Multi-effective components and their target mechanism of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen in the treatment of insomnia

Insomnia is a common and refractory disease. Since more than 2000 years ago, people have been using Ziziphi Spinosae Semen (ZSS). However, there are lack of molecular mechanisms of sleep promotion effects of ZSS. The purpose of this study is to clarify the active ingredients in ZSS that are used to treat insomnia. Using a method called cellular label-free integrative pharmacology (CLIP), we established five insomnia-related target models, including serotonin (5HT2A and 5HT1A), melatonin (MT1), dopamine (D2) and epinephrine (β2) receptors. The one-dimensional (1D) fractions of ZSS extract were prepared on a RZC18 column and assayed on five models. Subsequently, the active fraction was further analyzed, fractionated and quantified using a two-dimensional (2D) liquid phase method coupled with a charged aerosol detector (CAD), This CAD-coupled 2D-LC method requires micro-fractions from the 1D separation and thus it greatly saves sample amounts and corresponding preparation time, and quickly conduct activity screening. The composition of the active 2D fractions was then determined using three-dimensional (3D) HPLC-MS, and molecular docking was separately carried out for the described compounds on the targets for activity prediction. Seven compounds were predicted to be active on 5HT2A, and two compounds on D2. We experimentally verified the prediction and found that vitexin exhibited D2 agonistic activity, and nuciferine exhibited 5HT2A antagonistic activity. This study revealed the effective components and their targets of ZSS in the treatment of insomnia, also highlighted the potential of the CLIP technique and bioactivity guided multi-dimensional HPLC-MS in molecular mechanism elucidation for traditional Chinese medicines.