Effect of wine processing and acute blood stasis on the serum pharmacochemistry of rhubarb: A possible explanation for processing mechanism

As a specific item mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine theory, processing can fulfill different requirements of therapies. Crude and wine‐processed rhubarbs are used as drastic and mild laxatives, respectively. In this study, a practical method based on ultra‐fast liquid chromatography coupled with diode‐array detection and ion trap time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry was developed to screen and analyze multiple absorbed bioactive components and metabolites in the serum of both normal and acute blood stasis rats after oral administration of crude or wine‐processed rhubarbs. A total of 16 compounds, mainly including phase II metabolites, were tentatively identified. Possible explanations for the processing‐induced changes in pharmacological effects of traditional Chinese medicines were first explored at serum pharmacochemistry level.