Development and Validation of a LC–ESI–MS Assay for Determination of Icariin in Rat Plasma after Administration of Herba Epimedii

Recent developments in the field of the determination of constituents of TCMs in body fluids of animals and human

Although traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) play important role in drug discovery and human health, the actual value of TCMs has not been fully recognized worldwide due to its complex components and uncontrollable quality. For the modernization and globalization of TCMs, it is important to establish selective, sensitive and feasible analytical methods for determination and quantification of bioactive components of TCMs in body fluids primarily due to the low concentration, the complex nature of the biological matrices, and multi-components and their metabolites present in biological fluids. The present review summarizes the current extraction techniques, chromatographic separation and spectroscopic (especially mass spectrometric) analysis methods and new trends on the analysis of bioactive components and metabolites of TCMs in biological fluids. In addition, the importance of establishment of pharmacokinetics and bioavailability profiles and simultaneous determination of multi-active components in TCMs is discussed to provide proper examples of analytical methods for pharmacological and clinical studies of TCMs.

Recent advances on HPLC/MS in medicinal plant analysis

With gaining popularity of herbal remedies worldwide, the need of assuring safety and efficacy of these products increases as well. By nature they are complex matrices, comprising a multitude of compounds, which are prone to variation due to environmental factors and manufacturing conditions. Furthermore, many traditional preparations compose of multiple herbs, so that only highly selective, sensitive and versatile analytical techniques will be suitable for quality control purposes. By hyphenating high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS) these high demands are fulfilled, providing the user with a multitude of technical options and applications. This review intends to reflect the impact of LC-MS for medicinal plant analysis focusing on most relevant reports published within the last five years. Commenced by introductory remarks to the different MS approaches most commonly used (e.g. ion trap and time of flight mass analyzers, fragmentation and ionization modes), respective LC-MS applications on the analysis of natural products in medicinal plants, commercial products and biological samples are presented. Methodological aspects like stationary and mobile phase selection or MS settings are discussed, and advantages or limitations of the described techniques are highlighted.

In vivo pharmacokinetics comparisons of icariin, emodin and psoralen from gan-kang granules and extracts of herba Epimedii, Nepal dock root, Ficus hirta yahl

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Gan-kang granules (GKG) contains the extracts from eight Chinese herbs and is a traditional Chinese composite prescription for treatment of hepatitis B. Icariin, emodin and psoralen are main effective ingredients of the medicine.

AIM OF THE STUDY

In this research, pharmacokinetic comparisons of icariin, emodin and psoralen from the extracts of herba Epimedii, Nepal dock root and Ficus hirta yahl, and GKG were conducted.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

At different time points (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 h) after administration, the concentrations of icariin, emodin and psoralen in rat plasma were determined by HPLC-UV, and main pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated.

RESULTS

The pharmacokinetic parameters of icariin, emodin and psoralen in GKG were elevated comparing with those of herb extracts.

CONCLUSIONS

Three HPLC-UV methods were developed successfully for the analysis of icariin, emodin and psoralen in SD rat plasma. Some ingredients in GKG may increase the dissolution and absorption, and improve bioavailability of icariin, emodin and psoralen in rats.