Study on the absorbed fingerprint-efficacy of yuanhu zhitong tablet based on chemical analysis, vasorelaxation evaluation and data mining

PLoS One. 2013 Dec 10;8(12):e81135. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081135. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Yuanhu Zhitong Tablet (YZT) is an example of a typical and relatively simple clinical herb formula that is widely used in clinics. It is generally believed that YZT play a therapeutical effect in vivo by the synergism of multiple constituents. Thus, it is necessary to build the relationship between the absorbed fingerprints and bioactivity so as to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy. In this study, a new combinative method, an intestinal absorption test coupled with a vasorelaxation bioactivity experiment in vitro, was a simple, sensitive, and feasible technique to study on the absorbed fingerprint-efficacy of YZT based on chemical analysis, vasorelaxation evaluation and data mining. As part of this method, an everted intestinal sac method was performed to determine the intestinal absorption of YZT solutions. YZT were dissolved in solution (n = 12), and the portion of the solution that was absorbed into intestinal sacs was analyzed using rapid-resolution liquid chromatography coupled with quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RRLC-Q-TOF/MS). Semi-quantitative analysis indicated the presence of 34 compounds. The effect of the intestinally absorbed solution on vasorelaxation of rat aortic rings with endothelium attached was then evaluated in vitro. The results showed that samples grouped by HCA from chemical profiles have similar bioactivity while samples in different groups displayed very different. Moreover, it established a relationship between the absorbed fingerprints and their bioactivity to identify important components by grey relational analysis, which could predict bioactive values based on chemical profiles and provide an evidence for the quantification of multi-constituents.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Data Mining*
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / chemistry*
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / metabolism
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / pharmacology*
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Intestinal Absorption*
  • Male
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Tablets
  • Vasodilation / drug effects*

Substances

  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal
  • Tablets
  • yuanhu zhitong

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Key Projects in the National Science & Technology Pillar Program during the 11th Five-Year Plan Period (NO. 2008BAI51B03), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO. 81202793 & 81274080), independent topics supported by Operational expenses for basic research of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (NO. Z02063), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province of China (Grant No. ZR2011CM038 & ZR2011FQ034), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central public welfare research institutes (ZZ070819). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.