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It has been demonstrated that triterpenes in Alismatis rhizoma (Zexie in Chinese, ZX) contributed to the lipid-lowering effect on high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia. Alisol B 23-acetate, one of the abundant triterpenes in ZX, was used as the marker of quality control for ZX in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, while it could not reflect the lipid-lowering effect because other triterpenes in ZX also had prominent medicinal efficacy. To identify the significantly bioactive triterpenes in ZX, a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-based characteristic chemical profile (CCP)-support vector machine (SVM) model was used to explore the relationship between triterpenes and lipid-lowering effect of ZX. Firstly, the content of 87 targeted triterpenes was quantified by the MRM-based CCP using UHPLC-QTRAP-MS/MS. Secondly, the lipid-lowering effect of 30 ZX samples was assessed by 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Thirdly, 9 of the 87 triterpenes possessing high mean impact value were identified to have significant lipid-lowering effect via the particle swarm-optimized SVM model. The new SVM model constructed by the 9 triterpenes showed good prediction performance and the overall prediction accuracy reached 81.94%. Finally, the real activity of these triterpenes was partly confirmed and was consistent with the prediction of SVM. These results showed that the method for discovery of triterpenes with prominent lipid-lowering activity in ZX was reliable. The proposed method is expected to provide an efficient and rapid approach for screening of active component and drug discovery in traditional herbs. Graphical abstract.

It was reported that triterpenes compounds in Alismatis rhizoma (AR) contributed to the lipid lowering effect on high fat diet (HFD)-induced hyperlipidemia. To date only 24 triterpenes (including the isomers) were characterized by LC-QTOF-MS/MS due to the lack of strategies for systematic discovery, classification and identification of triterpenes in AR. In this study, an integrated strategy combining various QTOF-MS/MS and QTRAP-MS/MS scan functions was developed for systematic identification and specific characterization of triterpenes in AR and processed AR. First, MS/MS fragmentation behaviors of different types of triterpenes were investigated and their diagnostic product ions were systematically summarized for discovery and classification of triterpenes. Second, diagnostic product ions were used to filter the data acquired by UHPLC-QTOF MS/MS for efficient identification of targeted triterpenes. Third, MRM-based characteristic chemical profile (CCP) of triterpenes was established using 30 MRM transitions by UHPLC-QTRAP-MS/MS. Fourth, MRM-based CCP was applied for comparative analyses of triterpenes in AR from different regions and from two other processed AR (salt processed AR and bran processed AR). Consequently, a total of 80 triterpenes including 14 novel compounds were identified in the AR, and 7 more triterpenes compounds were discovered using MRM-based CCP in the processed AR. This work is the most comprehensive characterization of triterpenes compounds in AR to date. The established MRM-based CCP of triterpenes compounds can be instructive for qualitative analyses and relative quantitative analyses of triterpenes in AR and its related medicinal products for potential applications including quality control and classification of different AR materials., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Kuding tea are used as a traditional tea material and widely consumed in China. In this study, total saponins (TS) from water extract of Kuding tea was prepared by D101 macroporous resins and analyzed by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. Then the hypolipidemic effect of TS extract was investigated in high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemic mice. For comprehensive identification or characterization of saponins in TS extract, 3 major saponins of Kudinoside A, Kudinoside F, and Kudinoside D were isolated and used as standards to investigate the MS/MS fragmentation pattern. As a result, 52 saponins were identified or characterized in TS extract from Kuding tea. In addition, the increased levels of mice serum TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, and atherogenic index (AI) were significantly reduced after the treatment of TS extract. Also, the liver protective effect of TS extract was obviously judged from the photographs stained with oil red-O staining. Meanwhile, TS extract significantly upregulated the expression of hepatic scavenger receptors including SR-AI, SR-BI, and CD36. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the overexpression of hepatic scavenger receptors was involved in the hypolipidemic effect of Kuding tea on the high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemic mice. The TS extract could influence these scavenger receptors, and this could be the potential mechanism of TS extract from Kuding tea in the treatment of lipid disorders. These results give the evidence that the saponins in Kuding tea could provide benefits in managing hypercholesterolemia and may be a good candidate for development as a functional food and nutraceutical., (© 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®)