Phytochemical Analysis Using UPLC-MSn Combined with Network Pharmacology Approaches to Explore the Biomarkers for the Quality Control of the Anticancer Tannin Fraction of Phyllanthus emblica L. Habitat in Nepal

Abstract

Phyllanthus emblica L. is widely used in traditional Tibetan medicine for its therapeutic effects on treating liver, kidney, and bladder problems. We have reported that the tannin fraction has a good anti-hepatocellular carcinoma effect, but its active ingredients are not clear. This study was to find the active ingredients of the tannin fraction using UPLC-MSn and network pharmacology. First of all, the UPLC-MSn method was employed to obtain high-resolution mass spectra of different components, and 110 compounds were obtained. Then a network pharmacology method was used to find biomarkers for quality control. Network pharmacology results showed that gallic acid, punicalagin A, punicalagin B, methyl gallate, geraniin, corilagin, chebulinic acid, chebulagic acid, and ellagic acid should be the biomarkers of the tannin fraction. Furthermore, 9 components were detected in the serum, which also proved that they could be biomarkers, because we generally believe that the ingredients which are absorbed into the blood are effective. In the end, a simple method for simultaneously determining the contents of the 9 compounds was constructed by HPLC-DAD. This research established a new method to find biomarkers of traditional Chinese medicine. This is of great significance to improving the quality standards of Tibetan medicine.

Fresh Phyllanthus emblica (Amla) Fruit Supplementation Enhances Milk Fatty Acid Profiles and the Antioxidant Capacities of Milk and Blood in Dairy Cows

“…Similar to our study, Mao et al [42] regarding the Phyllanthus plant reported 510 compounds, including lignans, triterpenoids, flavonoids, and tannins. However, Wu et al [43] detected lower metabolites from amla using UPLC-MSn, indicating 110 compounds with dominant hydrolyzable tannins 41% (45/110), phenolic acids 14% (15/110), flavonoids 14% (15/110). Khaled et al [44] performed UPLC-qTOF-MS analysis for P. emblica and determined that hydrolyzable tannins dominated the analysis (37/92), while flavonoids accounted for (2/92).…”

Current advances on the phytochemical composition, pharmacologic effects, toxicology, and product development of Phyllanthi Fructus

“…Quality control analysis methods, including Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-multistage mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS n ), ultraviolet spectrophotometry, HPLC, and gas chromatogram (GC)/mass spectrometry (MS) are used to analyze the active ingredients of PF. Wu et al used the UPLC-MS n method to determine the content of tannins and luteolin in PF ( Zhang et al, 2019 ; Wu et al, 2021 ). This method is high separation efficiency, but it has the disadvantage of time-consuming and costly.…”

Screening of Biomarkers and Quality Control of Shaoyao Gancao Decoction Using UPLC-MS/MS Combined with Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Technology

“…Optimization of UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS detection conditions." In terms of mass spectrometry, we chose a QTRAP 4500 (AB SCIEX, Foster City, CA, USA) coupled with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source [18,19]. Te negative was monitored in the scanning mode of multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), the ion source was electrospray ionization (ESI), the ionization voltage (IS) was −4500 V, and the ion source temperature (TEM) was 550 °C.…”