Anti-inflammatory mechanism of the non-volatile ingredients originated from Guanghuoxiang () based on high performance liquid chromatography-heated electron spray ionization-high resolution mass spectroscope and cell metabolomics.

Objective: To explore the anti-inflammatory components and mechanism of the non-volatile ingredients of patchouli.

Methods: High performance liquid chromatography-heated electron spray ionization-high resolution mass spectroscope (HPLC-HESI-HRMS) was used to analyze the chemical constituents of the non-volatile ingredients of patchouli. The anti-inflammatory activity of ingredients was evaluated using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced RAW264.7 cell inflammation model, and the anti-inflammatory mechanism was investigated using multivariate statistical analysis of cell metabolomics.

Results: The non-volatile ingredients of patchouli were characterized by HPLC-HESI-HRMS, and 36 flavonoids and 18 other components were identified. These ingredients of patchouli not only had a good protective effect on the LPS-induced inflammation model of RAW264.7 cells, but also regulated the expression levels of arginine, L-leucine, cholesterol, fructose and sorbitol by down-regulating arginine metabolism, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, polyol/sorbitol pathway, so as to reduce inflammation and reduce cell damage.

Conclusion: The non-volatile ingredients of patchouli had good anti-inflammatory effect and exerted its curative effect by regulating endogenous metabolic pathway to reduce inflammatory response.