UFLC-Q-TOF/MS based screening and identification of the metabolites in plasma, bile, urine and feces of normal and blood stasis rats after oral administration of hydroxysafflor yellow A.

The dried flower of Carthamus tinctorius L. (honghua) is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine in clinics to treat coronary heart disease, hypertension, and cerebrovascular disease due to its functions of ameliorating circulation and removing blood stasis. Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) is an active marker component of honghua. In this paper, ultra-flow liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass-spectrometry (UFLC-Q-TOF/MS) was established and successfully applied to the detection and identification of the metabolites in bile, urine, plasma and feces samples of normal and model rats with orally administrated HSYA. A total of 8 metabolites were observed in normal rats, while 7 metabolites were detected in model rats. The distribution of metabolites in the plasma, bile, urine and feces of normal and model rats had obvious differences. The major in vivo metabolic pathways for HSYA included hydroxylation, hydroxylation+methylation, acetylation and glucuronidation, and there were also dehydration, hydrogenation, hydration, and hydroxylation+glucuronidation. All of these metabolites were reported for the first time, and these results are valuable and important for the understanding of the metabolic process and therapeutic mechanism of HSYA and some other pigments in honghua.