Integrating Constituents Absorbed into Blood, Network Pharmacology, and Quantitative Analysis to Reveal the Active Components in Rubus chingii var. suavissimus that Regulate Lipid Metabolism Disorder.

Man-Jing Jiang,Shuai Huang,Pei-Lin Du,Wan-Fang Huang,Lan-Lan Fan,Yao-Hua Li,Yi-Xiang Lu,Yong Huang

doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.630198

Abstract

Rubus chingii var. suavissimus (S. K. Lee) L. T. Lu (RS)—a sweet plant also known as Tiancha distributed in the south of China where it is used as a beverage—recently gained extensive attention as adjuvant therapy of diabetes and hypertension. Although pharmacological studies indicate that RS has beneficial effects in regulating lipid metabolism disorder characteristics, the active chemicals responsible for this effect remains unclear. The present study aims to predict the effective substances of RS on regulating lipid metabolism disorder through the analysis of the chemical profile of RS, the absorbed prototype components in rat plasma, and network pharmacology. Also, a UPLC method able to quantify the screened potential effective chemicals of RS products was established. First, a total of 69 components—including diterpene, triterpenoids, flavonoids, polyphenols, and lignans—were systematically characterized in RS. Of those, 50 compounds were detected in the plasma of rats administered with RS extract. Through network pharmacology, 9 potential effective components, 71 target genes, and 20 pathways were predicted to be involved in RS-mediated regulation of lipid metabolism disorder. The quantitative analysis suggested that the contents of potential effective components varied among samples from different marketplaces. In conclusion, the presented results provide a chemical basis for further research of Rubus chingii var. suavissimus.

Highlights

Lipid metabolism disorder is an important pathogenic factor of diseases characterized by an abnormal lipid metabolism, such as atherosclerotic vascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (Guo et al, 2017; Zhang et al, 2018)
As MS and fragmentations were most informative in the negative ion mode, all analyses were conducted in the negative ion mode
50 absorbed prototype components were detected in rat plasma

Summary

Introduction

Lipid metabolism disorder is an important pathogenic factor of diseases characterized by an abnormal lipid metabolism, such as atherosclerotic vascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (Guo et al, 2017; Zhang et al, 2018). While statins are widely used as classical chemical medicines in the treatment of lipid metabolism disorder, they have. Recent observations indicating that some ethnomedicines and natural products have lipid-lowering effects with multitarget, multilink, and slight side effect features resulted in the development of combination therapies with western medicines for the treatment of lipid metabolism disorder (Zhang et al, 2018; Li et al, 2020). Lee (RS) (Li, 1981) known as Tiancha or sweet tea is a sweet plant distributed in the south of China where it is used as a beverage and the adjuvant therapy of diabetes, the treatment of hypertension, and urinary tract infections (Guangxi Food And Drug Administration, 2011). The systematic chemical basis of RS and the identification of the active compounds active in mediating the lipid metabolism disorder should be further evaluated

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Conclusion