Simultaneous determination of bioactive components of Radix Angelicae Sinensis-Radix Paeoniae Alba herb couple in rat plasma and tissues by UPLC-MS/MS and its application to pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution.

A highly sensitive and rapid ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of seven components in rat plasma and five components in rat tissues after oral administration of the extracts of different combination Radix Angelicae Sinensis-Radix Paeoniae Alba herb couple and has been applied to compare the different pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution properties of these bioactive components. The extracts of Radix Angelicae Sinensis (RAS), Radix Paeoniae Alba (RPA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis-Radix Paeoniae Alba herb couple (RRHC) were orally administrated to rats, respectively. The concentrations of ferulic acid, caffeic acid, vanillic acid, ligustilide, paeoniflorin, albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin in rat plasma and the concentrations of ferulic acid, vanillic acid, paeoniflorin, albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin in tissues were determined by UPLC-MS/MS. The plasma samples were pretreated by protein precipitation with methanol and the tissue samples were homogenated with water and pretreated by protein precipitation with methanol. Chromatographic separation was performed on a C18 column using 0.1% formic acid-acetonitrile as mobile phase for gradient elution. A triple quadrupole (TQ) tandem mass spectrometry equipped with an electrospray ionization source was used as detector operating both in positive and negative ionization mode and operated by multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) scanning. Noncompartmental pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by DAS 2.0 program. The differences between each group were compared by SPSS 16.0 with Independent-Samples T-test. The pharmacokinetic parameters (such as Cmax, Tmax, T1/2, AUC0-T, MRT0-T, Vz/F or CLz/F) of all the detected components between the single herb (RAS or RPA) and herb pair (RRHP) showed significant differences (P<0.05). It indicated that the compatibility of RAS and RPA could alter the pharmacokinetics features of each component. Tissue distribution results showed that ferulic acid, vanillic acid, paeoniflorin, albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin mostly distributed in liver and kidney both in herb couple and single herb distributed most in liver and kidney. Compared with single herb, RRHC could increase or decrease the concentrations of five components at different time points compared with the sing herb. The results indicated the method was successfully applied to the comparative study on pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of different combination of RRHC in rats. The compatibility of two Chinese herbs could alter the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution properties of major bio-active components in the single herb. The results might be helpful for further investigation of compatibility mechanism of RRHC.

Luo N ，Li Z ，Qian D ，Qian Y ，Guo J ，Duan JA ，Zhu M ... -  《-》

Pharmacokinetic properties of paeoniflorin, albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin after oral gavage of extracts of Radix Paeoniae Rubra and Radix Paeoniae Alba in rats.

To establish a HPLC-MS method and investigate the pharmacokinetic properties of paeoniflorin, albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin and the pharmacokinetics difference of Radix Paeoniae Rubra and Radix Paeoniae Alba. The extracts of Radix Paeoniae Rubra and Radix Paeoniae Alba were separately administrated to rats. The concentrations of paeoniflorin, albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin in rat plasma were determined by HPLC-ESI-MS method. The plasma samples were pretreated by protein precipitation with methanol and chromatographic separation was performed on a C(18) column with a mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid and methanol (67:33, v/v). The detection was accomplished by multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) scanning via electrospray ionization (ESI) source operating in the negative ionization mode. Main pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated and the total AUC of the three components were compared. The pharmacokinetic parameters of paeoniflorin, albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin were significantly different. There was significant difference between the pharmacokinetic characteristics of Radix Paeoniae Rubra and Radix Paeoniae Alba. A specific and sensitive HPLC-ESI-MS method was developed for simultaneous determination of paeoniflorin, albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin in rat plasma and was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic study. The results might be helpful for the investigation of different effects of Radix Paeoniae Rubra and Radix Paeoniae Alba.

Feng C ，Liu M ，Shi X ，Yang W ，Kong D ，Duan K ，Wang Q ... -  《-》

Simultaneous determination of caffeic acid derivatives by UPLC-MS/MS in rat plasma and its application in pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of Flos Lonicerae-Fructus Forsythiae herb combination.

The current study aims to investigate the pharmacokinetic study of eight caffeic acid derivatives (forsythoside A, isoforsythoside, forsythoside B, neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid and 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid) following oral administration of Flos Lonicerae-Fructus Forsythiae herb combination in rats. A rapid and sensitive ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed to determine the eight caffeic acid derivatives simultaneously in rat plasma. After mixing with the internal standard (IS) tinidazole, plasma samples were pretreated by liquid-liquid extraction with n-butyl alcohol/ethyl acetate (7:3, v/v). The separation was performed on an Acquity UPLC HSS T3 C18 column (100mm×2.1mm, 1.8μm) at a flow rate of 0.4mLmin(-1), and acetonitrile/methanol (4:1, v/v)-0.4% formic acid was used as mobile phase. The detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) via electrospray ionization (ESI) source with positive and negative ionization modes. All calibration curves had good linearity (r>0.991) over the concentration ranges of 1.097-2246ngmL(-1) for neochlorogenic acid, 6.535-6692ngmL(-1) for chlorogenic acid, 2.103-2153ngmL(-1) for cryptochlorogenic acid, 0.5058-129.5ngmL(-1) for 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 0.3205-82.05ngmL(-1) for 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 1.002-512.8ngmL(-1) for isoforsythoside, 0.4795-982.1ngmL(-1) for forsythoside A and 0.7587-776.9ngmL(-1) for forsythoside B, respectively. The intra- and inter-batch precisions were all within 15% and the accuracy (relative error, RE%) all ranged from 85.68% to 114.7%. It was shown from pharmacokinetic parameters that the rank order of AUC0-t, Cmax and T1/2k for phenolic acids was chlorogenic acid>neochlorogenic acid≥cryptochlorogenic acid>3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid≥3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (most of them had significant differences), which corresponded to their administration dosages to rats, but that of MRT0-t and T1/2z were opposite. Besides, the AUC0-t, Cmax, MRT and T1/2z except T1/2k of isoforsythoside and forsythoside B had no significant difference, compared to that of forsythoside A though their administration dosages were significantly lower than that of forsythoside A. All results showed that the method was applied to the pharmacokinetic study of the eight caffeic acid derivatives in rat plasma successfully after oral administration of Flos Lonicerae-Fructus Forsythiae herb combination, and there were significant differences of caffeic acid derivatives even isomers in the pharmacokinetic parameters.

Zhou W ，Shan J ，Wang S ，Ju W ，Meng M ，Cai B ，Di L ... -  《-》

Pharmacokinetic comparisons by UPLC-MS/MS of isomer paeoniflorin and albiflorin after oral administration decoctions of single-herb Radix Paeoniae Alba and Zengmian Yiliu prescription to rats.

Zengmian Yiliu (ZMYL), a traditional Chinese formula, is designed to improve clinical efficacy and reduce adverse effects in combination with cisplatin in ovarian cancer chemotherapy. In ZMYL, Radix Paeoniae Alba (RPA, made from root of Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) acts as an adjunctive drug in cancer treatment by ameliorating side effects induced by radio- and chemotherapy. The pharmacokinetics differences between isomer albiflorin and paeoniflorin, the main components of RPA, after oral administration decoction of single-herb RPA and ZMYL were compared using a sensitive and accurate UPLC-MS/MS. The results indicate that there are statistically significant differences between the pharmacokinetic parameters: decreasing area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC), maximum concentration (Cmax ), elimination rate constant (Ke ) and increasing apparent volume of distribution (Vd ) and clearance (CL) for albiflorin, increasing distribution half-life (T1/2d ) and decreasing elimination half-life (T1/2e ), distribution rate constant (Kd ) and absorption rate constant (Ka ) for paeoniflorin in the ZMYL group compared with the single-herb RPA group. In comparison with albiflorin, the pharmacokinetic parameters of paeoniflorin included significantly increasing mean residence time (MRT) and Vd , decreasing CL and Ke in the single-herb RPA group and increasing MRT and T1/2d and decreasing CL, Ke and Kd in the ZMYL group. Both paeoniflorin and albiflorin are more likely, as the main active ingredients in RPA and ZMYL, to play a variety of pharmacological effects, and herb-herb interactions occur, resulting in different pharmacokinetics of albiflorin and paeoniflorin in RPA and ZMYL.

Gong C ，Yang H ，Wei H ，Qi C ，Wang CH ... -  《-》

LC-MS/MS determination and pharmacokinetic study of albiflorin and paeoniflorin in rat plasma after oral administration of Radix Paeoniae Alba extract and Tang-Min-Ling-Wan.

A rapid, sensitive and selective liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method (LC-MS/MS) was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of albiflorin and paeoniflorin in rat plasma using geniposide as an internal standard. Plasma samples were extracted by solid-phase extraction. Chromatographic separation was carried out on a Zorbax SB-C(18) analytical column (150 × 2.1 mm × 5 µm) with 0.1% formic acid-acetonitrile (70:30, v/v) as the mobile phase. Detection was performed by multiple reaction monitoring mode using electrospray ionization in the positive ion mode. The total run time was 3.0 min between injections. The calibration curves were linear over a range of 1-1000 ng/mL for albiflorin and 2-2000 ng/mL for paeoniflorin. The overall precision and accuracy for all concentrations of quality controls and standards were better than 15%. Mean recovery was determined to be 87.7% for albiflorin and 88.8% for paeoniflorin. The validated method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of albiflorin and paeoniflorin in rat plasma after oral administration of Radix Paeoniae Alba extract and Tang-Min-Ling-Wan. The pharmacokinetic parameters showed that albiflorin and paeoniflorin from Tang-Min-Ling-Wan were absorbed more rapidly with higher concentrations in plasma than that from Radix Paeoniae Alba extract. The results provided a meaningful basis for evaluating the clinical applications of traditional Chinese medicine.

Tong L ，Wan M ，Zhou D ，Gao J ，Zhu Y ，Bi K ... -  《-》