Pharmacokinetics difference of multiple active constituents from decoction and maceration of Fuzi Xiexin Tang after oral administration in rat by UPLC–MS/MS

Treating Narcolepsy With Traditional Chinese Medicine

Narcolepsy is an uncommon brain condition characterized by falling asleep suddenly without any proper reason or time. In this chapter, the authors include a brief history of narcolepsy, clinical symptoms, pathophysiology, and current treatments for the disease. The review explains narcolepsy according to the theory of TCM. The authors review the curative effect, pharmacological properties, and clinical results of herbs and prescriptions against narcolepsy. The study searched keywords such as ‘narcolepsy,' ‘Traditional Chinese medicine,' ‘sleep disorder,' ‘excessive sleepiness,' and ‘medicinal treatment' using databases such as CNKI, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Based on the analysis of data obtained from 110 articles, the authors have classified the herbs and prescriptions by their curative effects, following the theory of traditional Chinese medicine. Some herbs can be used alone, while others can use in conjunction with other prescriptions.

Compatibility of Fuzi and Ginseng Significantly Increase the Exposure of Aconitines

The herb-pair ginseng-Fuzi (the root of Aconitum carmichaelii) is the material basis of Shenfu prescriptions and is popular in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of heart failure, and even shock with severe-stage of COVID-19. A narrow therapeutic window of Fuzi may cause significant regional loss of property and life in clinics. Therefore, systemic elucidation of active components is crucial to improve the safety dose window of Shenfu oral prescriptions. A high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed for quantification of 10 aconitines in SD rat plasma within 9 min. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification were below 0.032 ng/ml and 0.095 ng/ml, respectively. Furthermore, a systemic comparison with their pharmacokinetic characteristics after oral administration of a safe dosage of 2 g/kg of Fuzi and ginseng-Fuzi decoction for 24 h was conducted. Eight representative diester, monoester, and non-ester aconitines and two new active components (i.e., songorine and indaconitine) were all adopted to elucidating the differences of the pharmacokinetic parameters in vivo. The compatibility of Fuzi and ginseng could significantly increase the in vivo exposure of active components. The terminal elimination half-life and the area under the concentration-time curve of mesaconitine, benzoylaconitine, benzoylmesaconitine, benzoylhypaconitine, and songorine were all increased significantly. The hypaconitine, benzoylmesaconitine, and songorine were regarded as the main active components in vivo, which gave an effective clue for the development of new Shenfu oral prescriptions.

Comparative HPLC-MS/MS-based pharmacokinetic studies of multiple diterpenoid alkaloids following the administration of Zhenwu Tang and Radix Aconiti Lateralis Praeparata extracts to rats

Abstracts Zhenwu Tang (ZWT) is a traditional Chinese medicine that is primarily composed of Radix Aconiti Lateralis Praeparata (FZ) and diterpenoid alkaloids are believed to be the pharmacologically active compounds of ZWT. In this study, the pharmacokinetic profiles of hypaconitine, mesaconitine, aconitine, benzoylmesaconitine, benzoylaconitine, and benzoylhypacoitine were assessed in rats following intragastric ZWT administration. Furthermore, differences in the pharmacokinetic profiles of these six alkaloids were assessed as a function of rat sex and the administration of ZWT or FZ extracts to these animals. Plasma levels of these alkaloids were quantified via HPLC-MS/MS. Significant differences in key pharmacokinetic parameters were observed when comparing rats administered FZ or ZWT. Relative to FZ extract treatment, ZWT administration was associated with C_max and AUC_0-∞ values of benzoylmesaconitine that were about 3.5 and 5.5 times higher. Considerable variations in hypaconitine pharmacokinetic parameters were also revealed between female and male rats. The C_max and AUC_0-∞ of hypaconitine were about 2.5- and 2.7-fold elevated in female rats in comparison with male rats. These results suggested that the other compounds within ZWT can enhance the absorption of benzoylmesaconitine, while hypaconitine exhibits higher bioavailability in female rats, as compared with male rats.

Study on the Fingerprints and Quality Evaluation of Angelica Sinensis Radix by HPLC Coupled With Chemometrics Based on Traditional Decoction Process of ACPTCM

Objective

To establish a HPLC fingerprints evaluation method for Angelica Sinensis Radix (ASR) based on traditional decoction process of Ancient Classical Prescriptions of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACPTCM).

Methods

The fingerprints of 10 batches of ASR were further evaluated by chemometrics methods. The similarity analyzed with "Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2004A," and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed by SPSS (version 22.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).

Results

There were 12 common peaks, and the similarity degrees of 10 batches of samples were more than 0.923 and showed that all the samples from different origins were of good consistency. The samples were divided into 4 clusters by HCA. The results of PCA showed that the 3 factors were chosen, the quality of samples could be evaluated basically. The comprehensive score results show that the ASR with Lot.Nos.DG-18007, DG-18008 in Weiyuan County, Gansu and DG-18009 produced in Minle County, Gansu Province rank among the top 3 in all samples.

Conclusions

These results demonstrated that the combination of HPLC chromatographic fingerprint and chemometrics offers an efficient and reliable approach for quality evaluation of ASR from different sources as Ancient Classical Prescriptions ingredients.

Rapid identification and pharmacokinetic studies of multiple active alkaloids in rat plasma through UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and UPLC-MS/MS after the oral administration of Zanthoxylum nitidum extract

Zanthoxylum nitidum (Roxb.) DC. (ZN) belongs to the genus Zanthoxylum of Rutaceae and has various chemical ingredients and pharmacologic effects. Alkaloids are its main active constituents responsible for diverse pharmacologic effects, such as anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities. The chemical and pharmacological effects of ZN are well reported, but the in vivo pharmacokinetic profiles of its main active alkaloids are poorly investigated. This study aims to elucidate the absorbed constituents and pharmacokinetic behavior of main active ingredients in rat plasma after the oral administration of ZN extract. The absorbed constituents in rat plasma were qualitatively analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination and pharmacokinetic studies of dihydrochelerythrine (DHCHE), nitidine chloride (NIT), chelerythrine (CHE), sanguinarine (SAN), liriodenine (LIR), skimmianine (SKI), γ-fagarine (FAG), and dictamnine (DIC) in rat plasma. Eighteen prototypes and metabolites were identified according to exact mass, characteristic diagnostic fragment ions, and reference standards. The established UPLC-MS/MS quantitative method met the requirements of FDA for biological analysis methods. Method validation showed that this method has good linearity (r ≥ 0.9910), precision (RSD ≤ 18.63 %), accuracy (88.11 %-117.50 %), and stability. The limit of detection (LOD) could reach 1 ng/mL, and the limit of quantitation could reach 2 ng/mL. The plasma drug concentration of benzophenanthridine alkaloids, such as NIT, CHE, and DHCHE, were still low even after dose differences were deducted. For the furan quinoline alkaloids (such as SKI, FAG, and DIC), only SKI showed high plasma drug concentration, although SKI content comprised only approximately 1/6 of benzophenanthridine alkaloids. This study is the first to simultaneously determine the above-mentioned active alkaloids in rat plasma and would contribute to the comprehensive understanding of in vivo pharmacokinetic behavior on active alkaloids in ZN extract.

Optimization of the traditional processing method for precision detoxification of CaoWu through biomimetic linking kinetics and human toxicokinetics of aconitine as toxic target marker

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

CaoWu (Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix), well known for its high toxicity leading to fatal ventricular arrhythmias, is detoxified by HeZi (Terminalia Chebula Retz) decoction to prepare ZhiCaoWu (Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix Preparata) as one part of ingredients of NaRu-3 pill which is used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Aconitine (AC) is a highly toxic alkaloid of CaoWu and it is used as toxic target marker for the quality control (QC) of ZhiCaoWu. In the traditional processing method, the vanish of astringent or spicy feeling in tongue is the important detoxification indicator of ZhiCaoWu. However, how CaoWu is detoxified to ZhiCaoWu and whether the appropriate content of AC in ZhiCaoWu can be efficiently perceived after the empirical detoxification still lack factual basis.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The present study aimed to optimize the traditional processing method for precision detoxification of CaoWu through biomimetic linking kinetics and human toxicokinetics (TK) of AC, with a view of providing insights into the changes of toxic target marker.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

CaoWu medicinal slices (Mes) and coarse powder (Cop) were processed by blank HeZi decoction through the soaking method for 7 days. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the analysis of the samples. The acidity of blank HeZi decoction and HeZi processing decoction was directly determined by pH meter. The non-compartment analysis (NCA) was used to have an intuitive appreciation for AC and pH changes in HeZi processing decoction while the compartment model method was used to build the biomimetic linking kinetics model with the covariate. The inter-species scaling of animal TK parameters was conducted to predict human AC TK profiles. The possible uptake ways of AC (rapid-release or extended-release) for humans were attempted to assess the poisoning risk of AC in NaRu-3 pill. Based on the target content of AC in ZhiCaoWu, the biomimetic linking kinetics model was explored to optimize the traditional processing detoxification method of CaoWu. The assays of determining inflammatory cytokines in lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells were performed to investigate the inflammatory modulation effects of AC in vitro.

RESULTS

ZhiCaoWu was prepared by eliminating redundant AC in CaoWu through the repeatable replacement of HeZi processing decoction in which its acidity (pH) was affected. AC-pH changes in HeZi processing decoction were adequately depicted by a biomimetic linking kinetics model whose predictive power was determined by comparing the predictions of AC in ZhiCaoWu with the reported data. Rapid-release AC at the converted dose of 111.1 and 417.6 μg (0.011 and 0.042% of AC in NaRu-3 pill) reached maximum blood concentrations of 26.1 and 98.1 ng/mL at 0.3 h, in comparison with minimum human lethal concentration (100 ng/mL). Achieving the target content of AC (0.04%) in ZhiCaoWu or AC (0.011%) in NaRu-3 pill to precisely control the poisoning risk, the potential optimized protocols were that the processing time at 0.2-0.8% of AC in CaoWu was 2.0-4.4 days for Cop and 2.7-6.2 days for Mes. Correspondingly, pH values in HeZi processing decoction were 3.95 and 3.77 for Cop and Mes, respectively. Meanwhile, Lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells were exposed to 0, 20, and 200 μM of AC for 12 h and AC at 20 μM enhanced the levels of IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α.

CONCLUSIONS

Thus, for the first time, a biomimetic linking kinetics model was built to optimize the traditional detoxification method. Moreover, pH changes could be developed as surrogate endpoint for guiding the processing detoxification of CaoWu. Notably, setting the content limit of AC (0.011%) was very rational to control the poisoning risk of NaRu-3 pill. In addition, it was possible that there existed the more complex mechanisms of AC for inflammatory modulation in vitro.

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.

Berberine alleviates hyperglycemia by targeting hepatic glucokinase in diabetic db/db mice

Berberine (BBR) is a widely used anti-diabetic agent, and liver glucokinase (GK) has been reported to be involved. However, the mechanisms of BBR in regulating GK are still unknown. Here, we found that BBR upregulated GK immunofluorescence expression in AML12 cells cultured in high glucose and increased glycogen content simultaneously. BBR improved hyperglycemia in db/db mice, and increased liver glucose-6-phosphate/glucose-1-phosphate (G-6-P/G-1-P) was found by analyzing metabolites (serum, liver, and feces) based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) metabolomics. Pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics (PK-PD) assessment revealed enriched BBR distribution in the liver, and liver G-6-P had the same trend as the concentration-time curve of BBR. G-6-P is solely catalyzed by GK, and GK activity and expression showed a positive correlation with liver BBR levels. In db/db mice, BBR also upregulated GK in liver fractions (cytoplasm and nucleus) and liver glycogen content. GK functionally worked by dissociating from GK regulatory protein (GKRP), and although GKRP expression was not affected, we found a decreased ratio of GK binding with GKRP in BBR treated db/db mice. In conclusion, our study suggests the dissociation of GK from GKRP as the potential mechanism for liver GK increase upon BBR treatment, which contributes to the anti-diabetic effect of BBR.

Simultaneous Evaluation of the Influence of Panax ginseng on the Pharmacokinetics of Three Diester Alkaloids after Oral Administration of Aconiti Lateralis Radix in Rats Using UHPLC/QQQ-MS/MS

Objectives

To investigate whether Panax ginseng (P. ginseng) could affect the metabolism of Diester Alkaloids (DAs) derived from Aconiti Lateralis Radix in vivo.

Methods and Results

24 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized for 7-day treatment with P. ginseng (low, middle, and high), or vehicle. Aconiti Lateralis Radix was administered orally to each group on the 8th day. Plasma samples were collected, and Xevo TQ-S was used to detect the concentration of aconitine, mesaconitine, and hypaconitine in plasma. We describe a fast and reproducible method to detect the concentration of aconitine, mesaconitine, and hypaconitine in plasma. Compared to the control group, the AUC_(0-t) of three DAs increased in both the middle and high dosing groups. The Vz/F of three DAs in these groups as well as the CLz/F of aconitine in all P. ginseng groups and the CLz/F of mesaconitine and hypaconitine in P. ginseng middle and high groups were decreased compared to the control group.

Conclusion

Orally administrated P. ginseng potentially inhibits the metabolism of DAs from Aconiti Lateralis Radix in rats.

Systematic study on metabolism and activity evaluation of Radix Scutellaria extract in rat plasma using UHPLC with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and microdialysis intensity-fading mass spectrometry

Radix Scutellaria is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of various diseases. However, the activities of the absorbed components and metabolites of its main flavones in rat plasma need further investigation. In this study, a systematic method based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry was developed to speculate the absorbed components and metabolites of the main flavonoids in Radix Scutellaria extract in rat plasma sample after oral administration of the extract. Twelve compounds, including four prototype components and eight metabolites, were confirmed in drug-containing plasma. In these metabolites, five were originally detected in rat plasma. The possible metabolic pathways of these polyhydroxy flavones in vivo were described and clarified. Microdialysis with intensity-fading mass spectrometry was originally employed to investigate the binding affinities of the absorbed components and metabolites with α-glucosidase. The order of their binding affinities was P4 > P3 > P2 > P1≥M5 > M3 > M1. The research result is helpful to deepen the understanding of the absorbed components and metabolic pathways of main flavones from Radix Scutellaria, and provide a new approach to screen potential inhibitors from in vivo components originated from Chinese herb.

Pharmacokinetic evaluation of Shenfu Injection in beagle dogs after intravenous drip administration

Shenfu Injection (SFI) is a well-defined Chinese herbal formulation that is obtained from red ginseng and processed aconite root. The main active constituents in SFI are ginsenosides and aconitum alkaloids. In this work, ginsenosides (ginsenoside Rg1, ginsenoside Rb1 and ginsenoside Rc) and aconitum alkaloids (benzoylmesaconine and fuziline) were used as the index components to explore the pharmacokinetic behavior of SFI. A selective and sensitive HPLC–MS/MS method was developed for the quantification of ginsenosides and aconitum alkaloids in dog plasma and was used to characterize the pharmacokinetics of the five index components after intravenous drip of three different dosages of SFI in beagle dogs. The pharmacokinetic properties of the index components were linear over the dose range of 2–8 mL/kg.

Quantification of permanent positively charged compounds in plasma using one-step dilution to reduce matrix effect in MS

Background: Bioanalysis of conventional methods for compounds with permanent positive charge leads to peak tailing in separation and matrix effects in MS. This study describes a novel, rapid and sensitive method for quinolinium-containing compounds quantification. Results & methodology: A charged surface hybrid chromatography-tandem MS/MS using one-step protein precipitation dilution technique has been developed for determining analytes in plasma. We found symmetric peak and high recoveries for the analytes without matrix effect. All calibration curves had good linearity (r 0.991). The intra- and inter-assay precision was within 15% and the accuracy ranged from 88 to 103%. The method has been successfully applied to the PK study. Conclusion: The proposed method was sensitive, reproducible and applicable to other permanent positively charged compounds.

A Promising Emodin-Loaded Poly (Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid)-d-α-Tocopheryl Polyethylene Glycol 1000 Succinate Nanoparticles for Liver Cancer Therapy

PURPOSE

Emodin (EMO) has multi-targets and multi-way antitumor effect, which was limited by the instability and poor solubility of EMO. The aim of this study was to formulate EMO-loaded poly (lactide-co-glycolide)-d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (PLGA-TPGS) nanoparticles (EPTN) to increase the liver targeting of EMO for cancer therapy.

METHODS

EMO/coumarin-6-loaded PLGA-TPGS nanoparticles (ECPTN) and EMO-loaded PLGA nanoparticles (EPN) were also prepared as comparison. The cellular uptake of ECPTN by HepG2 and HCa-F cells was investigated using Confocal laser scanning microscopy. The apoptosis of HepG2 cells handled with EPTN was assayed by flow cytometry. The liver targeting property of ECPTN in mice was evaluated using the drug concentration determined by RP-HPLC and the freezing slices were investigated via fluorescence inversion microscopy. The blood samples were obtained from vein intubation to illustrate the pharmacokinetics process of EPTN. The tumor-bearing mice model was established to elucidate the in vivo therapeutic effect of EPTN.

RESULTS

The results demonstrated that ECPTN could be internalized by HepG2 and HCa-F cells respectively. The ratio of apoptosis cells was increased after dealing with EPTN. The detection indexes of drug concentration and fluorescence inversion microscopy images indicated ECPTN had an excellent effect on liver targeting property than EMO solutions (EMS). The pharmacokinetics process of EPTN showed obvious sustained-release effect than EMS. Compared with EPN, the in vivo antitumor activity of EPTN against tumor cells were better.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, EPTN could be used in the treatment of liver cancer acted as a kind of promising intravenous dosage forms.

The influence of compatibility of processed radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii on the pharmacokinetic of four components in Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. and processed radix Aconiti kusnezoffii are the main components in many Chinese traditional patent medicines with the ratio of 1:1, which are used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, heart failure and so on. Glycyrrhizic acid, glycyrrhetic acid, liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin are the essential bioactive triterpenes and flavones in the extract of G. uralensis, which were analysis by a simple but accurate method.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In the present study, a specific HPLC method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of pharmacokinetic parameters of glycyrrhizic acid, glycyrrhetic acid, liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin in G. uralensis after oral administration of single herb extract and a combination of two herbs extracts respectively.

RESULTS

The calibration curves of the four components had good linearity higher than 0.9991 in the measured range. The intra-day and inter-day precisions (RSD) at different levels were both within 9.73%, and the accuracies (RE) were in the range of -7.9-8.0%. Compared with pharmacokinetic parameters of G. uralensis administered orally, values of AUC and Cmax of liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin decreased significantly (p<0.05), plasma concentrations of glycyrrhizic acid rose slightly and bimodal phenomenon of concentration-time of isoliquiritigenin and glycyrrhetinic acid disappeared after combined administration.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Some components in the extract of processed radix A. kusnezoffii showed different effects on the pharmacokinetics of the four ingredients in G. uralensis.

UPLC-Q-TOF/MS-based screening and identification of the main flavonoids and their metabolites in rat bile, urine and feces after oral administration of Scutellaria baicalensis extract

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) are increasingly used in combination with Western medicine. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Lamiaceae) is a widely used TCM in treating various diseases. However, the in vivo metabolism of its main bioactive flavonoids, baicalin, baicalein, wogonoside and wogonin, needs further study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) technique combined with Metabolynx(TM) software was developed to speculate the metabolites and excretion profiles of the main flavonoids in S. baicalensis extract in rats bile, urine and feces samples after oral administration of the extract.

RESULTS

Four parent components and a total of 15 metabolites were tentatively detected in vivo. All metabolites were detected including sulfate and glucuronide conjugates, hydroxylated, methylated, acetylated and deoxygenated products. Twelve metabolites were from the rat urine, five from the feces and two from the bile. Among them, several products were reported firstly.

CONCLUSION

The research provided useful information for further study of the pharmacology and mechanism of action of S. baicalensis extract in vivo and a proposed method which could develop an integrated template approach to analyze screening and identification of biological samples after oral administration of TCMs.