Exploring multifunctional components from Andrographis paniculata by affinity ultrafiltration with three molecular targets

Andrographis paniculata (Burm. F.) Nees (AP) was a typical plant resource that has the concomitant function of both foodstuff and medicine, while the action mechanisms of its immune regulation, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral effects and the specific components remain unclear. In this work, a screening approach combining bio-affinity ultrafiltration with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UF-LC/MS) was hired to screen potential bioactive compounds from AP. The crude extract of AP exerted COX-2 and ACE2 inhibitory effects by other bioassays. Meanwhile, a total of eleven ligands targeting COX-2, IL-6 and ACE2 were screened out. Thereinto, two compounds including andrographolide and 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide exhibited strong binding affinities to COX-2, IL-6 and ACE2 by UF-LC/MS and molecular docking analysis. This is the first report to apply UF-LC/MS approach to rapidly screen out multi-target ligands from AP, and further decipher corresponding mechanisms, which could be beneficial to expedite the search for new multi-target bioactive compounds in other natural products or foods.