Wei Ping, Huang Shiying, Yang Juan, Zhao Mo, Chen Qiugu, Deng Xiaoyu, Chen Jianping, Li Yisheng
Pingshan District Maternal & Child Healthcare Hospital of Shenzhen, Pingshan General Hospital of Southern Medical University, Shenzhen 518118, China.
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Hospital Chinese Medicine Preparation, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen 518000, China.
Chin Herb Med. 2024 May 21;16(3):466-480. doi: 10.1016/j.chmed.2024.01.006. eCollection 2024 Jul.
Mahuang Guizhi Decoction (MGD), an essential herbal pair in traditional Chinese medicine, is able to release cold, fever and asthma, mainly containing alkaloids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids and amino acids. However, the absorption and distribution of these four category compounds still remained unclearly.
In our research, we utilized UPLC-Q-TOF-MS technique to identify the constituents within MGD, as well as the prototypes of MGD and their metabolites absorbed in plasma and brain. We further profiled the drug-time curve of prototypes and metabolites of MGD both in plasma and brain.
Our results showed that 105 constituents were characterized in MGD. Thirty of them could be absorbed into blood, and ten of them could be distributed into brain. We also discovered eight new bio-transformed metabolites in blood, and a half of which could pass through the blood-brain barrier. In addition, all components detected could be absorbed and distributed immediately.
These findings provide an approachable method to analyze the potential bio-active compounds in MGD and their behaviors, which could promote the efficacious material basis study of MGD and the security of clinical utilization.
麻黄桂枝汤（MGD）是中药中的重要药对，能解表散寒、发汗平喘，主要含有生物碱、黄酮类、苯丙素类和氨基酸。然而，这四类化合物的吸收和分布仍不明确。
在本研究中，我们采用超高效液相色谱 - 四极杆 - 飞行时间质谱（UPLC - Q - TOF - MS）技术鉴定了麻黄桂枝汤中的成分，以及麻黄桂枝汤及其在血浆和脑中吸收的原型药物及其代谢产物。我们进一步描绘了麻黄桂枝汤原型药物及其代谢产物在血浆和脑中的药时曲线。
我们的结果表明，麻黄桂枝汤中鉴定出105种成分。其中30种可吸收入血，10种可分布到脑内。我们还在血液中发现了8种新的生物转化代谢产物，其中一半可通过血脑屏障。此外，检测到的所有成分均可立即被吸收和分布。
这些发现为分析麻黄桂枝汤中潜在的生物活性化合物及其行为提供了一种可行的方法，这有助于促进麻黄桂枝汤的药效物质基础研究和临床应用的安全性。
