title: GC-MS based metabolomics study of stems and roots of Ephedra sinica.
abstract: Therapeutic effects of herbal medicines differ greatly due to the use of different anatomical parts or processing methods in traditional Chinese medicine, and Ephedra sinica (ES) is just a case in point. To better understand different traditional uses of the stems (known as Mahuang, MH) and roots (known as Mahuanggen, MHG) of ES, their therapeutic material basis should be investigated. In this study, ephedrine alkaloids were profiled simultaneously with primary metabolites using GC-MS based metabolomics. Ephedrine (E) has been reported to be the major bioactive constituent in MH for the treatment of asthma. The results showed that compared with MH, MHG contained much lower levels of five ephedrine alkaloids, which may well explain that MHG has not been used as an antiasthmatic. Additionally, these pharmacologically important ephedrine alkaloids exhibited strong positive correlation with five primary metabolites. In conclusion, this study facilitates better understanding of different traditional uses of MH and MHG.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Drug Quality Control and Pharmacovigilance (Ministry of Education), China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Mengying
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Jianbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Drug Quality Control and Pharmacovigilance (Ministry of Education), China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Drug Quality Control and Pharmacovigilance (Ministry of Education), China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Wanqiu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Drug Quality Control and Pharmacovigilance (Ministry of Education), China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Drug Quality Control and Pharmacovigilance (Ministry of Education), China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China. Electronic address: fengguoxu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Fengguo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Drug Quality Control and Pharmacovigilance (Ministry of Education), China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China. Electronic address: zunjianzhangcpu@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Zunjian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000737:chemistry; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000032:analysis; D029790:Ephedra sinica / Q000737:chemistry*; D004809:Ephedrine / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry*; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000737:chemistry*; D011208:Powders; D054199:Pseudoephedrine / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D011208:Powders; D054199:Pseudoephedrine; D004809:Ephedrine
keywords: Ephedra sinica; Ephedrine alkaloids; Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; Metabolomics; Roots; Stems