Since alkaloids are the major active constituents of Rhizoma corydalis (RC), a convenient and accurate analytical method is needed for their identification and characterization. Here we report a method to profile the alkaloids in RC based on liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF-MS/MS). A total of 16 alkaloids belonging to four different classes were identified by comparison with authentic standards. The fragmentation pathway of each class of alkaloid was clarified and their differences were elucidated. Furthermore, based on an analysis of fragmentation pathways and alkaloid profiling, a rapid and accurate method for the identification of unknown alkaloids in RC is proposed. The method could also be useful for the quality control of RC.

The present study investigated the pharmacokinetics, excretion, and tissue distribution of salidroside, a main active constituent in the roots of Rhodiola species. The plasma concentration declined rapidly following the intravenous dosing at 7.5, 15, and 30 mg/kg with a short half-life time of about 1 h. The mean values of area under the concentration-time curve (300.48 ± 36.73, 514.51 ± 134.99, and 1036.64 ± 101.67 mg · min/L), total body clearance (0.025 ± 0.003, 0.031 ± 0.008, and 0.029 ± 0.003 L/min/kg), and distribution value (2.02 ± 0.80, 2.47 ± 1.09 and 2.58 ± 0.68 L/kg) suggested linear pharmacokinetics between the three doses. After intravenous injection of salidroside at 15 mg/kg, the total cumulative recovery of salidroside in urine was 53.67 ± 12.03 % over 48 h, but only 0.09 ± 0.03 % and 0.18 ± 0.18 % of the dosage was excreted in bile and feces. Concentrations of salidroside in 12 tissues as well as plasma were evaluated at 15, 40, and 120 min after dosing. At all time points, no higher concentration of salidroside was detected in tissues than that in plasma, with the lowest concentration of salidroside being observed in the brain, liver, fat, and skeletal muscle were tissues with a higher concentration of salidroside. A better distribution was also observed in the ovary and testis than that in the kidney and spleen. This finding demonstrated that salidroside is eliminated from plasma rapidly mainly by kidney clearance and conspicuously penetrated well into the skeletal muscle, fat, ovary and testis. A total recovered salidroside of about 54 % from excretion routes suggested that the metabolism was likely to take an important role in its elimination.

Glutamate-induced neurotoxicity is one of the most important pathogenic mechanisms in neurological diseases and is widely used as an in vitro model for ischemic stroke. Senkyunolide I (SEI), an active constituent derived from traditional Chinese medicine Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. and Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, has been shown to have beneficial effects against focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats. However, the mechanisms underlying SEI-mediated neuroprotection remain not well understood. Thus, we explored the influence of SEI in glutamate-mediated injury to mouse neuroblastoma (Neuro2a) cells and determined the mechanisms involved. Neuro2a cells were treated with SEI under exposure to glutamate for 24 h. Cell viability was assessed by using WST-1 reagents, and apoptosis was evaluated using Annexin V-FITC and a PI double staining kit. The protein expression levels of p-AKT, AKT, p-GSK3β, GSK3β, p-p38, p38, p-ERK, ERK, p-JNK, JNK, Bcl-2, Bax, Bcl-xl, p-Bad, Bad, p53, and cleaved caspase-3 were determined by Western blot analysis. Glutamate significantly decreased cell viability and elevated the level of apoptosis. Treatment with SEI reversed those effects. Furthermore, the expression of p-JNK/JNK and cleaved caspase-3 were also reduced after treatment with SEI. Our findings demonstrate that SEI protected Neuro2a cells against glutamate toxicity by regulating JNK/caspase-3 pathway and apoptosis. Thus, SEI maybe a promising candidate for neuroprotection.

Yiqi Shexue formula (YQSX) is traditionally used to treat primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine. However, its mechanisms of action and molecular targets for treatment of ITP are not clear. The active compounds of YQSX were collected and their targets were identified. ITP-related targets were obtained by analyzing the differential expressed genes between ITP patients and healthy individuals. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) data were then obtained and PPI networks of YQSX putative targets and ITP-related targets were visualized and merged to identify the candidate targets for YQSX against ITP. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis were carried out. The gene-pathway network was constructed to screen the key target genes. In total, 177 active compounds and 251 targets of YQSX were identified. Two hundred and thirty differential expressed genes with an P value < 0.005 and |log2(fold change)| > 1 were identified between ITP patient and control groups. One hundred and eighty-three target genes associated with ITP were finally identified. The functional annotations of target genes were found to be related to transcription, cytosol, protein binding, and so on. Twenty-four pathways including cell cycle, estrogen signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway were significantly enriched. MDM2 was the core gene and other several genes including TP53, MAPK1, CDKN1A, MYC, and DDX5 were the key gens in the gene-pathway network of YQSX for treatment of ITP. The results indicated that YQSX’s effects against ITP may relate to regulation of immunological function through the specific biological processes and the related pathways. This study demonstrates the application of network pharmacology in evaluating mechanisms of action and molecular targets of complex herbal formulations.