The application of mass spectrometry imaging in traditional Chinese medicine: a review

Abstract

Mass spectrometry imaging is a frontier technique which connects classical mass spectrometry with ion imaging. Various types of chemicals could be visualized in their native tissues using mass spectrometry imaging. Up to now, the most commonly applied mass spectrometry imaging techniques are matrix assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry imaging, desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging and secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging. This review gives an introduction to the principles, development and applications of commonly applied mass spectrometry imaging techniques, and then illustrates the application of mass spectrometry imaging in the investigation of traditional Chinese medicine. Recently, mass spectrometry imaging has been adopted to explore the spatial distribution of endogenous metabolites in traditional Chinese medicine. Data collected from mass spectrometry imaging can be further utilized to search for marker components of traditional Chinese medicine, discover new compounds from traditional herbs, and differentiate between medicinal plants that are similar in botanical features. Moreover, mass spectrometry imaging also plays a role in revealing the pharmacological and toxicological mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine.

Mass spectrometry imaging advances and application in pharmaceutical research

“…Apart from the method development for plant imaging, there were also mounting reports of MSI in evaluating the in vivo isolated natural product properties and a localization study [101]. The MSI application for the in vivo structure-activity relationship (SAR) of natural products has been reported recently.…”

Tracking Spatial Distribution Alterations of Multiple Endogenous Molecules during Lentil Germination by MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging

“…Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful label-free analytical technology that can be used to combine spatial localization information and molecular structure information of hundreds of metabolites. Various ionization methods have been developed in the MSI field, mainly including matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI), secondary ionization mass spectrometry (SIMS), , desorption electrospray ionization (DESI), and laser desorption/ionization (LDI). , Among them, MALDI-MSI is the most widely used commercialized tissue imaging technology, which can be used for the localization of lipids, drugs, activated peptides, protein biomacromolecules, and various metabolites in tissues with high spatial resolution . In the field of plant biology, MALDI-MSI is increasingly introduced to visualize the distribution characteristics of metabolites during different plant development stages, revealing the complex metabolic pathways and metabolic mechanisms of metabolites.…”

Revealing the Preventable Effects of Fu-Zheng-Qu-Xie Decoction against Recurrence and Metastasis of Postoperative Early-Stage Lung Adenocarcinoma Based on Network Pharmacology Coupled with Metabolomics Analysis

“…19 Mass spectrometry (MS) technology plays a critical role in the research field of TCM owing to its high separation ability, high selectivity, high sensitivity, and ability to provide molecular weight and structure information for complex samples. 20 Yi et al conducted a comprehensive metabolomics and pharmacokinetics study of the herbal medicine Saussurea laniceps Hand.-Mazz. (SL) based on the UPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS technique, and this research strategy improved both the precision of quantitative analysis for metabolomic studies and the accuracy of quantitative analysis for pharmacokinetic studies, making the study of Chinese medicine more efficient.…”

“…Network pharmacology is a research method based on the combination of pharmacology and systems biology that can comprehensively and systematically predict the links between chemical constituents, target proteins, and pathways of TCM and is widely used in TCM research . Mass spectrometry (MS) technology plays a critical role in the research field of TCM owing to its high separation ability, high selectivity, high sensitivity, and ability to provide molecular weight and structure information for complex samples . Yi et al.…”