Identification of chemical constituents of Smilax glabra Roxb. and comparative study on pharmacokinetics of 12 main...

Smilax glabra (S. glabra), a dual-purpose medicinal herb, demonstrates anti-hyperuricemic potential, but its active constituents remain unclear. Here, we systematically characterized its chemical profile and compared pharmacokinetics between normal and hyperuricemic (HUA) rats. Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Q-Exactive Orbitrap High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-HRMS), we identified 89 compounds, with 12 quantitatively analyzed by a validated UPLC-MS/MS method (precision RSD <15 %, accuracy 85-115 %). The pharmacokinetic analysis demonstrated that most compounds achieved peak plasma concentrations within 0.5-3 h with relatively short elimination half-lives, while comparative assessment revealed significantly increased systemic exposure and prolonged time for seven key constituents (caffeic acid, neoastilbin, astilbin, neoisoastilbin, isoastilbin, engeletin, and quercetin) in HUA rats. The results of this study provide a direction and basis for further revealing the active components of S. glabra in the treatment of HUA.