Discovery, traceability, formation mechanism, metal and organic components analysis of supramolecules from Maxing Shigan decoction

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction is a complex polydispersed phase system containing colloid solution, emulsion and suspension, which maybe induced by the supramolecular phenomenon in decoction. However, until now there is no systematic analysis of composition and formation mechanism of supramolecules in TCM decoction contained mineral drug and herb medicines. Maxing Shigan Decoction (MXSGT), one of the classic TCM recipes, has been widely used in the treatment of fever in clinic. In this study, we obtained the supramolecular part of MXSGT (MXSGT NPs). And its traceability, formation mechanism, metal and organic components were further analyzed. The morphology was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS); and the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced rats’ fever model was established to evaluate the antipyretic effect of MXSGT NPs. Furthermore, interaction of the disassembled groups was studied to explore the traceability and formation mechanism of MXSGT NPs by isothermal titration calorimeter (ITC). Due to the combination of mineral gypsum and herb medicines, both ICP-OES and UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS were used to analyze metal and organic components of MXSGT and MXSGT NPs, respectively. The results showed that MXSGT NPs was regular spherical nanoparticles and had the same antipyretic effect as MXSGT. Moreover, MXSGT NPs was formed by the interaction between metal and organic components, resulted in enriching the main active compounds of MXSGT. This study would provide a new idea of studying TCM decoction, especially clarifying the connotation with the participation of mineral gypsum.