Abstract
Guizhi decoction (GZD), a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription consisting of Ramulus Cinnamomi, Radix Paeoniae Alba, Radix Glycyrrhizae, Fructus Jujubae and Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, is usually used for the treatment of common colds, influenza, and other pyretic conditions in the clinic. However, the absorbed ingredients and metabolic compounds of GZD have not been reported. In this paper, a method incorporating rapid resolution liquid chromatography (RRLC) with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF-MS) was used to identify ingredients after oral administration of GZD. Identification of the primary components in GZD, drug-containing serum and urine samples was carried out in order to investigate the assimilation and metabolites of the decoction in vivo. By comparing the total ion chromatograms (TICs) of GZD, a total of 71 constituents were detected or characterized. By comparing TICs of blank and dosed rat plasma, a total of 15 constituents were detected and identified as prototypes according to their retention time (tR) and MS, MS/MS data. Based on this, neutral loss scans of 80 and 176 Da in samples of rat plasma and urine helped us to identify most of the metabolites. Results showed that the predominant metabolic pathways of (epi) catechin and gallic acid were sulfation, methylation, glucuronidation and dehydroxylation; the major metabolic pathways of flavone were hydrolysis, sulfation and glucuronidation. Furthermore, degradation, oxidation and ring fission were found to often occur in the metabolism process of GZD in vivo.
Highlights
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescriptions, usually made up of several medicinal herbals according to certain mass ratios guided by traditional Chinese medicine theory, have been used for centuries for the treatment of disorders or diseases in ancient and modern China [1,2,3]
Guizhi decoction (GZD) is a common TCM formula composed of Ramulus Cinnamomi, Radix Paeoniae Alba, Radix Glycyrrhizae, Fructus Jujubae and Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, which was recorded in a classic clinical TCM book titled Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Febrile Diseases) [8]
A total of 71 compounds including 16 compounds originating from Radix Paeoniae Alba, one from Ramulus Cinnamomi, 33 from Radix Glycyrrhizae, four from Fructus Jujubae and 17 from Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens in GZD were detected by rapid resolution liquid chromatography (RRLC)-Q-TOF-MS in negative or positive ion mode
Summary
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescriptions, usually made up of several medicinal herbals according to certain mass ratios guided by traditional Chinese medicine theory, have been used for centuries for the treatment of disorders or diseases in ancient and modern China [1,2,3]. It is well-accepted that a great deal of complex ingredients exist in compound Chinese traditional medicine (CCTM) and are effective through their preventive, therapeutic and synergistic effects [4,5]. Research on the Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, an important drug of GZD, is scarce
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