Purpose: Yuquan capsule (YQC) is a well-known proprietary Chinese medicine used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential mechanism and efficacy of YQC in the treatment of T2DM by means of metabolomics. Methods: Thirty-two male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups of control, type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM), metformin (Met), and YQC. Establishment of the T2DM model by high-fat diet (HFD) and streptozotocin (STZ). Fasting blood glucose (FBG) and weight were measured weekly, urine output was collected and recorded. The blood, kidney, pancreas, and liver tissue samples were collected at the end of the experiment. Blood samples were analyzed with methods of ELISA, pancreas, and liver tissues were analyzed by pathological sections, and serum was analyzed by metabolomics using ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight coupled with mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS). Results: It was observed that YQC could reduce blood glucose levels by modulating blood lipid and transaminase indices, and by diminishing the concentration of inflammatory factors within hepatic and pancreatic tissues. Furthermore, YQC restores homeostasis by regulating lipid and amino acid metabolism, engaging 21 biomarkers and 10 metabolic pathways. Conclusion: YQC has the capacity to enhance blood lipid and transaminase levels, suppress the expression of inflammatory factors, and foster the homeostatic progression of metabolic circulation in rats with T2DM.

Jigucao capsules (JGCC) have the effects of soothing the liver and gallbladder and clearing heat and detoxification. It is a good medicine for treating acute and chronic hepatitis cholecystitis with damp heat of the liver and gallbladder. However, the existing quality standard of JGCC does not have content determination items, which is not conducive to quality control. In this study, serum pharmacochemistry technology and UNIFI data processing software were used to identify the blood prototype components and metabolites under the condition of the obvious drug effects of JGCC, and the referenced literature reports and the results from in vitro analysis of JGCC in the early stage revealed a total of 43 prototype blood components and 33 metabolites in JGCC. Quality markers (Q-markers) were discovered, such as abrine, trigonelline, hypaphorine and isoschaftoside. In addition, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-QQQ-MS) was used to determine the active ingredients in JGCC. The components of quantitative analysis have good correlation in the linear range with R² ≥ 0.9993. The recovery rate is 93.15%~108.92% and the relative standard deviation (RSD) is less than 9.48%. The established UPLC-MS/MS quantitative analysis method has high sensitivity and accuracy, and can be used for the quality evaluation of JGCC.

Yunnan Baiyao is a famous Chinese patent medicine in Yunnan Province. However, its mechanism for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis is not fully explained. Our study used metabonomics technology to reveal the regulatory effect of Yunnan Baiyao on small molecular metabolites in promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, and exploring the related urine biomarkers. The coagulation function, blood rheology, and pathological results demonstrated that after Yunnan Baiyao treatment, the pathological indexes in rats with epinephrine hydrochloride-induced blood stasis syndrome improved and returned to normal levels. This is the basis for the effectiveness of Yunnan Baiyao. UPLC-G2Si-HDMS was used in combination with multivariate statistical analysis to conduct metabonomic analysis of urine samples. Finally, using mass spectrometry technology, 28 urine biomarkers were identified, clarifying the relevant metabolic pathways that play a vital role in the Yunnan Baiyao treatment. These were used as the target for Yunnan Baiyao to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. This study showed that metabolomics strategies provide opportunities and conditions for a deep and systematic understanding of the mechanism of action of prescriptions.

A novel N-doped magnetic covalent organic framework (N-Mag-COF) has been synthesized. It has been evaluated in the magnetic dispersive solid phase extraction (Mag-dSPE) procedure for textiles of fall protection equipment prior to the analysis of allergenic disperse dyes by liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Compared with the matrix dilution procedure, much higher sensitivity of the analytical method has been achieved by the N-Mag-COF Mag-dSPE procedure. Furthermore, under the optimum conditions, the level of matrix effects can be dramatically reduced by the N-Mag-COF Mag-dSPE procedure with satisfactory recoveries in the range of 72.2–107%. The precision of the developed method was satisfactory, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 2.3% to 7.1%. The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) of 19 allergenic disperse dyes were in the range of 0.021–0.58 μg kg⁻¹ and 0.069–1.91 μg kg⁻¹, respectively. The developed analytical method was successfully applied to the analysis of 20 textile samples of fall protection equipment, in which disperse yellow 39 was found in two samples with concentrations at 0.081 μg kg⁻¹ and 0.062 μg kg⁻¹, respectively. The developed method can be applied to routine analyses for the determination of 19 allergenic disperse dyes in textiles of fall protection equipment.

Dampness-heat Jaundice Syndrome (DHJS) is a complex Chinese medicine syndrome, while Jigucao capsule (JGCC) is an effective compound preparation of Chinese medicine for the treatment of DHJS about liver and gallbladder, but its mechanism is not clear yet. The purpose of this study is to clarify the pathogenesis of DHJS and the treatment mechanism of JGCC. We used ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS) combined with pattern recognition, accompanied the advanced software and online database for the urine metabolomics of rats. The potential biomarkers disturbing metabolism were identified and the metabolic pathway was analyzed. We investigated the callback of biomarkers after treatment with JGCC. Finally, A total of 25 potential urine biomarkers were identified, including Arachidonic acid, Phenylpyruvic acid, L-Urobilin and so on, and 14 related metabolic pathways were disturbed. After treatment with JGCC, the clinical biochemical indexes and histopathological were significantly improved, and the disturbed biomarkers were also obviously adjusted. It is proved that JGCC has remarkable effect on the treatment of DHJS.