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Combined analytical approaches to define biodistribution and biological activity of semi-synthetic berberrubine, the active metabolite of natural berberine

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Abstract

Berberine (BBR) is a natural alkaloid obtained from Berberis species plants, known for its protective effects against several diseases. Among the primary BBR metabolites, berberrubine (M1) showed the highest plasma concentration but few and conflicting data are available regarding its concentration in biological fluids related to its new potential activity on vascular cells. A combined analytical approach was applied to study biodistribution of M1 in comparison with BBR. The optimization of sample clean-up combined with a fully validated HPLC-ESI-MS/MS tailored for M1 allows sufficient detectability and accuracy to be reached in the different studied organs even when administered at low dose, comparable to that assumed by human. A predictive human vascular endothelial cell-based assay to measure intracellular xanthine oxidase has been developed and applied to study unexplored activities of M1 alongside other common activities. Results showed that oral M1 treatment exhibits higher plasma levels than BBR, reaching maximum concentration 400-fold higher than BBR (204 vs 0.5 ng/mL); moreover, M1 exhibits higher concentrations than BBR also in all the biological compartments analyzed. Noteworthy, the two compounds follow two different excretion routes: M1 through urine, while BBR through feces. In vitro studies demonstrated that M1 inhibited intracellular xanthine oxidase activity, one of the major sources of reactive oxygen species in vasculature, with an IC50 = 9.90 ± 0.01 μg/mL and reduced the expression of the inflammatory marker ICAM-1. These peculiar characteristics allow new perspectives to be opened up for the direct use of M1 instead of BBR in endothelial dysfunction treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy

    Emanuele Porru, Placido Franco, Silvia Spinozzi, Cristiana Caliceti & Aldo Roda

  2. Interdepartimental Center of Industrial Research (CIRI)-Energy and Environment, University of Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy

    Donato Calabria, Cristiana Caliceti & Aldo Roda

  3. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FABIT), University of Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy

    Marinella Roberti

  4. Istituto Nazionale Biostrutture e Biosistemi (INBB), Viale delle Medaglie d’Oro 305, 00136, Rome, Italy

    Cristiana Caliceti & Aldo Roda

Authors
  1. Emanuele Porru
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  2. Placido Franco
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  3. Donato Calabria
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  4. Silvia Spinozzi
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  5. Marinella Roberti
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  6. Cristiana Caliceti
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  7. Aldo Roda
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristiana Caliceti.

Ethics declarations

All experiments were carried out according to the guidelines set forth by EEC Directive 86/609 on care and use of experimental animals. The protocol was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of the University of Bologna (Protocol 398/2016). All studies involving animals are reported in accordance with the ARRIVE guidelines.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Additional information

Published in the topical collection Discovery of Bioactive Compounds with guest editors Aldo Laganà, Anna Laura Capriotti and Chiara Cavaliere.

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Porru, E., Franco, P., Calabria, D. et al. Combined analytical approaches to define biodistribution and biological activity of semi-synthetic berberrubine, the active metabolite of natural berberine. Anal Bioanal Chem 410, 3533–3545 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-0884-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-0884-2

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