Metabolic profiling of nuciferine in rat urine, plasma, bile and feces after oral administration using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
Nuciferine, a major alkaloid found in Nelumbinis Folium, exhibits a broad spectrum of bioactivities, such as antiobesity, anti-diabetes and anti-inflammatory. However, many research regarding nuciferine focused on the extraction, isolation and biological activity, the metabolism is not comprehensively explained in vivo. Thence, the present of this paper is to establish a simple method for speculating metabolites of nuciferine. A total of 15 metabolites were detected and tentatively identified through ultra high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS), including 7 new metabolites. Among them, we also discovered a previously unmentioned metabolically active site at the C1-OCH3position. These metabolites suggested that demethylation, oxidation, glucuronidation and sulfation were major metabolic pathways. This study provided significant experiment basis for its safety estimate and valuable information about the metabolism of nuciferine, which will be advantageous for new drug development.
Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, PR China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Quality Control in Chinese Medicine, Tianjin ZhongXin Pharmaceuticals R&D Center, 21# 10th Avenue, Tianjin 300457, PR China.
Xiao-Lei
XL
Wu
Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, PR China; Department of Pharmacy, Zunyi Academy of Medicine & Drug, Guizhou Province, Zunyi 563002, PR China.
Ming-Jiang
MJ
Wu
Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, PR China.
Xin-Ze
XZ
Chen
Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, PR China.
Hao-Ling
HL
Ma
Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, PR China.
Li-Qin
LQ
Ding
Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, PR China. Electronic address: fengqiu20070118@163.com.
Feng
F
Qiu
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Quality Control in Chinese Medicine, Tianjin ZhongXin Pharmaceuticals R&D Center, 21# 10th Avenue, Tianjin 300457, PR China.
Qin
Q
Pan
Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, PR China. Electronic address: deqin123@163.com.
De-Qin
DQ
Zhang
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D001060:Aporphines; D001646:Bile; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005243:Feces; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D051381:Rats
D001060:Aporphines; C008692:nuciferine
Metabolic pathways; Metabolites; Nuciferine; UHPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS