Jiang Hai, Yang Liu, Xing Xudong, Yan Meiling, Guo Xinyue, Hou Ajiao, Man Wenjing, Yang Bingyou, Wang Qiuhong, Kuang Haixue
Key Laboratory of Chinese Materia Medica, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education Harbin 150040 PR China
School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University Guangzhou 528458 PR China.
RSC Adv. 2019 Jan 21;9(5):2756-2762. doi: 10.1039/c8ra08272c. eCollection 2019 Jan 18.
The ripe fruit of L. (Xanthii Fructus) cannot be widely used as a Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) owing to its hepatotoxicity. However, Xanthii Fructus (XF) can be used effectively and safely after correct processing based on traditional experience, although a high hepatotoxicity risk remains owing to improper usage. Therefore, the processing methods used must be clarified to ensure safety. The adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) level in tissues is an important indicator reflecting the functional status of liver cells. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the hepatotoxicity of XF using UPLC-MS/MS. The hepatotoxicity of raw XF (RXF) and XF processed by intermediary energy metabolites (PXF) is compared. The method is evaluated for its analytical performance and successfully applied to the quantification of ATP, adenosine-5'-diphosphate (ADP), adenosine-5'-monophosphate (AMP), atractyloside, and carboxyatractyloside in mouse liver. The hepatotoxicity results also indicate that the toxicity of XF is decreased after processing, perhaps due to the decrease in atractyloside and carboxyatractyloside contents. Importantly, the experimental evidence provides a rationale for the reduction in toxicity. These data show that mouse livers are damaged between the days 20 and 30 of RXF oral administration, and that the ATP level is decreased. Importantly, no significant difference is observed between the PXF treatment group and control group, while the RXF treatment group is significantly different. Therefore, processing can reduce the toxicity of XF.
苍耳子的成熟果实因其肝毒性而不能广泛用作中药材。然而，根据传统经验，苍耳子经过正确炮制后可有效且安全地使用，不过因使用不当仍存在较高的肝毒性风险。因此，必须明确所采用的炮制方法以确保安全。组织中的三磷酸腺苷（ATP）水平是反映肝细胞功能状态的重要指标。因此，本研究旨在采用超高效液相色谱 - 串联质谱法（UPLC - MS/MS）评估苍耳子的肝毒性。比较了生苍耳子（RXF）和经中间能量代谢产物炮制的苍耳子（PXF）的肝毒性。对该方法的分析性能进行了评估，并成功应用于小鼠肝脏中ATP、二磷酸腺苷（ADP）、一磷酸腺苷（AMP）、苍术苷和羧基苍术苷的定量分析。肝毒性结果还表明，炮制后苍耳子的毒性降低，这可能是由于苍术苷和羧基苍术苷含量的减少。重要的是，实验证据为毒性降低提供了理论依据。这些数据表明，口服RXF 20至30天期间小鼠肝脏受到损伤，且ATP水平降低。重要的是，PXF治疗组与对照组之间未观察到显著差异，而RXF治疗组则有显著差异。因此，炮制可降低苍耳子的毒性。
