Application of new analytical techniques for the comprehensive chemical characterization of selected herbal remedies and evaluation of their hepatoprotective effect

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Oliver Schmitz
• Subject Area: Analytical Chemistry
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 504370143

More and more antibiotic-resistant bacteria are appearing, and the existing drugs also show strong side effects or patient-dependent effects in many other diseases. Perhaps the ancient knowledge of monastic medicine can help to make further progress. The treatment of liver diseases with European medicinal plants has a centuries-old tradition in monastic medicine. However, there is a need for scientific data to support the positive effects of these treatments. Currently, little information is available on the plants used in monastic medicine and their chemical compositions. However, the bioactive effects of medicinal plants are directly related to their chemical composition, so in-depth chemical characterisation is imperative to understand which compounds are responsible for the beneficial effects. So far, however, there has been a lack of information because these samples are extremely complex and it is very difficult to capture their full composition with current analytical techniques. In this project, an innovative 2D-LC setup with a novel dual ion source is proposed to analyse the maximum of the different compound classes in the herbal drugs. Thereby, a comprehensive two-dimensional HPLC (LCxLC) with two switchable different second dimensions will be used to realise a further separation performance improvement compared to classical LCxLC. In addition, a switchable dual ion source will significantly increase the efficiency of ionisation. With the high degree of identification expected in this way, the in vitro hepatoprotective activity of the herbal extracts will be evaluated and the compounds responsible for the bioactive effect will be determined to provide scientific knowledge to a thousand-year-old tradition.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants