ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Chem.
Sec. Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fchem.2025.1647159
This article is part of the Research TopicMedicinal and edible TCMs: Extraction and Isolation, Structural Elucidation, Pharmacological Evaluation, Structural Modification, and Quality ControlView all 8 articles
UHPLC-HRMS analysis combining with feature-based molecular networking method for systematic identification of chemicals in AnShenDingZhiLing and its absorbed metabolites
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
- 2Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
- 3The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
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AnShenDingZhiLing is an effective Chinese herbal formula clinically used to treating pediatric attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In terms of the overall prescription, it has shown great efficacy in alleviating ADHD symptoms and holds broad clinical application prospects. However, due to the lack of in vitro and in vivo studies, the chemical components and metabolites of AnShenDingZhiLing remain poorly understood, which also hinders research into the pathogenesis of ADHD. This study established a rapid and efficient method employing UHPLC-HRMS system and integrated multiple strategies to systematic characterize and identify the chemical profiles and drug metabolites in the biological samples of AnShenDingZhiLing and AnShenDingZhiLing treated rats. In this study, 243 compounds (including 60 flavonoids, 50 terpenoids, 24 phenylpropanoids, 18 alkaloids, 18 anthraquinones, 16 phenylethanoid glycosides, 13 phenolic acids, 9 xanthones, 9 oligosaccharides, 8 phthaleins, 8 naphthopyrones, 4 organic acids, 4 aromatic aldehydes and 2 diarylheptanoids) were characterized. Following administration of AnShenDingZhiLing to rats, a total of 110 compounds related Chinese herbal medicine ingredients were identified in plasma and cerebrum samples. The primary metabolic pathways of chemicals derived from AnShenDingZhiLing can be summarized in methylation, demethylation, hydrolysis, hydroxylation, sulfation and glucuronidation. In summary, through this rapid and accurate analytical method, the comprehensive chemical profiles of AnShenDingZhiLing and its metabolites were characterized. Additionally, this study provides essential analytical thinking and scientific evidence for further exploring the material basis of AnShenDingZhiLing efficacy.
Keywords: UHPLC-HRMS, Feature-based molecular networking, Flavonoids, integrated strategies, prototype and metabolite components
Received: 14 Jun 2025; Accepted: 10 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Han, Ni, Zhu, Fang, Kang and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jichao Sun, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
Yumiao Wu, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
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