Screening of anti-fatigue active ingredients of Eleutherococcus senticosus via spectrum-effect relationship based on factor analysis and LC-MS/MS

ES contains compounds known to have significant anti-fatigue activity. In recent years, it has received extensive attention because it is efficient. However, its active ingredients on antifatigue effect are still unclear. This study attempts to establish the spectrum-effect relationship of ES antifatigue activity to screen the effective components. The results showed that the similarity of 15 ES fingerprints obtained by LC-MS/MS was 0.533-0.992, and the chemical structures of 22 common peaks were identified. The anti-fatigue activity of 15 batches of ES was characterized by forced swimming test of mice and quantified by CAFI, among which S4, S1 and S5 had better activity. 9 components (caffeic acid, 5-(4-O-beta-D-glucosylferoyl)-quinic acid, (+/-)13-HODE, isofraxidin, eleutheroside E, syringin, pinoresinol diglucoside or its isomer, 7,8-dihydrodehydrocarbinol alcohol-4-O-beta-D-glucoside, secoisolariciresinol-4-O-beta-D-glucoside) highly related to anti-fatigue activity may be the effective components of ES.

Automated summary

ES contains compounds with significant anti-fatigue activity, but the active ingredients responsible for this effect are still unknown. This study aimed to establish the spectrum-effect relationship of ES's anti-fatigue activity and identify effective components. LC-MS/MS analysis of 15 ES samples revealed similarities ranging from 0.533 to 0.992, and the chemical structures of 22 common peaks were identified. The anti-fatigue activity of ES was evaluated through forced swimming tests in mice, and 9 components were found to be highly related to this activity.