Identification of compounds in an anti-fibrosis Chinese medicine (Fufang Biejia Ruangan Pill) and its absorbed components in rat biofluids and liver by UPLC-MS

Liver fibrosis represents a major public health problem worldwide. To date, antifibrotic treatment of fibrosis still remains an unconquered area for western medicine. Fufang Biejia Ruangan Pill (FFBJ) is the first anti-fibrosis drug approved by the China State Food and Drug Administration, and has been demonstrated to have a good antifibrotic efficacy in China. However, the chemical constituents of FFBJ and the absorption and distribution of it in vivo remain unclear, which restricts its research on bioactive components identification and mechanisms of action. In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS) combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography/triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC/QqQ-MS) was applied to identify compounds in FFBJ and its absorbed components in rat serum, liver and urine samples after intragastric administration of FFBJ. As a result, a total of 32 Chinese material medica components including organic acids, terpenoids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids and alkaloids, were identified or tentatively characterized, while the distribution of 10 prototype compounds in rat serum, liver and urine were discovered. The identified constituents in FFBJ and the distribution of prototype compounds in rat serum, liver and urine are help for understanding the material bases of its therapeutic effects.