated. The results show that Mg2FeH6 has a yield ratio around 80%, and a grain size below 10 nm in the powder synthesized by milling 3Mg+Fe mixture for 150 h under the hydrogen pressure of 1 MPa. The synthesized powder possesses a high hydrogen capacity and good sorption kinetics, and absorbs 4.42% (mass fraction) of hydrogen within 200 s at 623 K under the hydrogen pressure of 4.0 MPa. In releasing hydrogen at 653 K under 0.1 MPa, it desorbs 4.43% (mass fraction) of hydrogen within 2 000 s. The addition of Ti increases the hydrogen desorption rate of the complex in the initial 120 s of the desorption process.

In a well-controlled experiment, outliers discriminated by robust principal component analysis (RPCA) represent contents in samples which are of particular quality distinguishable from the rest of the others, therefore chemical constituents in a natural product causing discrimination between outliers and the majority of samples could be considered as analytical markers for quality control. Based on this strategy, a novel approach for rapidly exploring characteristic analytical markers was proposed for the quality control of extract granules of Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (EGRSM). In this study, large sizes of samples were analyzed via high-throughput ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-UV-Q-Tof MS). RPCA was first performed on the three groups of samples: RSM (the raw material), the in-house prepared aqueous extract of Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (AERSM) and commercial product of EGRSM, to determine the variation of specific constituents between raw material and the final products as well as the effect of manufacturing process on the overall quality. Then RPCA was performed on the commercial products of EGRSM to explore the applicability of identified characteristic markers for the quality control of EGRSM. Candidate markers were extracted by RPCA, and their molecular formulae were determined by high resolution electrospray ionization-mass spectrometric (ESI-MS) analysis. The suitability of identified markers was then evaluated by determining the relationship between quantities of the identified markers with their antioxidant activities biologically, and further confirmed in a variety of samples. In conclusion, the combination of RPCA with UHPLC-UV-Q-Tof MS is a reliable means to identify chemical markers for evaluating quality of herbal medicines.

In traditional Chinese medicine, raw and processed herbs are used to treat different diseases. Suitable chemical markers are crucial for the discrimination between raw and processed herbs. In this study, a novel strategy using UHPLC–TOFMS coupled with multivariate statistical analysis to rapidly explore potential chemical markers was proposed and validated. Using Radix Rehmanniae as a model herb, batches of raw and processed samples were determined by UHPLC–TOFMS. The datasets of t R – m / z pair, ion intensity and sample code were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squared discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) to holistically compare the difference between raw and processed samples. Once a clear cluster was found, extended statistics was performed to generate S-plot, in which the variables ( t R – m / z pair) contributing most to the difference were clearly indicated as points at the two ends of “S”, and the components that correlate to these ions should be the processing-induced transformed components. These transformed components could be regarded as the potential chemical markers that can be used to distinguish between raw and processed herbs. The identity of the potential markers can be identified by comparing the mass/UV spectra and retention time with that of reference compounds and/or tentatively assigned by matching empirical molecular formula with that of the known compounds published. Using this proposed strategy, leonuride or its isomer and 5-(α- d -glucopyranosyl-(1-6)-α- d -glucopyranosyloxymethyl)-2-furancarboxaldehyde were rapidly explored as the most characteristic markers of raw and processed Radix Rehmanniae, respectively. This newly proposed strategy can not only be used to explore chemical markers but also to investigate the chemical transforming mechanisms underlying traditional herb processing.

An approach for rapid optimization of dual-mode gradient high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) by response surface methodology (RSM) was developed for fast simultaneous separation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic components in Radix et Rhizoma Salviae Miltiorrhizae (Danshen) and its preparations. The aim of this study was to achieve a high throughput RSM optimization using a short ultra-high performance liquid chromatographic (UHPLC) column to simultaneously optimize flow rate and solvent gradient, and then transfer the optimized method to conventional HPLC for routine analytical purposes. The optimization was designed with Box Behnken design (BBD) and the global Derringer's desirability was used for describing the multicriteria response variables. Sixty-two designed experiments were performed by UHPLC with a short sub-2 microm column (2.1 mm x 50 mm, 1.7 microm) and a total running time of only 5h. The predicted gradient profile was further transferred to a long UHPLC column (2.1 mm x 100 mm, 1.7 microm) and a conventional HPLC columns (2.1 mm x 100 mm, 3.5 microm and 4 mm x 100 mm, 5 microm, respectively). Compared to the published methods, the newly developed dual-mode gradient is faster and more efficient at simultaneously separating hydrophilic and hydrophobic components in Danshen and its preparations.

In this study, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography/photo-diode-array/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-PDA-QTOFMS) based chemical profiling method was established for rapid global quality evaluation of Radix Paeoniae. By virtue of the high resolution, high speed of UPLC and the accurate mass measurement of TOFMS, a total of 40 components including 29 monoterpene glycosides, 8 galloyl glucoses and 3 phenolic compounds were simultaneously separated within 12min, and identified through the matching of empirical molecular formulae with those of published components in the in-house library, and were further elucidated by adjusted lower energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) mass spectra. Among forty components, five monoterpene glycoside sulfonates were identified as novel components. The established method was successfully applied to rapidly and globally compare the quality of Radix Paeoniae Alba and Radix Paeoniae Rubra, two post-harvesting handled products of Radix Paeoniae. Together with paeoniflorin sulfonate, five newly assigned monoterpene glycoside sulfonates were characteristic markers to detect non-official sulfur dioxide gas fumigated Radix Paeoniae Alba samples. It could be concluded that UPLC-PDA-QTOFMS based chemical profiling is a powerful approach for the global quality evaluation of Radix Paeoniae as well as other herbal medicines.

Novel star-shaped copolymers, comprised of a thermo-sensitive poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) segment and three hydrophobic poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) arms were fabricated. The copolymers were prepared by stannous octoate (Sn(Oct) 2 ) catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of ɛ-caprolactone (CL) using cholic acid functionalized PNIPAAm as the macroinitiator. The lower critical solution temperatures (LCST) of the copolymer solutions are attractively close to the nominal physiologic temperature at around 37 °C. The in vitro cytotoxicity test indicated no apparent cytotoxicity. The amphiphilic star-shaped copolymers were capable of self-assembling into spherical micelles in water at room temperature, and they possessed low critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) of 3 ∼ 8 mg/L in aqueous solution determined by fluorescence spectroscopy using pyrene as a probe. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurement showed that the micelles exhibited a spherical shape with a size range of 30 ∼ 75 nm in diameter. In addition, the anticancer drug, methotrexate (MTX) can be loaded effectively in the polymeric micelles and its release was temperature-stimulated, which suggests that these materials have good potential as “intelligent” drug carriers.

Biodegradable amphiphilic graft copolymers with different compositions were synthesized by grafting poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) sequences onto a water-soluble poly-alpha,beta-[N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-L-aspartamide] (PHEA) backbone. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the graft polymers was determined by fluorescence probe technique. Using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay, the graft polymers were proved to have low cytotoxicity. Based on the specific physicochemical property of the graft copolymers, submicron sized microsphere drug delivery systems were prepared by a very convenient "ultrasonic dispersion method", which did not involve toxic organic solvents. The drug-loaded microspheres had a regular spherical shape with a narrow size distribution. A hydrophobic drug, prednisone acetate, was encapsulated into polymeric microspheres and the in vitro drug release was studied.

A method, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array and evaporative light scattering detectors (HPLC-DAD-ELSD), was developed to evaluate the quality of Radix Astragali through a simultaneous determination of six major active isoflavonoids and four main saponins. The wavelength at 280 nm was chosen to determine six isoflavonoids: calycosin-7- O -β- d -glucoside ( 1 ), ononin ( 2 ), (6α R , 11α R )-9,10-dimethoxypterocarpan-3- O -β- d -glucoside ( 3 ), (3 R )-2′-hydroxy-3′,4′-dimethoxyisoflavan-7- O -β- d -glucoside ( 4 ), calycosin ( 5 ), and formononetin ( 6 ); and ELSD connected after DAD was employed to determine four saponins: astragaloside IV ( 7 ), astragaloside II ( 8 ), astragaloside I ( 9 ), and acetylastragaloside I ( 10 ). This assay was fully validated with respect to precision, repeatability and accuracy. The proposed method was successfully applied to quantify the ten components in eleven samples from different localities in China; significant variations were demonstrated in the content of these compounds in the samples from different areas. This simple, rapid, low-cost and reliable HPLC-DAD-ELSD method is suitable for routine quantitative analysis and quality control of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) consisting of bioactive multi-components with different structures such as Radix Astragali.

A highly sensitive and specific method, based on capillary high performances liquid chromatography coupled with single quadrupole mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization (capillary HPLC–ESI/MS), is proposed for the identification and quantification of iridoid glycosides in the flower buds of five Lonicera species. A Zorbax SB-C18 (0.3 mm × 150 mm, 5 μm) capillary column and a gradient elution with methanol–acetonitrile–aqueous acetate acid were utilized. The most intensive electrospray ionisation signals were found in the negative ion spectra owing to CH 3 COO − adducts. Eight iridoid glycosides derived from the flower buds of Lonicera species were analyzed by mass spectrometry: sweroside (IG1), 7- O -ethyl sweroside (IG2), 7-epi vogeloside (IG3), secoxyloganin (IG4), secoxyloganin 7-butyl ester (IG5), dimethyl-secologanoside (IG6), centauroside (IG7), and loganin (IG8) using combined information on retention time, the molecular ion mass and fragment ion masses. Detection limits were lower than 1.9 ng/mL in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode and all calibration curves showed good linear regression ( r 2 > 0.9938) within test ranges. The validated method was successfully applied to analyze eight iridoid glycosides in the flower buds of five Lonicera species and provided a new basis of assessment on quality of Flos Lonicerae.