Identification of metabolites in human and rat urine after oral administration of Xiao-Qing-Long-Tang granule using ultra high performance liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Xiao-Qing-Long-Tang is a traditional Chinese formula used for the treatment of cold syndrome, bronchitis, and nasal allergies for thousands of years. However, the in vivo integrated metabolism of its multiple components and the active chemical constituents of Xiao-Qing-Long-Tang remain unknown. In this study, a method using ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry was established for the detection and identification of the metabolites in human and rat urine after oral administration of Xiao-Qing-Long-Tang. A total of 19 compounds were detected or tentatively identified in human urine samples, including eight prototypes and 11 metabolites. Also, a total of 50 compounds were detected or tentatively identified in rat urine samples, including 15 prototypes and 35 metabolites detected with either a highly sensitive extracted ion chromatogram method or the MSE determination using Mass Fragment software. Our results indicated that phase Ⅱ reactions (e.g. glucuronidation and sulfation) were the main metabolic pathways of flavones, while phase I reactions (e.g. demethylation and hydroxylation) were the major metabolic reaction for alkaloids, lignans, and ginger essential oil. This investigation provided important structural information on the metabolism of Xiao-Qing-Long-Tang and provided evidence to obtain a more comprehensive metabolic profile.