Therapeutic Effects of Selaginella tamariscina on the Model of Acute Gout with Hyperuricemia in Rats Based on Metabolomics Analysis

Gout is a disease of purine metabolic disorders which results from long-term hyperuricemia and the sodium urate deposition in and around the joints. Selaginella tamariscina （ST） is an important traditional Chinese herbal medicine and is used for the treatment of gout and hyperuricemia. In this study, the rat model of acute gout with hyperuricemia was established by intraperitoneal injection of xanthine and oxonic acid potassium salt and articular injection monosodium urate （MSU）. The effect of ST in the treatment of gout was investigated by measuring joint swelling, the expression of IL-1 !3 in serum and histological changes of joint by haematoxylin eosin （H＆E） staining. Subsequently, urine metabolomics analysis for biomarkers discovery in acute gout with hyperuricemia rats was performed by the ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry （UPLC-ESI-QTOF/MS） combined with chemometric approach. Principal component analysis （PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis （OPLS-DA） were used to detect potential biomarkers. A total of 18 potential biomarkers were identified mainly including tryptophan metabolism; tyrosine metabolism; ly- sine methylation; pyrimidine metabolism; purine metabolism; TCA cycle and fatty acid metabolisms. This study in- dicates that ST could efficiently ameliorate the disease of acute gout with hyperuricemia in rats. The related meta- bolic biomarkers could provide useful information and the metabolic mechanism could be used for further study about the model of acute gout with hyperuricemia in rats.

Mechanism of Incompatible Herb Pairs, Panax ginseng and Veratrum nigrum L,： Material Basis and Metabolic Profiles of Ginsenosides in Rat Intestinal Bacteria

In traditional Chinese medicine theory, Panax ginseng and Veratrum nigrum L. is an important incompatible herb pair. Studies on the content variation of main components and the influences on the metabolism in rat intestinal bacteria are useful to understand the mechanism of incompatibility of this herb pairs. In this study, the content variation of ginsenosides and their metaboltic profiles in the extracts of P. ginseng and compatibility of P. ginseng with V. nigrum L. （G-V） were investigated using relative quantitative method of electrospray ionization mass spec- trometry （ESI-MS） and UPLC-MSn, respectively. The relative contents of most ginsenosides were reduced in the extract of G-V. Furthermore, ginsenosides Rbt, Rb2, Rc and Rd could be metabolized to Rd, F2 and C-K in rat in- testinal bacteria. The metabolic speeds ofRbl, Rb2 and Re in the G-V extracts at ratios of 10 ： 5, 10 ： 7 and 10 ： 10 and the metabolic rates of ginsenosides Rbb Rb2 and Rc to Rd, Rd to F2 in all compatibility extracts were lower than that in the P ginseng extract. In conclusion, this study illustrated the mechanism of effect-reducing by comparison of the relative contents and metabolic profiles of ginsenosides after compatibility of P ginseng and V. nigrum L.

Screening the anti-gout traditional herbs from TCM using an in vitro method

The aim of this work was to evaluate the ability of 33 herbal extracts in inhibiting the acute inflammation and xanthine oxidase （XOD） activity. The anti-inflammation effects of the herbal extracts were detected by an in vitro cell model, which was established by stimulating human umbilical vein endothelial cells （HUVEC） using sodium urate （MSU）. In this model, the intercellular adhesion molecule-1 （ICAM-1） and interleukin-1 beta （IL-1β） were expressed, and the anti-inflammation effects of herbal extracts were evaluated by detecting the content changes of ICAM-1 and IL-1β in cell lysates and cell culture supernates using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Moreover, an ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS） method was used for the detection of XOD activity and the screening of XOD inhibitors in this research. The amount of uric acid from each analyte was directly detected using the multiple reaction monitoring mode and the uric acid level could be reduced via the addition of an inhibitor. Results indicated that Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizome, Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix, Selaginellae Herba, Paeoniae Radix Rubra, especially Ginkgo Folium seemed to be more effective in anti-inflammation and inhibiting XOD activity. The anti-inflammation and enzyme inhibitory activities of the herbal extracts may be correlated with their bioactive components. And the differences between the herbal extracts were correlated with the amount of flavonoid and anthraquinone components. In our study, we have investigated the potential anti-inflammation bioactivity of 33 herbal extracts in vitro, which could provide a reference for further in vivo research in the orevention and treatment of gout.