A Study on the Anti-inflammatory Activity of Clematis tangutica Using Molecular Networking

Background:: Clematis tangutica, an indigenous medicinal herb native to the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau of China, has traditionally been associated with treating various inflammation-related diseases. While its therapeutic potential is recognized, a comprehensive characterization of its metabolite molecules and their anti-inflammatory properties has not been undertaken. Objective:: This study aimed to comprehensively profile the metabolite molecules of Clematis tangutica and identify potential anti-inflammatory active molecules using the Activity Labelled Molecular Networking (ALMN) approach. Methods:: The ALMN approach was employed to visually label activity to the feature-based molecular network, allowing for the profiling of potential anti-inflammatory active molecules in Clematis tangutica. Through correlating activity levels with the respective molecules, a detailed profiling was achieved. Results:: Out of the 8,644 metabolite molecules in Clematis tangutica, ten were identified as the most potent anti-inflammatory molecules. Among these, Spiraeoside was notably annotated along with its structure. Conclusion:: This research successfully identified ten potent anti-inflammatory molecules from the vast metabolite profile of Clematis tangutica, including a detailed annotation of Spiraeoside. This marked a significant step in bridging traditional therapeutic knowledge with modern molecular profiling techniques.