Rapid discovery of absorbed constituents and metabolites in rat plasma after the oral administration of Zi Shen Wan using high‐throughput UHPLC–MS with a multivariate analysis approach

Zi Shen Wan is a typical formula consisting of three herbs, Phellodendri Amurensis Cortex, Rhizoma Anemarrhenae, and Cortex Cinnamomi, and has been widely used for treating prostatitis and infection diseases. However, it lacks in-depth research of the constituents of Zi Shen Wan in vivo and in vitro. In this work, ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and MassLynx software was established to characterize the chemical compositions of Zi Shen Wan in vivo and in vitro. In total, 92 peaks were characterized in vitro and 33 peaks were characterized in vivo based on mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry data. Among the 33 compounds characterized in rat plasma, 22 prototype components absorbed in rat serum and 11 metabolites were identified in vivo. This work was fully reports the chemical constituents of traditional Chinese formula of Zi Shen Wan, it demonstrated that ultra high performance liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled to MassLynx software and multivariate data processing approach could be successfully applied for rapid screening and comprehensive analysis of chemical constituents in vitro and prototype components or metabolites in vivo of traditional Chinese medicine.