Zhang Lan, Rezeng Caidan, Wang Yingfeng, Li Zhongfeng
The Analysis & Test Center, Department of Chemistry, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, People's Republic of China.
College of Pharmacy, Qinghai Nationalities University, 810001, Xining, People's Republic of China.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2021 Dec;199(12):4646-4656. doi: 10.1007/s12011-021-02586-5. Epub 2021 Jan 19.
The "Renqing Changjue" pill (RQCJ), as an effective prescription of Traditional Tibetan Medicine (TTM), has been widely used in treating advanced gastroenteropathy diseases for over a thousand years. However, the toxicity and adverse effects of TTM have attracted increasing attention because heavy metals may be added as active ingredients. In this work, we introduced a robust model based on endogenous metabolism enabling the study of changes in copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) concentrations and the mechanism between biofluids (blood and urine) and tissue (liver, kidney, spleen) samples from rats treated with RQCJ, along with metabolic changes after different treatment time points. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry was used to monitor the heavy metals. Slightly different trends of heavy metals were observed in rat metabolites. The levels of Hg, As, and Pb were clearly dose-dependent in the tissue and biofluid samples. Basic recovery of Hg and Pb was found after stopping treatment with RQCJ. The accumulation of As was more obvious in the blood, liver, kidney, and spleen; however, Hg was deposited in the kidney. Pb accumulated the most in the spleen. The concentrations of Cu and Zn were constant or accumulated to a certain extent, which could cause the body to have Cu and Zn metabolism disorders in the administration period. Our findings highlight how metal changes and effects on the mechanisms might contribute to the progression of understanding of the toxicity information for RQCJ. Therefore, precautions should be taken in the clinic to monitor the potential toxicity of RQCJ with long-term administration.
“仁青常觉”丸(RQCJ)作为传统藏药(TTM)的一种有效方剂,已被广泛用于治疗晚期胃肠疾病一千多年。然而,由于可能添加重金属作为活性成分,藏药的毒性和不良反应日益受到关注。在这项工作中,我们引入了一个基于内源性代谢的强大模型,用于研究用RQCJ处理的大鼠生物流体(血液和尿液)和组织(肝脏、肾脏、脾脏)样本中铜(Cu)、锌(Zn)、砷(As)、汞(Hg)和铅(Pb)浓度的变化以及它们之间的作用机制,以及不同处理时间点后的代谢变化。采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法监测重金属。在大鼠代谢物中观察到重金属有略微不同的趋势。在组织和生物流体样本中,Hg、As和Pb的水平明显呈剂量依赖性。停止使用RQCJ治疗后,发现Hg和Pb有基本的恢复。As在血液、肝脏、肾脏和脾脏中的积累更为明显;然而,Hg沉积在肾脏中。Pb在脾脏中积累最多。Cu和Zn的浓度保持恒定或在一定程度上积累,这可能导致机体在给药期间出现Cu和Zn代谢紊乱。我们的研究结果突出了金属变化及其对机制的影响可能如何有助于加深对RQCJ毒性信息的理解。因此,临床上应采取预防措施,监测长期服用RQCJ的潜在毒性。