RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 An Integrated Approach for Studying Exposure, Metabolism, and Disposition of Multiple Component Herbal Medicines Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry and Multiple Data Processing Tools JF Drug Metabolism and Disposition JO Drug Metab Dispos FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics SP 800 OP 808 DO 10.1124/dmd.115.068189 VO 44 IS 6 A1 Caisheng Wu A1 Haiying Zhang A1 Caihong Wang A1 Hailin Qin A1 Mingshe Zhu A1 Jinlan Zhang YR 2016 UL http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/44/6/800.abstract AB A typical prescription of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) contains up to a few hundred prototype components. Studying their absorption, metabolism, distribution, and elimination (ADME) presents great challenges. The objective of this study was to develop a practical approach for investigating ADME of individual prototypes in TCM. An active fraction of Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction (AF-XXMD) as a model TCM prescription was orally administered to rats. AF-XXMD–related components in plasma, urine, bile, and feces were detected using high-resolution mass spectrometry and background subtraction, an untargeted data-mining tool. Components were then structurally characterized on the basis of MSn spectral data. Connection of detected AF-XXMD metabolites to their precursor species, either prototypes or upstream metabolites, were determined on the basis of mass spectral similarity and the matching of biotransformation reactions. As a result, 247 AF-XXMD–related components were detected and structurally characterized in rats, 134 of which were metabolites. Among 198 AF-XXMD prototypes dosed, 65 were fully or partially absorbed and 13 prototypes and 34 metabolites were found in the circulation. Glucuronidation, isomerization, and deglycosylation followed by biliary and urinary excretions and direct elimination of prototypes via kidney and liver were the major clearance pathways of AF-XXMD prototypes. As an example, the ADME profile of H56, the single major AF-XXMD component in rat plasma, was elucidated on the basis of profiles of H56-related components in plasma and excreta. The results demonstrate that the new analytical approach is a useful tool for rapid and comprehensive detection and characterization of TCM components in biologic matrix in a TCM ADME study.