Determination of Main Compositions in Phyllanthus Urinaria and its Effects on Cyp450 in Rats

Pharmacokinetics of tectorigenin, tectoridi, irigenin, and iridin in mouse blood after intravenous administration by UPLC-MS/MS

Tectorigenin, tectoridin, irigenin, and iridin are the four most predominant compounds present in She Gan. She Gan has been used in traditional Chinese medicine because of its anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anti-tumor, antioxidant, phytoestrogen-like properties. In this paper, a UPLC-MS/MS method was developed to measure the pharmacokinetics of tectorigenin, tectoridin, irigenin, iridin after intravenous administration in mice. A UPLC BEH C18 (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm particle size) chromatographic column was utilized for separation of the four target analytes and internal standard (IS), and the analysis of blood plasma samples; the mobile phase consisted of an acetonitrile-water (w/0.1% formic acid) gradient elution. Electron spray ionization (ESI) positive-ion mode and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was used for quantitative analysis of the analytes and internal standard. The four compounds were administered intravenously (sublingual) at doses of 5 mg/kg. After blood sampling, samples were processed and then analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS. The linearity of the method was robust over the concentration range of 2–5,000 ng/mL. The intra-day precision of the analysis was within 15%, the inter-day precision was within 12%, and the accuracy was between 92% and 110%. The recoveries were 65–68%, and the matrix effect was 93–109%. The established UPLC-MS/MS detection method was then successfully applied to study the pharmacokinetics of tectorigenin, tectoridin, irigenin, iridin in mice.

Determination of eugenitin in mouse blood by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

Eugenitin is a non-volatile chromone derivative which is always found in dried flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum L. (Merr.) & L.M. Perry. Until now, there were no reports about the pharmacokinetics of eugenitin in biological fluids. A UPLC-MS/MS method developed to determine eugenitin in mouse blood. The blood samples were prepared by protein precipitation with acetonitrile. Chrysin (internal standard, IS) and eugenitin were gradient eluted by mobile phase of acetonitrile and water (0.1% formic acid) in a BEH C18 column. The multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) of m/z 221.1→206.0 for eugenitin and m/z 255.1→152.9 for IS with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source was used for quantitative detection. The calibration curve ranged from 0.5 to 500 ng/mL (r > 0.995). The accuracy ranged from 98 to 113%, the precision was less than 12%, and the matrix effect was between 86 and 94%, the recovery was better than 81%. The developed method was successfully used for pharmacokinetics of eugenitin in mice after intravenous (5 mg/kg) and oral (20 mg/kg) administration, and the absolute availability of eugenitin was 12%.

Simultaneous determination of carbofuran and 3-hydroxycarbofuran in duck liver by an UPLC-MS/MS

Carbofuran is a carbamate pesticide, a broad-spectrum, high-efficiency, low-residue, and highly toxic insecticide, acaricide, and nematicide, widely used in agriculture. Carbofuran is most harmful to birds, and birds or insects killed by furan poisoning can be killed by secondary poisoning after being foraged by raptors, small mammals, or reptiles. In this paper, an UPLC-MS/MS method was developed for the determination of carbofuran and its metabolite, 3-hydroxycarbofuran, in duck liver. Liver tissue was first ground into a homogenate and then passed through ethyl acetate liquid-liquid extraction processing samples. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was used for quantitative analysis, m/z 222.1 → 165.1 for carbofuran, m/z 238.1 → 180.9 for 3-hydroxycarbofuran and m/z 290.2 → 198.2 for an internal standard. The standard curves of carbofuran and 3-hydroxycarbofuran in duck liver were within a range of 2–2000 ng/g, where the linearity was good, the lower limit of quantification was 2 ng/g. The intra-day precision of carbofuran and 3-hydroxycarbofuran was <14%, and the inter-day precision was <13%, the accuracy range was between 91.8 and 108.9%, the average extraction efficiency was higher than 75.1% with a matrix effect between 93.4 and 107.7%. The developed method was applied to a situation of suspected duck poisoning at a local farm.