Identification of poliumoside metabolites in rat plasma, urine, bile, and intestinal bacteria with UPLC/Q-TOF-MS

Poliumoside is representative of phenylethanoid glycosides, which are widely found in many plants. Poliumoside is also regarded as the main active component of Callicarpa kwangtungensis Chun (CK), though its oral bioavailability in rat is extremely low (0.69%) and its in vivo and in vitro metabolism has not yet been systematically investigated. In the present study, an ultra performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS) method was employed to identify the metabolites and investigate the metabolic pathways of poliumoside in rat after oral administration 1.5 g·kg–1 of poliumoside. As a result, a total of 34 metabolites (30 from urine, 17 from plasma, and 4 from bile) and 9 possible metabolic pathways (rearrangment, reduction, hydration, hydrolyzation, dehydration, methylation, hydroxylation, acetylation, and sulfation) were proposed in vivo. The main metabolite, acteoside, was quantified after incubated with rat intestinal bacteria in vitro. In conclusion, the present study systematically explored the metabolites of poliumoside in vivo and in vitro, proposing metabolic pathways that may be significant for further metabolic studies of poliumoside.