Wang XiaoTing, Yu YingQi, Pei LinXiu, Gao Hui
School of Pharmacy, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Dalian 116600 China
RSC Adv. 2023 Apr 17;13(18):11919-11928. doi: 10.1039/d2ra07979h.
Processing is a traditional method for preparing decoctions of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that is imperative for reducing toxicity, increasing efficacy, and adjusting the properties of pharmacologically active components of the TCM. Salt processing of (AR), a traditional Chinese herb, has been employed since the Song dynasty and can enhance the ability of AR to enriching the Yin and downbearing fire according to the traditional theory recorded in the Enlightenment on Materia Medica. Previous research found that the hypoglycemic effect of AR was enhanced after salt processing, and the concentrations of three components, namely timosaponin AIII, timosaponin BIII, and mangiferin, all of which have hypoglycemic activities, have been found to be significantly increased after salt processing. In this study, we established an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method to ultimately measure the concentrations of timosaponin AIII, timosaponin BIII, and mangiferin in rat plasma after administration of unprocessed AR and salt-processed AR (SAR) to the rats to further elucidate how salt processing affects the pharmacokinetic profiles of each of these compounds. Separation was achieved on an Acquity UPLC HSS T3 column. The 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution (v/v) and acetonitrile were used as the mobile phase system. Calibration curves of each compound in blank rat plasma, as well as the accuracy, precision, stability, and recovery of the total three analytes, were then measured to validate the method. The and AUC values of timosaponin BIII and mangiferin in the SAR group were significantly higher than those of the AR group, while the values of timosaponin BIII and mangiferin in the SAR group were shorter than in the AR group. These results indicated that salt processing improved the absorption and bioavailability of timosaponin BIII and mangiferin in , and they provide a rationale for how the salt processing enhances the hypoglycemic effect of .
炮制是制备中药汤剂的传统方法，对于降低中药毒性、提高疗效以及调整中药药理活性成分的性质至关重要。盐炙（AR）作为一种传统中药，自宋代以来就已应用，根据《本草蒙筌》记载的传统理论，盐炙可增强AR滋阴降火的能力。先前的研究发现，盐炙后AR的降糖作用增强，并且已发现具有降糖活性的三种成分，即知母皂苷AIII、知母皂苷BIII和芒果苷，在盐炙后浓度显著增加。在本研究中，我们建立了一种超高效液相色谱 - 串联质谱（UPLC - MS/MS）方法，以最终测定给大鼠灌胃未炮制的AR和盐炙AR（SAR）后大鼠血浆中知母皂苷AIII、知母皂苷BIII和芒果苷的浓度，从而进一步阐明盐炙如何影响这些化合物各自的药代动力学特征。在Acquity UPLC HSS T3柱上实现分离。以0.1%甲酸水溶液（v/v）和乙腈作为流动相系统。然后测定空白大鼠血浆中各化合物的校准曲线以及所有三种分析物的准确度、精密度、稳定性和回收率，以验证该方法。SAR组中知母皂苷BIII和芒果苷的Cmax和AUC值显著高于AR组，而SAR组中知母皂苷BIII和芒果苷的t1/2值短于AR组。这些结果表明，盐炙提高了知母中知母皂苷BIII和芒果苷的吸收和生物利用度，并且为盐炙如何增强知母的降糖作用提供了理论依据。
