Plasma pharmacochemistry combined with pharmacokinetics and pattern recognition analysis to screen potentially bioactive components from Daming capsule using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Daming capsule is a traditional Chinese medicine for hyperlipidemia treatment. However, the vague understanding of the bioactive components of Daming capsule hampers its modernization and internationalization. This work first developed a high-throughput, high-resolution, and high-sensitivity ultra high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry method for identifying the absorbed compounds and monitoring the pharmacokinetics of Daming capsule. A high-throughput strategy integrating plasma pharmacochemistry, pharmacokinetics, and pattern recognition analysis was also established for screening the bioactive components of Daming capsule in vivo. The established strategy based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry was successfully applied to screen the bioactive components of Daming capsule. Up to 53 absorbed compounds were identified. Six anthraquinones with fast and high absorption, namely, emodin-O-glucoside, aurantio-obtusin, aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, and chrysophanol, were screened as potentially bioactive components of Daming capsule. The plasma pharmacochemistry and pharmacokinetics of Daming capsule were reported for the first time. Notably, the high-throughput and reliable strategy facilitated the screening and identification of bioactive components of traditional Chinese medicine, thereby providing novel insights into the research and development of new drugs.