Identification of absorbed components and their metabolites in rat plasma after oral administration of Shufeng Jiedu capsule using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Rationale Shufeng Jiedu capsule (SFJDC), a prescription of traditional Chinese medicine, is mainly used for the treatment of acute upper respiratory tract infections. However, the bioactive components remain unclear, which partly limits its quality control and further development. This work aimed to carry out a study of plasma pharmacochemistry to identify the potential bioactive components of SFJDC. Methods An effective approach based on a combination of ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/QTOF-MS) and multivariate statistical analysis was applied to comprehensively analyze the absorbed components and their metabolites in rat plasma after oral administration of SFJDC. After UPLC/QTOF-MS detection, the differences between control and dosed plasma samples were distinguished by multivariate statistical analysis, and chromatographic signals of xenobiotic compounds were further extracted to identify structures. Results A total of 46 SFJDC-related xenobiotic compounds were identified as potential bioactive components in rat plasma. Among these, 27 absorbed prototype constituents were mainly flavonoids, anthraquinones, stilbenes, iridoids, lignans, naphthalenes, phenylethanoid glycosides and triterpenoid saponins. Especially for hastatoside, verbenalin, forsythoside A, phillyrin and emodin, they were closely related to the anti-inflammatory effect of SFJDC. Conclusions The absorbed components and metabolites of SFJDC in rat plasma were analyzed for the first time. This study will be conducive for ascertaining the quality markers of SFJDC for quality control and pharmacological mechanism research at the molecular level.