Abstract
Zanthoxylum nitidum (Roxb.) DC. (ZN), with strong effects of anti-inflammation and antioxidant activities is treated as a core herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation for treating stomachache, toothache, and rheumatoid arthritis. However, the active ingredients of ZN are not fully clarified due to its chemical complexity. In the present study, a double spectrum–effect analysis strategy was developed and applied to explore the bioactive components in herbs, and ZN was used as an example. Here, the chemical components in ZN were rapidly and comprehensively profiled based on the mass defect filtering-based structure classification (MDFSC) and diagnostic fragment-ion-based extension approaches. Furthermore, the fingerprints of 20 batches of ZN samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography, and the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of the 20 batches of ZN samples were studied. Finally, the partial least squares regression (PLSR), gray relational analysis models, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (SRCC) were applied to discover the bioactive compounds in ZN. As a result, a total of 48 compounds were identified or tentatively characterized in ZN, including 35 alkaloids, seven coumarins, three phenolic acids, two flavonoids, and one lignan. The results achieved by three prediction models indicated that peaks 4, 12, and 17 were the potential anti-inflammatory compounds in ZN, whereas peaks 3, 5, 7, 12, and 13 were involved in the antioxidant activity. Among them, peaks 4, 5, 7, and 12 were identified as nitidine, chelerythrine, hesperidin, and oxynitidine by comparison with the standards and other references. The data in the current study achieved by double spectrum–effect analysis strategy had great importance to improve the quality standardization of ZN, and the method might be an efficiency tool for the discovery of active components in a complex system, such as TCMs.
Highlights
Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) achieve their therapeutic effects by initial interactions via multicomponents and multitargets
Zhang et al developed the spectrum–effect relationship analysis strategy to discover the active compounds in Lycii Fructus; the results showed that chlorogenic acid, quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin are their potential bioactive components (Zhang et al, 2018)
Establishment of the Qualitative Strategy In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the same chemical structure compounds can be classified as a category with a unique mother skeleton
Summary
Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) achieve their therapeutic effects by initial interactions via multicomponents and multitargets. To understand how it works, it is necessary for researchers to study the relationship between TCMs’ compounds and their efficacy from a holistic perspective (Jiang et al, 2010). A pharmacological study of single-compound and holistic studies of TCMs are not birds of a feather; their research ideas and methods cannot be generalized (Xie and Leung, 2009). ZN extracts showed good anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities (Xie, 2000; Liu et al, 2014). A typical single alkaloid in ZN, has been found to have antifungal and anti-inflammatory activity (Zhang et al, 2014; Zhang et al, 2017). To screen the active compounds rapidly, a comprehensive qualitative strategy and spectrum–effect relationship analysis is worth to establish
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