Alismatis Rhizoma (AR) is widely used in Chinese medicine, and its major bioactive components, triterpenes, reportedly possess various pharmacological activities. Therefore, it is very important to study the metabolism of triterpenes in vivo. However, the metabolism of AR triterpene extract has not been comprehensively elucidated due to its complex chemical components and metabolic pathways. In this study, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method, which was based on the characteristic ions from an established database of known triterpenes, was used to analyze the major metabolites in rats following the oral administration of Alismatis Rhizoma extracts (ARE). As a result, a total of 233 constituents, with 85 prototype compounds and 148 metabolites, were identified for the first time. Hydrogenation, oxidation, sulfate and glucuronidation conjugation were the major metabolic pathways for triterpenes in AR. In addition, the mutual in vivo transformation of known ARE triterpenes was discovered and confirmed for the first time. Those results provide comprehensive insights into the metabolism of AR in vivo, which will be useful for future studies on its pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. Moreover, this established strategy may be useful in metabolic studies of similar compounds.

泽泻(AR) 广泛用于中药，其主要生物活性成分三萜类化合物据报道具有多种药理活性。因此，研究三萜类化合物在体内的代谢非常重要。然而，由于其复杂的化学成分和代谢途径，AR三萜提取物的代谢尚未全面阐明。本研究采用超高效液相色谱四极杆飞行时间质谱法，以已建立的已知三萜数据库中的特征离子为基础，分析大鼠口服泽泻后的主要代谢物。根茎提取物（ARE）。结果，首次鉴定出233个成分，其中85个原型化合物和148个代谢物。氢化、氧化、硫酸化和葡萄糖醛酸化共轭是 AR 中三萜类化合物的主要代谢途径。此外，首次发现并证实了已知ARE三萜类化合物体内的相互转化。这些结果为AR体内代谢提供了全面的见解，这将有助于未来研究其药效学和药代动力学。此外，这种既定策略可能适用于类似化合物的代谢研究。