Comparative LC-ESIMS-Based Metabolite Profiling of Senna italica with Senna alexandrina and Evaluating Their Hepatotoxicity
Authors
Elaheh Zibaee
Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran
Maryam Akaberi
Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran
Zahra Tayarani-Najaran
Targeted Drug Delivery Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran
Karel Nesměrák
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
Martin Štícha
Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Section of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
Naghmeh Shahraki
Medical Toxicology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran
Behjat Javadi
Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran
Seyed Emami
Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran
Senna Mill. (Fabaceae) is an important medicinal plant distributed worldwide. Senna alexandrina (S. alexandrina), the officinal species of the genus, is one of the most well-known herbal medicines traditionally used to treat constipation and digestive diseases. Senna italica (S. italica), another species of the genus, is native to an area ranging from Africa to the Indian subcontinent, including Iran. In Iran, this plant has been used traditionally as a laxative. However, very little phytochemical information and pharmacological reports investigating its safety of use are available. In the current study, we compared LC-ESIMS metabolite profiles of the methanol extract of S. italica with that of S. alexandrina and measured the content of sennosides A and B as the biomarkers in this genus. By this, we were able to examine the feasibility of using S. italica as a laxative agent like S. alexandrina. In addition, the hepatotoxicity of both species was evaluated against HepG2 cancer cell lines using HPLC-based activity profiling to localize the hepatotoxic components and evaluate their safety of use. Interestingly, the results showed that the phytochemical profiles of the plants were similar but with some differences, particularly in their relative contents. Glycosylated flavonoids, anthraquinones, dianthrones, benzochromenones, and benzophenones constituted the main components in both species. Nevertheless, some differences, particularly in the relative amount of some compounds, were observed. According to the LC-MS results, the amounts of sennoside A in S. alexandrina and S. italica were 1.85 ± 0.095% and 1.00 ± 0.38%, respectively. Moreover, the amounts of sennoside B in S. alexandrina and S. italica were 0.41 ± 0.12 % and 0.32 ± 0.17%, respectively. Furthermore, although both extracts showed significant hepatotoxicity at concentrations of 50 and 100 µg/mL, they were almost non-toxic at lower concentrations. Taken together, according to the results, the metabolite profiles of S. italica and S. alexandrina showed many compounds in common. However, further phytochemical, pharmacological, and clinical studies are necessary to examine the efficacy and safety of S. italica as a laxative agent.
Keywords: Senna italica, Senna alexandrina, LC-ESIMS, LC-MS/MS, sennosides, hepatotoxicity
Author Biographies
Elaheh Zibaee, Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran
Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Visualization
Maryam Akaberi, Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran
Martin Štícha, Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Section of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
Validation, Investigation
Naghmeh Shahraki, Medical Toxicology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran
Data curation
Behjat Javadi, Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran
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