Affiliation:
1. Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing China
2. Department of Metabolomics Jiangsu Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Jiangsu Branch of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Nanjing China
Abstract
AbstractIntroductionSulfur‐fumigation of Paeoniae Radix Alba (PRA) could induce the chemical transformation of its bioactive component paeoniflorin into a sulfur‐containing derivative paeoniflorin sulfite, and thus alter the quality, bioactivities, pharmacokinetics, and toxicities of PRA. However, how sulfur‐fumigated PRA (S‐PRA) affects the quality of PRA‐containing complex preparations has not been intensively evaluated.ObjectivesWe intend to evaluate the influence of S‐PRA on the overall quality of three kinds of Si‐Wu‐Tang (SWT) formulations, i.e., decoction (SWT‐D), granule (SWT‐G), and mixture (SWT‐M).Material and MethodsAn UPLC‐DAD multi‐components quantification method was used to compare the transfer rates of paeoniflorin sulfite and other 10 bioactive components between S‐PRA‐containing and NS‐PRA‐containing SWT formulations. An UPLC‐QTOF‐MS/MS‐based target metabolomics approach was applied to explore the differential sulfur‐containing derivatives in S‐PRA‐containing SWT formulations.ResultsThe transfer rates of paeoniflorin sulfite in three S‐PRA‐containing SWT formulations were all higher than 100%. Moreover, S‐PRA also increased the transfer rate of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural, 1,2,3,4,6‐O‐pentagalloylglucose, whereas decreased that of paeoniflorin, albiflorin, and ferulic acid in three SWT formulations. Six pinane monoterpene glucoside sulfites originally identified in S‐PRA, were also detectable in three S‐PRA‐containing SWT formulations. In addition, seven phenolic acid sulfites including (3Z)‐6‐sulfite‐ligustilide, (3E)‐6‐sulfite‐ligustilide, 6,8‐disulfite‐ligustilide, ferulic acid sulfite, neochlorogenic acid sulfite, chlorogenic acid sulfite, and angelicide sulfite (or isomer) were newly identified in these three S‐PRA‐containing formulations.ConclusionS‐PRA could differentially affect the transfer rate of paeoniflorin sulfite and other bioactive components during the preparation of three SWT formulations and subsequently the overall quality thereof.