Analysis of the Total Biflavonoids Extract from Selaginella doederleinii by HPLC-QTOF-MS and Its In Vitro and In Vivo Anticancer Effects

Selaginella doederleiniiHieron has been traditionally used as a folk antitumor herbal medicine in China. In this paper, the phytochemical components of the total biflavonoids extract fromS. doederleiniiwere studied by using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-QTOF MS/MS) in negative ion mode, and their in vitro and in vivo anticancer effects were evaluated. Four types of biflavonoids fromS. doederleinii, including IC3′–IIC8′′, IC3′–IIC6′′, IC3′–IIC3′′′, and C–O linked biflavonoids were examined originally using QTOF MS/MS. The fragmentation behavior of IC3′–IIC3′′′ linked biflavonoids was reported for the first time. A total of twenty biflavonoids were identified or tentatively characterized and eight biflavonoids were found fromS. doederleiniifor the first time. Furthermore, the 3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thizolyl)-2,5-diphenyltertazolium bromide (MTT) assay and xenograft model of mouse lewis lung cancer(LLC) in male C57BL/6 mice revealed favorable anticancer properties of the total biflavonoids extracts fromS. doederleinii. The results of this work could provide useful knowledge for the identification of biflavonoids in herbal samples and further insights into the chemopreventive function of this plant.Keywords:Selaginella doederleinii;HPLC-ESI-QTOF MS/MS;biflavonoids;murine B16 melanoma cell;mouse lewis lung cancer (LLC) cell;LLC mouse model