Simultaneous UPLC-MS/MS determination of four components of Socheongryong-tang tablet in human plasma: Application to pharmacokinetic study

A Systematic Review and Comprehensive Evaluation of Human Intervention Studies to Unravel the Bioavailability of Hydroxycinnamic Acids

Significance: Hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs) are the main phenolic acids in the western diet. Harmonizing the available information on the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of HCAs is fundamental to unraveling the compounds responsible for their health effects. This work systematically assessed pharmacokinetics, including urinary recovery, and bioavailability of HCAs and their metabolites, based on literature reports. Recent Advances: Forty-seven intervention studies with coffee, berries, herbs, cereals, tomato, orange, grape products, and pure compounds, as well as other sources yielding HCA metabolites, were included. Up to 105 HCA metabolites were collected, mainly acyl-quinic and C6-C3 cinnamic acids. C6-C3 cinnamic acids, such as caffeic and ferulic acid, reached the highest blood concentrations (maximum plasma concentration [Cmax] = 423 nM), with time to reach Cmax (Tmax) values ranging from 2.7 to 4.2 h. These compounds were excreted in urine in higher amounts than their phenylpropanoic acid derivatives (4% and 1% of intake, respectively), but both in a lower percentage than hydroxybenzene catabolites (11%). Data accounted for 16 and 18 main urinary and blood HCA metabolites, which were moderately bioavailable in humans (collectively 25%). Critical Issues: A relevant variability emerged. It was not possible to unequivocally assess the bioavailability of HCAs from each ingested source, and data from some plant based-foods were absent or inconsistent. Future Directions: A comprehensive study investigating the ADME of HCAs derived from their most important dietary sources is urgently required. Eight key metabolites were identified and reached interesting plasma Cmax concentrations and urinary recoveries, opening up new perspectives to evaluate their bioactivity at physiological concentrations. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 40, 510-541.

The Pretreatment of Xiaoqinglong Decoction Alleviates Inflammation and Oxidative Damage and Up-Regulates Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 in Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Septic Acute Lung Injury Rats

Xiaoqinglong decoction (XQLD), a classic prescription of Traditional Chinese Medicine, has already been used clinically to cure acute lung injury (ALI), but its mechanism remains unclear. This subject aimed to explore the preventive role of XQLD in septic ALI rats besides its effects on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)2 and its downstream factors. After, respectively, administrated with different concentrations of XQLD (6.25 g/kg/d, 12.5 g/kg/d, 25 g/kg/d) for 5 days and dexamethasone (DEX, 1 mg/kg) for 0.5 h, the rat models of ALI were established by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 5 mg/kg) for 24 h. All rats were evaluated by lung function test, arterial blood gas analysis, morphological observation, lung wet/dry (W/D) ratio, and the lung injury score. The levels of malonaldehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and angiotensin (Ang) (1–7) in the lung were measured through biochemical and ELISA kits. The expressions of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)2, mitochondrial assembly receptor (MasR), and nuclear factor (NF)-κB in lung tissue were detected by qRT-PCR and western blotting. Positive reaction cells of MasR were observed by immunohistochemistry. The results show that XQLD significantly ameliorated septic lung injury including edema and hemorrhage, as well as improved pulmonary function and arterial blood gas. Furthermore, XQLD markedly decreased the levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, MDA, and NF-κB while increased the levels of SOD, Ang (1–7), ACE2, and MasR in septic ALI rats. Pearson correlation showed that the expressions of ACE2 were inversely related to IL-1β, TNF-α, MDA, and NF-κB and positively correlated with SOD contents. Our data indicated that XQLD pretreatment alleviated inflammation and oxidative damage in septic ALI rats, which might be related to the up-regulation of ACE2-Ang (1–7)-MasR axis and inhibition of the NF-κB pathway.

Simultaneous detection of ten kinds of insecticide residues in honey and pollen using UPLC-MS/MS with graphene and carbon nanotubes as adsorption and purification materials

An analytical method of simultaneous detection of ten insecticide residues in honey and pollen was established. The samples were purified with QuEChERS approach using new adsorbents and analyzed with UPLC-MS/MS. The results showed that both of graphene and carbon nanotubes were highly efficient adsorbents for the dSPE clean up to eliminate coextractives in the samples, and graphene was superior to carbon nanotubes for the detection of pesticide residues in honey and pollen samples. The proposed method was used to detect pesticide residues in 25 honey samples and 30 pollen samples which were randomly collected from more than ten provinces in China. All honey samples contain 1-27 μg/kg of chlorpyrifos residues. Only 4% of the honey samples were detected containing acetamiprid and imidacloprid, while the other seven pesticides were not detected. Chlorpyrifos residues were found in all pollen samples (5-66 μg/kg), among which twenty percent exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs, 50 μg/kg, European Commission Regulation). Most of the pollen samples containing pesticide concentrations higher than MRLs were collected from rape, followed by lotus, camellia, and rose. Besides, 36.7% and 33.3% of the pollen samples had imidacloprid and flupyradifurone higher than 5 μg/kg. A total of 26.7% pollen samples were detected containing bifenthrin, while none of the other six pesticides were detected in pollen samples.

Simultaneous determination of fourteen components of Gumiganghwal-tang tablet in human plasma by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS and its application to pharmacokinetic study

Gumiganghwal-tang is a traditional herbal medicine widely used for its anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic effects. However, the safety and efficacy of its active ingredients based on an in vivo pharmacokinetic (PK) study have yet been investigated. We have established a sensitive and accurate UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method and conducted a PK study on 14 constituents of Gumiganghwal-tang through human plasma analysis. Analytical conditions were optimized according to the physicochemical properties of the 14 compounds to facilitate efficient separation and eliminate overlap or interference between peaks. KINETEX-C₁₈ and Inertsil-C₈ columns were used as UPLC stationary phases, and acetonitrile and aqueous formic acid were used as mobile phases. All the analytes were quantified with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer using electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The chromatograms of 14 bioactive compounds showed excellent elution and sensitivity, and each peak was selectively separated and quantified without interference with each other or impurities. The established analytical method was based on international guidelines and was successfully used to perform PK studies of 14 herbal ingredients in humans after oral administration with Gumiganghwal-tang tablets. The oral absorption of most active components of Gumiganghwal-tang was relatively rapid and remained considerably long in the body to be quantified in plasma up to 48 h after administration.

Pharmacokinetic Changes According to Single or Multiple Oral Administrations of Socheongryong-Tang to Rats: Presented as a Typical Example of Changes in the Pharmacokinetics Following Multiple Exposures to Herbal Medicines

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetic properties of ephedrine, paeoniflorin, and cinnamic acid after single or multiple doses of Socheongryong-tang (SCRT) were administered to rats, and to present an example of the pharmacokinetic changes following multiple doses of an herbal medicine. SCRT is a traditional herbal medicine that has been used clinically for a long time, and its main ingredients include ephedrine, paeoniflorin, and cinnamic acid. However, studies on the pharmacokinetic properties of SCRT are insufficient, and particularly, no pharmacokinetic information has been reported for multiple doses. In this study, SCRT was administered orally to rats once or multiple times, and plasma sampled at different times was quantitatively analyzed for ephedrine, paeoniflorin, and cinnamic acid using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. There was a difference between the pharmacokinetic parameter values of each component (especially in paeoniflorin and cinnamic acid) obtained after single or multiple doses of SCRT. The actual observed values of each component obtained after multiple doses of SCRT were clearly different from the predicted results of multiple-dose simulations based on the pharmacokinetic profiles obtained after a single dose. The results confirmed that the plasma concentrations and, thus, exposures to paeoniflorin and cinnamic acid were significantly increased when SCRT was administered multiple times, whereas that of ephedrine was not. The results of this study are expected to provide useful pharmacokinetic data for the safety and efficacy evaluation of SCRT in the future and demonstrate the necessity of pharmacokinetic comparison studies according to single or multiple oral administrations of herbal medicines.

Simultaneous determination of asarinin, β-eudesmol, and wogonin in rats using ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and its application to pharmacokinetic studies following administration of standards and Gumiganghwal-tang

Asarinin, β-eudesmol, and wogonin have common antiangiogenic activities and have the potential for use in chemotherapy. Besides, they are multivalent substances that are combined in various herbal medicines. The purpose of this study was to develop a method for simultaneous analysis of asarinin, β-eudesmol, and wogonin, which are representative pharmacological components of Asarum heterotropoides, Atractylodes lancea, and Scutellaria baicalensis, respectively, in rat biosamples using ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The three components were separated using 5 mm aqueous ammonium acetate containing 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as a mobile phase, equipped with a KINETEX core-shell C₁₈ column. The analysis was quantitated on a triple-quadrupole mass-spectrometer employing electrospray ionization, and operated in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The chromatograms showed high resolution, sensitivity, and selectivity with no interference with plasma, urine, and feces constituents. The developed analytical method satisfied international guidance criteria and could be successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic (PK) studies evaluating oral bioavailability of asarinin, β-eudesmol, and wogonin after oral and intravenous administration and their urinary and fecal excretion ratios after oral administration to rats. Furthermore, the analysis was extended to PK studies following oral administration of Gumiganghwal-tang. This study was the first simultaneous analysis of the aforesaid three constituents in rat plasma, urine, and feces that also determined their PK parameters.

Evaluation of the status quo of polyphenols analysis: Part II-Analysis methods and food processing effects

Nowadays due to the concern with the environmental impact of analytical techniques and in order to reduce the ecological footprint there is a tendency to use more efficient and faster procedures that use a smaller amount of organic solvents. Polyphenols have been widely studied in plant-based matrices due to their wide and potent biological properties; however there are no standardized procedures both for sample preparation and analysis of these compounds. The second of a two-part review will carry out a critical review of the extraction procedures and analytical methods applied to polyphenols and their selection criteria over a wide range of factors in relation to commerce-associated, environmental, and economic factors. It is foreseen that in the future the analysis of polyphenols in plant-based matrices includes the use of techniques that allow the simultaneous determination of different subclasses of polyphenols using fast, sophisticated, and automated techniques that allow the minimal consumption of solvents.

Validated LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of seven components of Naodesheng in rat serum after oral administration and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A simple, precise and reliable LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of vitexin, notoginsenoside R1, hydroxysafflor yellow A, ginsenoside Rd, puerarin, daidzein and senkyunolide I as components of Naodesheng (NDS) in rat serum. The Linearity ranges in rat serum were 0.045-4.5 μg/mL for vitexin, 0.0476-4.76 μg/mL for notoginsenoside R1, 0.0422-4.22 μg/mL for hydroxysafflor yellow A, 0.0426-4.26 μg/mL for ginsenoside Rd, 0.0436-4.36 μg/mL for puerarin, 0.026-2.6 μg/mL for daidzein, and 0.05-5 μg/mL for senkyunolide I, with the correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The established method was validated in terms of intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy, recovery, matrix effect and stability. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied for pharmacokinetic study of these seven components in rat serum after oral administration of NDS.

Determination of Schisandrin A and Schisandrin B in Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparation Huganpian Tablet by RP-HPLC

A reverse phase (RP)-HPLC method for separation and determination of Schisandrin A and Schisandrin B was presented, using a C18 Bondclone column, with methanol-water (v/v = 68 : 32) as mobile phase at a flow-rate of 1.00 mL·min^-1, and UV detection at 220 nm. The tested parameters included mobile phase composition and UV detection wavelength. Good linearities were observed within concentration ranges of Schisandrin A 0.008-4.8 mg·L^-1 (r = 0.9996), and Schisandrin B 0.005-3.1 mg·L^-1 (r = 0.9994), respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) (S/N = 3) were 0.005 mg·L^-1 Schisandrin A and 0.002 mg·L^-1 Schisandrin B, respectively. The method was applied to determine the 2 compounds in a traditional Chinese medicine preparation for treatment of hepatic diseases, Huganpian tablet. To eliminate matrix effect, Oasis hydrophilic lipophilic balance (HLB) solid-phase extraction (SPE) was used to purify the ultra-sonicately extracted solution of the drug sample. Combined with the HLB SPE purification procedure, the HPLC method gave satisfactory results for quantitation of Schisandrin A and Schisandrin B in 3 types of Huganpian tablet samples, with spiking recoveries ca. 98% (relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) ≤ 3.5%) (n = 5).