Efficiently Capturing Mitochondria-Targeted Constituents with Hepatoprotective Activity from Medicinal Herbs

Abstract EN

Targeting mitochondria as a hepatic-protective strategy has gained attention, because of their important roles in energy production, adjustment of apoptosis, and generation of reactive oxygen species.

To promote the discovery of natural mitochondria-targeted hepatic-protectants, we established a hepatocellular mitochondria-based capturing method by coupling affinity ultrafiltration with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), which is suitable for identifying mitochondrial ligands from medicinal herbs (MHs).

After evaluating the feasibility of the method, it was applied for capturing mitochondria-targeting constituents from Peucedani Radix extract.

A total of 10 active compounds were identified by LC/MS, all of which were newly identified mitochondrial ligands.

The mitochondria-remedying activity of 4 of the 10 hits was confirmed by pharmacological tests in vitro.

Additionally, the hepatic-protective abilities of 4 hits were verified in both carbon tetrachloride-damaged liver L02 cells and mice.

These results indicated that the method could be used for identifying hepatic mitochondria-targeting constituents in MHs, which might be beneficial for hepatic-protective development.