Pharmacokinetic study of six flavones in rat plasma and tissues after oral administration of ‘JiangYaBiFeng’ using SPE-HPLC–DAD

Simultaneous UPLC-TQ-MS/MS determination of six active components in rat plasma: application in the pharmacokinetic study of Cyclocarya paliurus leaves

Background

Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Ijinskaja (CP) is a monotypic genus plant, also called sweet tea tree that belongs to the Juglandaceae family, which is mainly distributed in the subtropical highlands in China. Our previous work has verified that CP leaves exhibit a potent hyperglycemic effect by inhibiting pancreatic β cell apoptosis through the regulation of MPAK and Akt signaling pathways. However, the components that contribute to this potential health benefit remain undiscovered.

Method

A sensitive, reliable, and validated ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–TQ-MS/MS) method was developed to simultaneously determine the presence of six active components (neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside, quercetin, and kaempferol) in rat plasma after a single oral administration (in a dosage of 10.5 g/kg) of an extract of CP leaves to rats. The separation was performed on a Waters ACQUITY BEH C₁₈ column (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm). The detection was conducted by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in negative ionization mode. The two highest abundant MRM transitions without interference were optimized for each analyte. Acetonitrile and formic acid aqueous solution (0.1%) was used as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.3 ml/min.

Result

The precision, accuracy, and recovery all satisfied the criteria of international guidance (Bioanalytical Method Validation Guidance for Industry, Food and Drug Administration), and the analytes were stable in plasma for all tested conditions. The main pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by plasma concentration versus time profiles using the pharmacokinetics program.

Conclusion

The pharmacokinetic parameters of each compound can facilitate future clinical studies.

Pharmacokinetics of B-Ring Unsubstituted Flavones

B-ring unsubstituted flavones (of which the most widely known are chrysin, baicalein, wogonin, and oroxylin A) are 2-phenylchromen-4-one molecules of which the B-ring is devoid of any hydroxy, methoxy, or other substituent. They may be found naturally in a number of herbal products used for therapeutic purposes, and several have been designed by researchers and obtained in the laboratory. They have generated interest in the scientific community for their potential use in a variety of pathologies, and understanding their pharmacokinetics is important for a grasp of their optimal use. Based on a comprehensive survey of the relevant literature, this paper examines their absorption (with deglycosylation as a preliminary step) and their fate in the body, from metabolism to excretion. Differences among species (inter-individual) and within the same species (intra-individual) variability have been examined based on the available data, and finally, knowledge gaps and directions of future research are discussed.

Rapid discovery of chemical constituents and absorbed components in rat serum after oral administration of Fuzi-Lizhong pill based on high-throughput HPLC-Q-TOF/MS analysis

BACKGROUND

Fuzi-Lizhong pill (FZLZP), which was first recorded in the Classic-"Taiping Huimin Heji Ju Fang" of the Song Dynasty, has been widely used to treat gastrointestinal disease in clinic for thousands of years in China. However, an in-depth understanding of the chemical constituents of FZLZP and its potential bioactive constituents is lacking.

METHODS

A simple, sensitive and selective method of high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight high-definition mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF/MS) and automated data analysis (Agilent MassHunter Qualitative Analysis B.06.00 Workstation Software) was developed to simultaneously identify the chemical constituents of FZLZP and the absorbed prototypes as well as the metabolites in rat serum after the oral administration of FZLZP.

RESULTS

Sixty-seven compounds, including alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenes, gingerols, phenylpropanoids and volatile oil, in the FZLZP extract were tentatively characterized by comparing the retention time and mass spectrometry data and retrieving the reference literatures. Additionally, 23 prototype compounds and 3 metabolites in the rat serum samples were identified after oral administration of FZLZP, which might be the potential active components in vivo. In addition, the absorption of alkaloids decreased when Aconitum carmichaeli Debx. was in the form of combined application as a prescription compared to when it was in the form of herb powder.

CONCLUSIONS

Herein, the chemical constituent in vitro and the absorbed compounds in the serum of a traditional Chinese formula, Fuzi-Lizhong pill, were fully characterized using a rapid and comprehensive analysis approach based on high-performance liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled to MassHunter Qualitative Analysis software data processing approach. The results provide helpful chemical information on FZLZP for further pharmacology and active mechanism research. In view of the bioactive constitutes that basically were derived from these absorbed compounds in vivo, this work could provide a useful strategy to explore the bioactive substances of traditional Chinese medicine.

Dynamic changes of flavonoids in Abelmoschus manihot different organs at different growth periods by UPLC-MS/MS

Abelmoschus manihot (Linn.) Medicus has been clinically used to treat chronic kidney disease, oral ulcers, burns, and dysmenorrhea in China for many centuries. The major pharmacologically-active components of A. manihot are flavonoids. In this study, a rapid and highly sensitive UPLC-MS/MS analysis method was established and successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of five major flavonoids (rutin, hyperoside, isoquercitrin, quercetin, and myricetin) in different parts of A. manihot harvested at ten growth periods. Under the optimized chromatographic conditions, good separation for five target components was obtained on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column within 18min. The total contents of the five investigated flavonoids in A. manihot roots, stems, leaves and flowers ranged from 2.86 to 123.7μg/g, 46.39 to 141.0μg/g, 929.4 to 3096μg/g, and 10,150 to 19,390μg/g, respectively, indicating that the total flavonoids in the four parts could be mainly arranged in a decreasing order as flower>leaf>stem>root. The peak of total flavonoids in flowers and leaves appeared at G8 and G9, respectively. These results will be helpful for the determination of the suitable harvest time of A. manihot and the improvement of the utility value of the disused parts.

The pharmacokinetic study of rutin in rat plasma based on an electrochemically reduced graphene oxide modified sensor

An electrochemical method based on a directly electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ERGO) film coated on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was developed for the rapid and convenient determination of rutin in plasma. ERGO was modified on the surface of GCE by one-step electro-deposition method. Electrochemical behavior of rutin on ERGO/GCE indicated that rutin underwent a surface-controlled quasi-reversible process and the electrochemical parameters such as charge transfer coefficient (α), electron transfer number (n) and electrode reaction standard rate constant (k_s) were 0.53, 2 and 3.4 s⁻¹, respectively. The electrochemical sensor for rutin in plasma provided a wide linear response range of 4.70×10⁻⁷−1.25×10⁻⁵ M with the detection limit (s/n=3) of 1.84×10⁻⁸ M. The assay was successfully used to the pharmacokinetic study of rutin. The pharmacokinetic parameters such as elimination rate half-life (t_1/2), area under curve (AUC), and plasma clearance (CL) were calculated to be 3.345±0.647 min, 5750±656.0 µg min/mL, and 5.891±0.458 mL/min/kg, respectively. The proposed method utilized a small sample volume of 10 μL and had no complicated sample pretreatment (without deproteinization), which was simple, eco-friendly, and time- and cost-efficient for rutin pharmacokinetic studies.

Highly selective enrichment of baicalin in rat plasma by boronic acid-functionalized core-shell magnetic microspheres: Validation and application to a pharmacokinetic study

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to successfully apply a novel, highly selective enrichment technique based on boronic acid-functionalized core-shell magnetic microspheres (BA-Fe3O4@SiO2-Au@mSiO2) with a large surface area and uniform pore size, to determine the baicalin concentration in rat plasma by HPLC. By taking advantage of the special interaction between boronic acid and baicalin under alkaline conditions, as well as the microspheres' size exclusion ability, baicalin was selectively extracted from protein-rich biosamples, such as plasma, without any other pretreatment procedure except for a 10-min vortexing step. BA-Fe3O4@SiO2-Au@mSiO2 microsphere-adsorbed baicalin was straightforwardly and rapidly isolated from the matrix using a magnet. Baicalin was subsequently eluted from the microspheres under acidic conditions for 2min for further HPLC analysis. The extraction conditions, such as the amount of microspheres added, adsorption time, adsorption pH, and elution time and pH, were also determined. Furthermore, method validation, including the linear range, detection limit, precision, accuracy, and recovery, were determined. This newly developed method based on BA-Fe3O4@SiO2-Au@mSiO2 microspheres is a simple, accurate, selective, and green analytical preparatory technique for analyzing baicalin in rat plasma. This study will be further novel research on the analysis of complex plasma samples and the pharmacokinetics of drugs similar to baicalin.

Synthesis of surface nano-molecularly imprinted polymers for sensitive baicalin detection from biological samples

Surface molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP@SBA-15) imprinted on the surface of hybrid nanostructured organic/inorganic materials (SBA-15) were prepared for the selective extraction and detection of baicalin (BA) from biological samples. The surface morphologies and characteristics of the imprinted and non-imprinted polymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. The results indicated that the polymers were successfully grafted on the surface of SBA-15 and possessed a highly ordered mesoporous structure. In binding tests, MIP@SBA-15 reached saturated adsorption within 80 min and exhibited significant specific recognition toward BA with large adsorption capacity. Meanwhile, the prepared MIP@SBA-15 was used as a selective sorbent for solid-phase extraction of BA from biological samples. Recoveries of BA from the liver and spleen ranged from 90.6% to 90.9% with RSD < 3.7%. All these results reveal that this method is simple, rapid and sensitive for effectively extracting and detecting trace BA in biological samples.

An improved ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization/quadrupole-time-of-flight high-definition mass spectrometry method for determining ingredients of herbal Fructus corni in blood samples

Background:

Fructus Corni (FC), a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), derived from the dry ripe sarcocarp of Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc (Cornaceae), has been widely prescribed to treat disease in China for centuries. It has attracted increasingly much attention as one of the most popular and valuable herbal medicine in clinic. However, the systematic analysis of the chemical constituents of FC is difficult to determine and remain unclear.

Materials and Methods:

In this work, a rapid, sensitive, and reliable ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization/quadrupole-time-of-flight high-definition mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI/QTOF/MS) with automated data analysis (MetaboLynx™) in negative ion mode were established to characterize the chemical constituents of FC and simultaneously identify components in blood after oral administration of FC, respectively. The analysis was performed on a Waters UPLC™ HSS T₃ (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.8 μm) using gradient elution system. MS/MS fragmentation behaviors were proposed for aiding the structural identification of the components.

Results:

With optimized conditions, a total of 34 peaks were obtained from FC, 23 of which were tentatively characterized by comparing the retention time and mass spectrometry data and retrieving the reference literatures. Of note, the 25 compounds were identified after oral administration of FC, which might be the potential active components in vivo.

Conclusion:

The present study demonstrates the potential of UPLC-ESI/QTOF/MS approach for the rapid and reliable characterization of the metabolites of natural products.

Gender-dependent pharmacokinetics of lignans in rats after single and multiple oral administration of Schisandra chinensis extract

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Schisandra chinensis (S. chinensis), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used as sedatives and tonics in clinic. Schisandra lignans are believed to be the major bioactive components in S. chinensis. However, there is a lack of information about the effects of gender and repeated-dose on the pharmacokinetic properties of the schisandra lignans.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The study was performed to investigate the influence of gender on the pharmacokinetics of schisandra lignans after administration of S. chinensis extract and to compare their pharmacokinetic behaviors between single and multiple administration.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Two groups of rats (half male and half female) were received a single dose or multiple doses of S. chinensis extract, respectively. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated to determine the plasma concentrations of schisandra lignans.

RESULTS

The pharmacokinetic parameters of schisandrin, schisandrol B, deoxyschisandrin, γ-schisandrin and schisantherin A were significantly different by gender difference. The t1/2 of all the tested schisandra lignans in female rats were 2-9 times longer than the corresponding values in male rats. The Cmax and AUC0-t of these schisandra lignans except schisantherin A in female rats were 5-50 times higher than those in male rats. The pharmacokinetic profiles of schisandrin, schisandrol B, deoxyschisandrin and schisantherin A in both gender rats after multiple doses were similar to the corresponding profile after single dose.

CONCLUSION

All the tested schisandra lignans showed slower elimination and higher bioavailability in female rats after single or multiple administration of S. chinensis extract compared with male rats. Their pharmacokinetic profiles were not affected by repeated-dose except γ-schisandrin, which was eliminated more slowly in female rats after multiple administration.

Simultaneous determination and pharmacokinetic study of six flavonoids from Fructus Sophorae extract in rat plasma by LC-MS/MS

In this study, a new liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the determination of six flavonoids including sophoricoside, genistin, genistein, rutin, quercetin and kaempferol in rat plasma after oral administration of Fructus Sophorae extract using sulfamethalazole as internal standard (IS). The plasma samples were pretreated and extracted by liquid-liquid extraction. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on a C(18) column with a simple linear gradient elution. The detection was accomplished by multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) scanning after electrospray ionization (ESI) source operating in the negative ionization mode. The optimized mass transition ion pairs (m/z) for quantitation were 431.1/267.9 for sophoricoside and genistin, 269.0/133.0 for genistein, 609.2/300.0 for rutin, 301.0/150.9 for quercetin, 284.9/93.0 for kaempferol and 252.0/155.9 for IS. The total run time was 8.0 min. Full validation of the assay was implemented including specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, recovery and matrix effect. This is the first report on determination of the major flavones in rat plasma after oral administration of Fructus Sophorae extract. The results provided a meaningful basis for the clinical application of this herb.