Mass Spectrometric Behavior and Molecular Mechanisms of Fermented Deoxyanthocyanidins to Alleviate Ulcerative Colitis Based on Network Pharmacology

Aims. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of chronic idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease with a multifactorial pathogenesis and limited treatment options. The aim of the present study is to investigate the hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) behaviors of fermented deoxyanthocyanidins and their molecular mechanisms to alleviate UC by using quantum chemistry and network pharmacology. Methods. Tandem MS indicated at least two fragmentation pathways through which deuterated vinylphenol-deoxyanthocyanidins could generate different product ions. Quantum calculations were conducted to determine the transition states of the relevant molecules and analyze their optimized configuration, vibrational characteristics, intrinsic reaction coordinates, and corresponding energies. The potential targets of deoxyanthocyanidins in UC were screened from a public database. The R package was used for Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analyses, and the protein–protein interactions (PPIs) of the targets were assessed using Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING). Finally, molecular docking was implemented to analyze the binding energies and action modes of the target compounds through the online tool CB-Dock. Results. Quantum calculations indicated two potential fragmentation pathways involving the six-membered ring and dihydrogen cooperative transfer reactions of the vinylphenol-deoxyanthocyanidins. A total of 146 and 57 intersecting targets of natural and fermented deoxyanthocyanidins were separately screened out from the UC database and significant overlaps in GO terms and KEGG pathways were noted. Three shared hub targets (i.e., PTGS2, ESR1, and EGFR) were selected from the two PPI networks by STRING. Molecular docking results showed that all deoxyanthocyanidins have a good binding potential with the hub target proteins and that fermented deoxyanthocyanidins have lower binding energies and more stable conformations compared with natural ones. Conclusions. Deoxyanthocyanidins may provide anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and immune system regulatory effects to suppress UC progression. It is proposed for the first time that fermentation of deoxyanthocyanidins can help adjust the structure of the intestinal microbiota and increase the biological activity of the natural compounds against UC. Furthermore, HDX-MS is a helpful strategy to analyze deoxyanthocyanidin metabolites with unknown structures.