Comparative study on intestinal metabolism and absorption in vivo of ginsenosides in sulphur-fumigated and non-fumigated ginseng by ultra performance liquid chromatography quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry based chemical profiling approach.
Our previous study indicated that sulphur-fumigation of ginseng in post-harvest handling processes could induce chemical transformation of ginsenosides to generate multiple ginsenoside sulphur derivatives. In this study, the influence of sulphur-fumigation on intestinal metabolism and absorption in vivo of ginsenosides in ginseng was sequentially studied. The intestinal metabolic and absorbed profiles of ginsenosides in rats after intra-gastric (i.g.) administration of sulphur-fumigated ginseng (SFG) and non-fumigated ginseng (NFG) were comparatively characterized by a newly established ultra performance liquid chromatography quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) with electrospray ionization negative (ESI-) mode. A novel strategy based on the characteristic product ions and fragmentation pathways of different types of aglycones (saponin skeletons) and glycosyl moieties was proposed and successfully applied to rapid structural identification of ginsenoside sulphur derivatives and relevant metabolites. In total, 18 ginsenoside sulphur derivatives and 26 ginsenoside sulphur derivative metabolites in the faeces together with six ginsenoside sulphur derivatives in the plasma were identified in the SFG-administrated group but not in the NFG-administrated group. The results clearly demonstrated that the intestinal metabolic and absorbed profiles of ginsenosides in sulphur-fumigated and non-fumigated ginseng were quite different, which inspired that sulphur-fumigation of ginseng should not be recommended before the bioactivity and toxicity of the ginsenoside sulphur derivatives were systematically evaluated.
Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis and Metabolomics, Jiangsu Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Jiangsu Branch of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Nanjing, 210028, PR China.
He
H
Zhu
Hong
H
Shen
Jun
J
Xu
Jin-Di
JD
Xu
Ling-Ying
LY
Zhu
Jie
J
Wu
Hu-Biao
HB
Chen
Song-Lin
SL
Li
D000818:Animals; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005651:Fumigation; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D013455:Sulfur / Q000737:chemistry*
D036145:Ginsenosides; D013455:Sulfur
UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS; absorption; ginseng; intestinal metabolism; sulphur-fumigation