East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet?

Characterization of Rheumatoid Arthritis Subtypes Using Symptom Profiles, Clinical Chemistry and Metabolomics Measurements

Objective: The aim is to characterize subgroups or phenotypes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients using a systems biology approach. The discovery of subtypes of rheumatoid arthritis patients is an essential research area for the improvement of response to therapy and the development of personalized medicine strategies. Methods: In this study,...

Lipidomics reveals multiple pathway effects of a multi-components preparation on lipid biochemistry in ApoE*3Leiden.CETP mice

Background: Causes and consequences of the complex changes in lipids occurring in the metabolic syndrome are only partly understood. Several interconnected processes are deteriorating, which implies that multi-target approaches might be more successful than strategies based on a limited number of surrogate markers. Preparations from Chinese...

Linking biological activity with herbal constituents by systems biology-based approaches: Effects of Panax ginseng in type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats

Although a number of animal experiments and clinical trials have investigated the effects of ginseng roots on diabetes, the relationship between their therapeutic effects on diabetes and the quality and the growth age of this herb have not yet been reported. This study systematically investigated the effects of 3- to 6-year-old ginseng roots on...

An ultra performance liquid chromatography-time-of-flight-mass spectrometric method for fast analysis of ginsenosides in Panax ginseng root

A method for fast analysis of ginsenosides in Panax ginseng roots was developed using ultra performance liquid chromatography-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-TOF-MS). The column used was HSS T3 (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 µm). The mobile phase consisted of 15 mmol/L ammonium formate and acetonitrile, eluted with the gradient program. The...

Plasma and liver lipidomics response to an intervention of rimonabant in ApoE*3Leiden.CETP transgenic mice

Background: Lipids are known to play crucial roles in the development of life-style related risk factors such as obesity, dyslipoproteinemia, hypertension and diabetes. The first selective cannabinoid-1 receptor blocker rimonabant, an anorectic anti-obesity drug, was frequently used in conjunction with diet and exercise for patients with a body...

Systems biology-based diagnostic principles as pillars of the bridge between Chinese and Western medicine

Innovative systems approaches to develop medicine and health care are emerging from the integration of Chinese and Western medicine strategies, philosophies and practices. The two medical systems are highly complementary as the reductionist aspects of Western medicine are favourable in acute disease situations and the holistic aspects of Chinese...

Systems biology guided by Chinese medicine reveals new markers for sub-typing rheumatoid arthritis patients

BACKGROUND: Complex chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis have become a major challenge in medicine and for the pharmaceutical industry. New impulses for drug development are needed. OBJECTIVE: A systems biology approach is explored to find subtypes of rheumatoid arthritis patients enabling a development towards more personalized...

Analytical strategies in lipidomics and applications in disease biomarker discovery

Lipidomics is a lipid-targeted metabolomics approach aiming at comprehensive analysis of lipids in biological systems. Recently, lipid profiling, or so-called lipidomics research, has captured increased attention due to the well-recognized roles of lipids in numerous human diseases to which lipid-associated disorders contribute, such as diabetes...

Systems toxicology study of doxorubicin on rats using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry based metabolomics

A metabolomics-based systems toxicology approach was used to profile the urinary metabolites for the toxicity related processes and pathogenesis induced by doxorubicin (DOX) to rats. Endogenous metabolite profiles were obtained with ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) for rats receiving different single dosages of...

Bioconversion of red ginseng saponins in the gastro-intestinal tract in vitro model studied by high-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

A high-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (HPLC-FTICR-MS) method was developed to investigate the metabolism of ginsenosides in in vitro models of the gastro-intestinal tract. The metabolites were identified by high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Degradation and...

Quality and safety of Chinese herbal medicines guided by a systems biology perspective

Chinese herbal medicines, often referred as Chinese materia medica (CMM), are comprised of a complex multicomponent nature. The activities are aimed at the system level via interactions with a multitude of targets in the human body. This review aims at the toxicity aspects of CMM and its preparations at the different steps of production;...

Alkaloid profiling of the Chinese herbal medicine Fuzi by combination of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) method was developed for the high throughput and robust qualitative profiling of alkaloids in Fuzi-the processed lateral roots of the Chinese herbal medicine Aconitum carmichaeli Debx (A. carmichaeli). After optimization, powdered roots - without any further sample...

RPLC-ion-trap-FTMS method for lipid profiling of plasma: Method validation and application to p53 mutant mouse model

Recent methodology in the phytochemical analysis of ginseng

This review summarises the most recent developments in ginseng analysis, in particular the novel approaches in sample pre-treatment and the use of high-performance liquid-chromatography-mass spectrometry. The review also presents novel data on analysing ginseng extracts by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and high-resolution mass...

RPLC-lon-trap-FTMS method for lipid profiling of plasma: Method validation And application to p53 mutant mouse model

A reversed-phase liquid chromatography-linear ion trap-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry method was developed for the profiling of lipids in human and mouse plasma. With the use of a fused-core C₈ column and a binary gradient, more than 160 lipids belonging to eight different classes were detected in a single...