Simultaneous determination of seven taxoids in rat plasma by UPLC–MS/MS and pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of Taxus yunnanensis extracts

Study on the Chemical Constituents, Pharmacological Activities, and Clinical Application of Taxus

Taxus, a rare and protected genus predominantly distributed across the Northern Hemisphere's temperate regions, has garnered global attention due to its significant potential in medical research and pharmaceutical development, bolstered by advancements in cultivation techniques and medical technology. This review primarily focuses on the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Taxus, underscoring the progress and potential of these components in clinical applications. Recent studies have revealed that Taxus contains not only taxane active components but also flavonoids and polysaccharides with distinct activities. These compounds from Taxus exhibit potent antitumor, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antibacterial, and antidiabetic properties with evident mechanisms of action. Notably, the representative compound, paclitaxel, has demonstrated significant efficacy in treating various cancers, such as ovarian, breast, and lung cancer. This paper also reviews the basic situation of Taxus drug formulations, with extracts primarily administered orally and monomeric taxanes typically via injection, reflecting a mature development stage with ongoing research into oral formulations. Finally, this review summarizes the pharmacokinetic characteristics of crucial compounds in Taxus, including their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion patterns in the human body. These pharmacokinetic profiles provide crucial guidance for evaluating the overall dosing regimen of Taxus and its components. The paper concludes with a forward-looking analysis of the potential applications of these compounds in disease treatment, envisioning their role in the future of medical and pharmaceutical advancements.

A simple and efficient sample preparation for taxanes in Taxus chinensis needles with natural menthol-based aqueous deep eutectic solvent

Taxanes are natural anticancer constituents, and the sample preparation from matrix normally depends on organochlorine solvents. In this study, green and natural menthol-based aqueous deep eutectic solvent was synthesized and used for sample preparation for taxanes. Five key parameters were optimized and the optimal preparation conditions were as follows: menthol/1-propanol ratio 1:1 (mol/mol), solid-liquid ratio 1:30 g/mL, extraction time 30 min, ultrasonic power 250 W, and water content 80%. Under the above conditions, the total extraction efficiency of seven main taxanes was 1.25- to 1.44-fold to the conventional methods. In addition, a high-performance liquid chromatography method with C₁₈ column was established for quantitation of seven main taxanes in <25 min, which had excellent linearity (R²  > 0.9986), precision (relative standard deviation < 3.00%), repeatability (relative standard deviation < 3.69%), and recovery (90.26-109.00%). This method performed the extraction, and enrichment processes simultaneously, and it had advantages such as high extraction efficiency, simple operation, low cost, and eco-friendliness. This work indicated that the natural menthol-based deep eutectic solvent aqueous could be an excellent alternative to the sample preparation from Taxus or other plants.

Simultaneous determination of taxoids and flavonoids in twigs and leaves of three Taxus species by UHPLC-MS/MS

Taxus species are highly concerned due to the presence of anticancer taxoids (especially paclitaxel) and health beneficial flavonoids. For the first time, an UHPLC-MS/MS method was developed for the simultaneous determination of seven taxoids and seven flavonoids in twigs and leaves of three Taxus species. The satisfactory separation of fourteen target compounds was achieved within 5 min of running time on an Agilent ZORBAX Eclipse Plus C18 column (50 mm × 2.1 mm I.D., 1.8 μm) using an acetonitrile-water gradient elution program. Mass transitions of all analytes in selected reaction monitoring acquisition mode were systematically optimized for obtaining the highest signal intensities. Regression equations of all analytes exhibited excellent linearities with coefficients higher than 0.9990, and the lowest limits of quantification of all analytes ranged from 0.01 to 1.66 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precisions (relative standard deviations) of all analytes were less than 4.17% for retention time and less than 7.42% for peak area, and the spiking standard recoveries of all analytes ranged from 96.85%-104.77%. By the aid of the proposed method, the distribution of fourteen target compounds in twigs and leaves of Taxus chinensis, Taxus cuspidata, and Taxus media was clearly figured out. Overall, the present work provided a rapid and valid UHPLC-MS/MS approach, which could not only be useful for quality control and applicability assessment of twigs and leaves of the three Taxus species in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries, but also offer a good reference for the systematic analysis of taxoids and flavonoids in other Taxus species.

Antineoplastic drugs and their analysis: a state of the art review

We provide an overview of the analytical methods available for the quantification of antineoplastic drugs in pharmaceutical formulations, biological and environmental samples.

Effects of Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San on the Peripheral and Lymphatic Pharmacokinetics of Paclitaxel in Rats

Paclitaxel is effective against breast cancer. The herbal medicine, Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San (JWXYS), is the most frequent prescription used to relieve the symptoms of breast cancer treatments. The aim of the study was to investigate the herb-drug interaction effects of a herbal medicine on the distribution of paclitaxel to lymph. A validated ultraperformance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was used to determine the paclitaxel levels in rat plasma and lymph after intravenous infusion of paclitaxel alone with or without 7 days of JWXYS pretreatment. The pharmacokinetic results indicate that paclitaxel concentrations in plasma exceeded those in lymph by approximately 3.6-fold. The biodistribution of paclitaxel from plasma to lymph was 39 ± 5%; however, this increased to 45 ± 4% with JWXYS pretreatment. With JWXYS pretreatment, the AUC and C_max of paclitaxel in plasma were significantly reduced by approximately 1.5-fold, compared to paclitaxel alone. Additionally, JWXYS decreased the AUC and C_max of paclitaxel in lymph. However, the lymph absorption rate of paclitaxel with or without JWXYS pretreatment was not significantly changed (27 ± 3 and 30 ± 2%, resp.). Our findings demonstrate that when paclitaxel is prescribed concurrently with herbal medicine, monitoring of the blood pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel is recommended.

An ultrasensitive LC-MS/MS method with liquid phase extraction to determine paclitaxel in both cell culture medium and lysate promising quantification of drug nanocarriers release in vitro

The quantification of paclitaxel, a chemotherapy drug used to treat different types of cancers, has been performed from complete cell culture medium and cell lysate samples using a simple liquid-liquid extraction procedure in conjunction with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). A simple sample preparation using methanol and acetic acid as a weaker acid was applied to avoid paclitaxel destruction and to achieve recovery exceeding 80 % from both matrices spiked with paclitaxel and docetaxel used as internal standard. This rapid, simple, selective and sensitive method enabled the quantification of paclitaxel within the linear range of 1-250nM in culture medium and 5-250nM in cell lysate. The lower limit of quantification was achieved in cell culture medium and cell lysates at 0.2 and 1pmol, respectively. This method was successfully applied to human non-small cell lung carcinoma cells (A549 cells) in order to quantify the amount of paclitaxel in both cell culture medium and lysate after incubation with 5, 50 and 100nM of paclitaxel. This ultra-sensitive method promises the quantification of ultra-low concentrations of paclitaxel released from any nanocarriers, allowing the determination of the kinetic profile of drug release, which is an essential parameter to validate the use of nanocarriers for drug delivery in cancer therapy.