Comprehensive profiling and characterization of the absorbed components and metabolites in mice serum and tissues following oral administration of Qing-Fei-Pai-Du decoction by UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap HRMS

Qing-Fei-Pai-Du decoction(QFPDD)is a Chinese medicine compound formula recommended for combating corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19)by National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China.The latest clinical study showed that early treatment with QFPDD was associated with favorable outcomes for patient recovery,viral shedding,hospital stay,and course of the disease.However,the effective constituents of QFPDD remain unclear.In this study,an UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS based method was developed to identify the chemical constituents in QFPDD and the absorbed prototypes as well as the metabolites in mice serum and tissues following oral administration of QFPDD.A total of 405 chemicals,including 40 kinds of alkaloids,162 kinds of flavonoids,44 kinds of organic acids,71 kinds of triterpene saponins and 88 kinds of other compounds in the water extract of QFPDD were tentatively identified via comparison with the retention times and MS/MS spectra of the standards or refereed by literature.With the help of the standards and in vitro metabolites,195 chemical components(including 104 prototypes and 91 metabolites)were identified in mice serum after oral administration of QFPDD.In addition,165,177,112,120,44,53 constituents were identified in the lung,liver,heart,kidney,brain,and spleen of QFPDD-treated mice,respectively.These findings provided key information and guidance for further investigation on the pharmacologically active substances and clinical applications of QFPDD.

UPLC/Q-TOF-MS analysis of iridoid glycosides and metabolites in rat plasma after oral administration of Paederia scandens extracts

A rapid and validated UPLC-MS method was developed for investigating the absorbed components of Paederia scandens(Lour.) Merrill(P.scandens) in rat plasma.The bioactive constituents in plasma samples from rats administrated orally with P.scandens extract were analyzed by Ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS).Four prototype compounds were identified in rat serum as potential bioactive components of P.scandens by comparing their retention times and mass spectrometry data or by mass spectrometry analysis and retrieving the reference literatures.Glucuronidation after deglycosylation was the major metabolic pathway for the iridoid glycosides in P.scandens.These results showed that the methods had high sensitivity and resolution and were suitable for identifying the bioactive constituents in plasma after oral administration of P.scandens.providing helpful chemical information for further pharmacological and mechanistic researched on the P.scandens.