Evaluating Bioactive Compounds in SMT

To investigate the potential bioactive chemical compounds in SMT, we explored the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties of each individual phytochemical compound present in the four herbal constituents of SMT. In this study, we assessed the three commonly used ADME-related parameters (oral bioavailability (OB), Caco-2 permeability, and drug-likeness (DL)) for each compound [52 (link)]. OB indicates the fraction of an ingested dose of a given drug that crosses the gastrointestinal epithelium, enters the systemic circulation, and becomes available for distribution to internal tissues and organs [52 (link), 56 (link)]. Caco-2 permeability is used to assess the absorption capacity of drug molecules and chemical compounds in the intestines based on their passage rate through the Caco-2 human colon epithelial cancer cell line [52 (link), 57 (link)–59 (link)]. Notably, Caco-2 cells are commonly used as a model for evaluating the intestinal absorption capacity of biochemical compounds since they have morphologic features similar to those of human intestinal epithelial cells [57 (link)–59 (link)]. Generally, compounds with Caco-2 permeability <−0.4 are regarded as impermeable in the small intestinal epithelium [60 (link), 61 (link)]. DL is a key qualitative criterion used in drug design to determine candidate chemical components that may be used as drugs based on their structural and pharmacokinetic characteristics [52 (link), 62 (link)]. Based on previous studies, we regarded chemical compounds with OB ≥ 30%, Caco-2 permeability ≥−0.4, and DL ≥ 0.18 as pharmacologically active [52 (link), 63 (link), 64 (link)].