Yuman Li’s research while affiliated with Jiangsu Ocean University and other places

Seaweed (Sargassum pallidum (turn.) C.Ag.) and kelp (Laminaria japonica Aresch.) are two common marine plants, typical Chinese herbs with the same use as medicine and food. They are widely distributed in China and exhibit biological properties such as antioxidant, hypolipidemic, antitumor and hypoglycemic effects. This study developed an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) method coupled with chemometric techniques to identify the chemical components in seaweed and kelp from different origins and examine the similarities and differences between the two herbs. A total of 48 constituents were identified, including fatty acids, alkaloids, terpenoids, amino acids, sterols, etc. For two compounds, Aurantiamide and Linoleic acid, the identification and fragmentation patterns were analyzed. Seaweed and kelp demonstrated a clear distinction. Principal component analysis, orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis, and cluster heatmap analysis were performed on seaweed and kelp. The seaweed samples were found to have high similarity and aggregation among different origins, while the kelp samples showed greater dispersion. Heatmap analysis further revealed the similarities and differences between seaweeds and kelp from different origins. This study provides a reliable foundation for the clinical application of the two herbs.

Introduction: Pharbitidis Semen (PS) has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat several diseases such as nephritis. PS is usually stir-fried to enhance its therapeutic efficacy before use in clinical practice. However, the changes in phenolic acids during stir-frying and the mechanisms of their therapeutic effects on nephritis are still unclear. Methods: Here, we studied the processing-induced chemical changes and elucidated the mechanism of PS in the treatment of nephritis. We determined the levels of the 7 phenolic acids in raw PS (RPS) and stir-fried PS (SPS) using high-performance liquid chromatography, analyzed the dynamic compositional changes during stir-frying, and used network analysis and molecular docking to predict and verify compound targets and pathways corresponding to nephritis. Results: The dynamic changes in the 7 phenolic acids in PS during stir-frying are suggestive of a transesterification reaction. Pathway analysis revealed that the targets of nephritis were mainly enriched in the AGE-RAGE, hypoxia-inducible factor-1, interleukin-17, and tumor necrosis factor signaling pathways among others. Molecular docking results showed that the 7 phenolic acids had good binding ability with the key nephritic targets. Discussion: The potential pharmaceutical basis, targets, and mechanisms of PS in treating nephritis were explored. Our findings provide a scientific basis for the clinical use of PS in treating nephritis.