Jaceosidin: A Natural Flavone with Versatile Pharmacological and Biological Activities

Nature always remains an inexhaustible source of treasures for mankind. It remains a mystery for every challenge until the completion of the challenge. While we talk about the complicated health issues, nature offers us a great variety of chemical scaffolds and their various moieties packed in the form of natural products e.g., plants, microorganisms (fungi, algae, protozoa), and terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates. This review article is an update about jaceosidin, a bioactive flavone, from genus Artemisia. This potentially active compound exhibits a variety of pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, antiallergic and anti-cancer activities. The bioactivities and the therapeutic action of jaceosidin, especially the modulation of different cell signaling pathways (ERK1/2, NF-κB, PI3K/Akt and ATM-Chk1/2) which become deregulated in various pathological disorders, have been focused here. The reported data suggest that the bioavailability of this anti-cancer compound should be enhanced by utilizing various chemical, biological and computational techniques. Moreover, it is recommended that researchers and scientists should work on exploring the mode of action of this particular flavone to precede it further as a potent anti-cancer compound.

Pharmacokinetics of ebeiedinone in mouse blood by UPLC–MS/MS

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) method was established to determine ebeiedinone in mouse blood, and the pharmacokinetics of ebeiedinone after intravenous (0.5 mg/kg) and oral (2, 4, and 8 mg/kg) administration was studied. Twenty-four mice were randomly divided into 4 groups, 1 group was for intravenous administration (0.5 mg/kg), and other 3 groups were for oral administration (2, 4, and 8 mg/kg), with 6 rats in each group. Yubeinine was used as an internal standard. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was used to quantitatively analyzed ebeiedinone m/z 414.4 → 91.1 and the internal standard m/z 430.4 → 412.3 in the electrospray ionization (ESI) positive interface. In the concentration range of 1–2000 ng/mL, the ebeiedinone in the mouse blood was linear (r2 > 0.995), and the lower limit of quantification was 1.0 ng/mL. In the mouse blood, the intra-day precision coefficient of variation (CV) was less than 15%, and the inter-day precision CV was less than 15%. The accuracy ranged from 85.4% to 114.6%, and the average recovery was higher than 61.3%. The matrix effect was between 87.0% and 106.5%. These data met the pharmacokinetic study requirements of ebeiedinone. The UPLC–MS/MS method was sensitive, rapid, and selective and was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of ebeiedinone in mice. The absolute bioavailability of ebeiedinone was 30.6%.

Determination of Shanzhiside Methylester in Rat Plasma by Uplc-Ms/Ms and its Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study

Introduction:

In this study, we used UPLC-MS/MS to detect shanzhiside methylester in rat plasma, and investigated its pharmacokinetics in rats.

Materials and Methods:

Diazepam was utilized as an internal standard (IS), and acetonitrile precipitation method was used to process the plasma samples. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a UPLC BEH C18 column using mobile phase of methanol-0.1 % formic acid with gradient elution. Electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with positive ionization was applied.

Results:

The results indicated that within the range of 5-4000 ng/mL, linearity of shanzhiside methylester in rat plasma was acceptable (r>0.995), and the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 5 ng/mL. Intra-day and inter-day precision RSD of shanzhiside methylester in rat plasma were lower than 14%. Accuracy range was between 87.3 % and 109.1 %, and matrix effect was between 99.2% and 106.3%.

Conclusion:

The method was successfully applied in the pharmacokinetics of shanzhiside methylester in rats after intravenous administration.

UPLC-MS/MS Method for Determination of Khasianine in Mouse Blood: Application for Its Pharmacokinetic Study

Background:

The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of khasianine in mouse whole blood sample and its application for the pharmacokinetics by a rapid, selective and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method.

Methods:

The blood samples were preprocessed by one-step protein precipitation with acetonitrile. The study was performed on an ACQUITY I-Class UPLC system with a UPLC BEH column. Lannaconitine (internal standard, IS) and khasianine were gradient eluted by a mixture of acetonitrile and water with 0.1% formic acid at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The mass spectrometer was equipped with an Electrospray Ionization (ESI) source in positive mode. The quantitative detection was performed in a multiple reaction monitoring modes at transitions m/z 722.4→70.7 for khasianine and m/z 585.3→119.9 for the corresponding IS.

Results:

The calibration curve was of good linearity ranging from 0.5 to 1000 ng/mL (r > 0.995). The Lower Limit of Detection (LLOD) and Lower Limit of Quantitation (LLOQ) were 0.2 and 0.5 ng/mL, respectively. The inter-day and intra-day precision (RSD%) were both less than 14%, and the accuracy ranged from 86.6% to 108.3%. The matrix effects were between 98.0% and 103.7%, and the average recovery was better than 67.4%.

Conclusion:

This assay established a sensitive, rapid, selective UPLC-MS/MS method which was successfully used for the pharmacokinetic study of khasianine in mouse blood, and the absolute availability of khasianine was 0.78% which exhibited a poor oral absorption.

UPLC–MS/MS simultaneous determination of methamphetamine, amphetamine, morphine, monoacetylmorphine, ketamine, norketamine, MDMA, and MDA in hair

Hair is a stable specimen and has a longer detection window (from weeks to months) than blood and urine. Through the analysis of hair, the long-term information of the drug use of the identified person could be explored. Our work is to establish an ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectroscopy (UPLC–MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of methamphetamine, amphetamine, morphine, monoacetylmorphine, ketamine, norketamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) in hair. Methoxyphenamine was used as an internal standard. The chromatographic separation was performed on a UPLC ethylene bridged hybrid (BEH) C18 (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 1.7 μm) column using a mobile phase of acetonitrile–water with 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate solution which containing 0.05% ammonium hydroxide. The multiple reaction monitoring in positive electrospray ionization was used for quantitative determination. The intra-day and inter-day precisions (relative standard deviation [RSD]) were below 15%. The accuracy ranged between 85.5% and 110.4%, the average recovery rate was above 72.9%, and the matrix effect ranged between 92.7% and 109.2%. Standard curves were in the range of 0.05–5.0 ng/mg, and the correlation coefficients were greater than 0.995. The established UPLC–MS/MS method was applied to analyze the hair samples successfully.

Pharmacokinetics of Picroside I, II, III, IV in Rat Plasma by UPLCMS/ MS

Background:

Modern pharmacological studies show that rhizoma coptidis has protective effects on the liver, gallbladder, kidney, cerebral ischemia-reperfusion, local hypoxia injury, antiinflammatory, bone injury, nerve cells and myocardial cells. The effective components have been isolated from picroside I, II, III and IV.

Introduction:

A selective and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous quantitative determination of picroside I, II, III and IV in rat plasma to aid the pharmacokinetics studies.

Method:

Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were orally administered with 10 mg/kg, intravenously injected with 1 mg/kg for the mixture of picroside I, II, III and IV. The biological samples were collected at 0.083 3 h, 0.25 h, 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h, 12 h, 24 h. A UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.7 μm) was used for chromatographic separation with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid by gradient elution. The flow rate was 0.4 mL/min. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions were m/z 491.1→147.1 for picroside I, m/z 511.1→234.9 for picroside II, m/z 537.3→174.8 for picroside III and m/z 507.3→163.1 for picroside IV in negative ion mode.

Result:

The inter-day precision was less than 13%, the intra-day precision was less than 15%. The accuracy ranged from 89.4% to 111.1%. Recovery was higher than 79.1%, and the matrix effect ranged from 96.2% to 109.0%.

Conclusion:

The sensitive, rapid and selective UPLC-MS/MS method can be applied to the pharmacokinetic study of picroside I, II, III and IV in rats.

Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of hapepunine in mice by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) method was established to determine the hapepunine in mouse blood, and the pharmacokinetics of hapepunine after intravenous (1.0 mg/kg) and intragastric (2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg) administrations was studied. Delavinone was used as an internal standard. The UPLC ethylene bridged hybrid (BEH) C18 column was used for chromatographic separation. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid with a gradient elution flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was used for quantitative analysis of hapepunine in electrospray ionization (ESI) positive interface. Proteins from mouse blood were removed by acetonitrile precipitation. The verification method was established in accordance with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bioanalytical method validation guidelines. In the concentration range of 1–1000 ng/mL, the hapepunine in the mouse blood was linear (r2 > 0.995), and the lower limit of quantification was 1.0 ng/mL. In the mouse blood, the intra-day precision coefficient of variation (CV) was less than 12%, the inter-day precision CV was less than 14%. The accuracy ranged from 91.7% to 109.3%. The average recovery was higher than 76.7%, and the matrix effect was between 86.0% and 106.4%. The UPLC–MS/MS method was sensitive, rapid, and selective and was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of hapepunine in mice. The absolute bioavailability of hapepunine was 22.0%.

Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of gelsenicine in mice by UPLC-MS/MS

Gelsenicine is an indole alkaloid isolated from Gelsemium elegans Benth. In recent years, the role of G. elegans Benth preparations in anti-tumor, analgesic, dilatation and dermatological treatment has attracted attention, and it has been applied clinically, but it is easy to cause poisoning with its use. An UPLC-MS/MS method was established to determine the gelsenicine in mouse blood, and the pharmacokinetics of gelsenicine after intravenous (0.1 mg/kg) and intragastric (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) administration was studied. Deltalin was used as internal standard; a UPLC BEH C₁₈ column was used for chromatographic separation. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate (0.1% formic acid) with a gradient elution flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. Multiple reaction monitoring mode was used for quantitative analysis of gelsenicine in electrospray ionization positive interface. Proteins from mouse blood were removed by acetonitrile precipitation. A validation of this method was performed in accordance with the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. In the concentration range of 0.05-100 ng/mL, the gelsenicine in the mouse blood was linear (r > 0.995), and the lower limit of quantification was 0.05 ng/mL. In the mouse blood, the intra-day precision RSD was <12%, the inter-day precision RSD was <15%, the accuracy ranged from 89.8 to 112.3%, the average recovery was >76.8%, and the matrix effect was between 103.7 and 108.4%, which meet the pharmacokinetic research requirements of gelsenicine. The UPLC-MS/MS method is sensitive, rapid and selective, and has been successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of gelsenicine in mice. The absolute bioavailability of gelsenicine is 1.13%.