Search

Ethnopharmacological relevance Adequate pharmacokinetic data of escin, a natural mixture of triterpene saponins used for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency, hemorrhoids, inflammation and edema, is of special interest in view of the growing use of escin agent in clinical medicine. However, pharmacokinetic data are inadequate to support their clinical indication. Escin Ib and isoescin Ib are the chief active ingredients in escin, pharmacokinetics study of them would be helpful for improving the practice of escin application. The goals of this study are to determine the plasma concentration of escin Ib and isoescin Ib using an established liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method and to compare the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of these compounds in rats when administered as pure isomers or as sodium escinate. Materials and methods Five groups of Wistar rats ( n =6 per group) were treated with either an intravenous (IV) dose (2.78 mg/kg) of sodium escinate (corresponding to 0.5 mg/kg of escin Ib and 0.5 mg/kg of isoescin Ib), an IV dose (0.5 mg/kg) and an oral dose (4 mg/kg) of pure escin Ib or isoescin Ib. The concentrations of escin Ib and isoescin Ib in rat plasma were determined by LC–MS/MS at various times following the administration of the drugs. The pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by a non-compartmental analysis and then subjected to statistical analysis. Results The administration of sodium escinate, which contains the two isomers, gave rise to higher terminal phase half-life ( t 1/2 ) and mean residence time (MRT) values for both escin Ib and isoescin Ib compared to the corresponding compounds administered alone. The absorption of escin Ib and isoescin Ib was very poor, with the oral bioavailability ( F ) values of in vivo , wherein the conversion of escin Ib to isoescin Ib was much easier than that of isoescin Ib to escin Ib. Conclusions A comparison of the pharmacokinetics of escin Ib and isoescin Ib administered alone and together in rats suggests that the administration of herbal preparations of escin in a clinical setting may result in a longer duration of action than the administration of each isomer alone. The interconversion of escin Ib and isoescin Ib when administered alone indicates that the administration of one isomer results in exposure to the other isomer.

A method has been developed and validated for the quantitative determination of flumorph residues in vegetables and fruits using dimoxystrobin as internal standard (I.S.) by high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The conversion rule between flumorph (Z) and flumorph (E) has been studied through sunlight photodegradation test of flumorph. Flumorph and I.S. were extracted with ethyl acetate and preconcentrated by Oasis HLB cartridge. Qualitative and quantitative detection for the analytes were carried out under the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in positive ionization mode after chromatography separation on a Symmetry C18 (150 mm × 2.1 mm × 3.5 μm) column. Studies at fortification level of 0.05–25 μg kg−1 gave mean recoveries from 77.6 to 92.9% for flumorph, with relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) ≤8.7%. The limit of quantification (LOQ, S/N = 10) was 0.05 μg kg−1. The proposed method was successfully applied on real samples from different kinds of vegetables and fruits. Flumorph residues were detected in 70% of the samples analyzed and the highest concentration level was 1.83 μg kg−1 in tomato sample.

It is essential to develop effective methods for the quality control of the traditional medicine with multiple components. However, few researches on the quality control have been conducted to interpret the holistic characteristics of the traditional medicine in terms of dissolution/release. In this study, the multi-component release kinetics of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) dosage forms was characterized and mapped by multivariate analysis techniques in the field of “-omics”. The Liuweidihuang pill was used as a model formulation. The multi-component release kinetics of the concentrated and water-honeyed Liuweidihuang pills at rotation speeds of 50 and 100 rpm were analyzed by chemomic release kinetic theory and modified LC/MS/MS method. Mass features of 103 (concentrated pills) and 101 (water-honeyed pills) were selected with a linear correlation coefficient ≥0.99 between mass responses and concentrations. To compose the chemomic standard spectrum, the relative abundance of both mass features was no less than 1% as compared with an internal standard. The correlation coefficients between six samples of various solutions were in line with analytical requirements of precision ( r ≥0.985). The score plots of principal component analysis showed that the concentrated Liuweidihuang pills presented better chemomic release reproducibility than the water-honeyed pills. Conversely, the impact of rotation speed on the chemomic release was less obvious. The heat maps of hierarchical clustering analysis did not show significant changes in individual clusters of mass features along different time intervals, reflecting the release integrity of the mass features. Therefore, both multivariate analysis methods, the principal component analysis and the hierarchical clustering analysis, seemed to be effective techniques to demonstrate the multiple component release performance of TCM. The research provided the basis of a new strategy for the quality control procedures of the dissolution/release for the traditional medicine and multi-component natural products to address increasing regulatory requirements and scrutiny across the world.

A rapid and sensitive LC–MS–MS method for the simultaneous determination of escin Ia and isoescin Ia in rat plasma, urine, feces and bile samples was developed and validated. Analytes and telmisartan [internal standard (IS)] were extracted by solid-phase extraction on C18 cartridges. Components in the extract were separated on an HC-C18 column (5 μm, 150 × 4.6 mm i.d.) using 10 mM ammonium acetate–methanol–acetonitrile (40:30:30, v/v/v) as the mobile phase. The method demonstrated good linearity from 5 ng mL−1 (LLOQ) to 1,500 ng mL−1 for both escin Ia and isoescin Ia. Intra- and inter-day precision measured as RSD was within ±15%. Recoveries and matrix effects of both escin Ia and isoescin Ia were satisfactory in all four matrices examined. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study in Wistar rats after a single intravenous administration of escin Ia at the dose of 1.0 mg kg−1.

A highly sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS–MS) method for the determination of troxerutin in human plasma using tramadol as internal standard (IS) has been developed and validated. Sample preparation involved liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate–isopropanol (95:5, v/v). The analyte and IS were separated by RP–LC with gradient elution using 10 mM ammonium acetate containing 0.1% formic acid and methanol at a flow rate of 0.9 mL min−1. LC–MS–MS in the positive ion mode employed multiple reaction monitoring of the transitions at m/z 743.2→435.3 and m/z 264.1→58.0 for troxerutin and IS, respectively. The assay was linear in the concentration range 0.01–10 ng mL−1 with precision and accuracy within assay variability limits as per FDA guidelines. The assay was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study involving oral administration of 300 mg troxerutin to eight healthy Chinese volunteers.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Escin, a natural mixture of triterpene saponins, is commonly utilized for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency, hemorrhoids, inflammation and edema. Escin Ia is the chief active ingredient in escin and plays key role in mediating its pharmacological effects. Adequate pharmacokinetic data are essential for proper application of escin agent in clinical practice. However, pharmacokinetic properties of escin Ia are still poorly understood and this conflicts with the growing use of escin agent over the years. The goal of this study is to investigate the pharmacokinetic behavior of escin Ia in rats after low, medium and high-dose intravenous administration. Materials and methods Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups (n=6 per group) and escin Ia was administered via the caudal vein at doses of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg, respectively. Subsequently, the concentrations of escin Ia and its metabolite isoescin Ia, a positional isomer of escin Ia, in rats׳ plasma were measured by an established liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method at various time points following the administration of the drug. Main pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by non-compartmental analysis using the TopFit 2.0 software package (Thomae GmbH, Germany). Results After intravenous administration, the Cmax and AUC of escin Ia increased in a dose-proportional manner at the dose of 0.5 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg, while increased in a more than dose-proportional manner at the doses of 1.0 mg/kg and 2.0 mg/kg. The t1/2 was significantly longer with increased intravenous doses, while other parameters such as CL and Vd also exhibit disagreement among three doses. Taken together, our data showed dose-dependent pharmacokinetic profile of escin Ia in rats after intravenous administration at the doses of 0.5–2.0 mg/kg. After intravenous administration, escin Ia was rapidly and extensively converted to isoescin Ia. Conclusions The results suggested dose-dependent pharmacokinetics of escin Ia at the doses of 0.5–2.0 mg/kg after intravenous administration. Escin Ia is isomerized to isoescin Ia rapidly and extensively regardless of the doses.

Escin Ia and isoescin Ia have been traditionally used clinically as the chief active ingredients of escin, a major triterpene saponin isolated from horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) seeds for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency, hemorrhoids, inflammation and edema.To establish a sensitive LC-MS/MS method and investigate the pharmacokinetic properties of escin Ia and isoescin Ia in rats and the pharmacokinetics difference of sodium escinate with pure escin Ia and isoescin Ia. The absolute bioavailability of escin Ia and isoescin Ia and the bidirectional interconversion of them in vivo were also scarcely reported.Wister rats were administrated an intravenous (i.v.) dose (1.7 mg/kg) of sodium escinate (corresponding to 0.5mg/kg of escin Ia and 0.5mg/kg of isoescin Ia, respectively) and an i.v. dose (0.5mg/kg) or oral dose (4mg/kg) of pure escin Ia or isoescin Ia, respectively. At different time points, the concentrations of escin Ia and isoescin Ia in rat plasma were determined by LC-MS/MS method. Main pharmacokinetic parameters including t(1/2), MRT, CL, V(d), AUC and F were estimated by non-compartmental analysis using the TopFit 2.0 software package (Thomae GmbH, Germany) and statistical analysis was performed using the Student's t-test with P0.05 as the level of significance.After administration of sodium escinate, the t(1/2) and MRT values for both escin Ia and isoescin Ia were larger than corresponding values for the compounds given alone. Absorption of escin Ia and isoescin Ia was very low with F values both0.25%. Escin Ia and isoescin Ia were found to form the other isomer in vivo with the conversion of escin Ia to isoescin Ia being much extensive than from isoescin Ia to escin Ia.Comparison of the pharmacokinetics of escin Ia and isoescin Ia given alone and together in rat suggest that administration of herbal preparations of escin for clinical use may provide longer duration of action than administration of single isomers. The interconversion of escin Ia and isoescin Ia when given alone indicates that administration of one isomer leads to exposure to the other.

Felbinac trometamol (trishydroxymethylaminomethane 4-biphenylacetate) is a new water-soluble salt of felbinac currently undergoing clinical evaluation as an intravenous (i.v.) formulation for the treatment of severe post-operative pain. This article reports the pharmacokinetics of felbinac after i.v. administration of felbinac trometamol in Sprague-Dawley rats. The maximum plasma concentration (C(0)) and area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of felbinac administered at doses of 3.36, 8.40 and 21.0 mg/kg felbinac trometamol increased linearly with dose. Felbinac was highly protein bound (~95%) at plasma concentrations up to 75 μg/ml and extensively metabolized with only small amounts being excreted unchanged in urine (0.318%), feces (0.530%) and bile (0.465%). 4'-Hydroxyfelbinac was the principal metabolite in urine, feces and bile together with felbinac glucuronide, 4'-hydroxyfelbinac glucuronide and sulfate. The majority of the administered dose was excreted in urine (63.6%) mostly as 4'-hydroxyfelbinac. Total drug in urine and feces accounted for about 72% of the dose. It would appear that felbinac trometamol has the potential to replace lipid-based NSAID formulations and progress to clinical evaluation.

A rapid and sensitive method for the simultaneous quantitation of hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) and metoprolol (MET) in human plasma based on liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) has been developed and validated. MS/MS detection involved switching the electrospray ionization (ESI) mode during chromatography from negative to detect HCT and its internal standard (I.S.) 5-bromouracil to positive to detect MET and its I.S. tramadol. Sample preparation by liquid–liquid extraction with diethyl ether–dichloromethane (60:40, v/v) was followed by chromatography on a Venusil MP-C18 column using methanol–ammonium acetate (10 mM)–formic acid (pH 3.4) (50:50:0.05, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. The method was linear in the concentration range 3–1000 ng/mL for both HCT and MET using 100 μL human plasma. Intra- and inter-day precisions (as relative standard deviation) for HCT were 2.9–3.9% and 3.9–4.7%, respectively and for MET were 2.4–4.1% and 4.7–6.2%, respectively. Accuracies (as relative error) were ±3.8% and ±2.6% for HCT and MET, respectively. The assay was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study involving a single oral dose of a combination tablet (25 mg HCT, 50 mg MET) in healthy volunteers.

A rapid and sensitive method based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has been developed for the determination of octahydroaminoacridine in human plasma using tramadol as internal standard (I.S.). Sample preparation involved pH adjustment with sodium carbonate followed by solvent extraction with dichloromethane:ethyl ether (40:60, v/v). Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Venusil MP-C18 column (5 microm, 100 mm x 4.6mm) using acetonitrile:10mM ammonium acetate:formic acid (30:70:1, v/v/v) as mobile phase. Detection utilized an API 4000 system operated in the positive ion mode with multiple reaction monitoring of the analyte at m/z 203.1--175.1 and of the I.S. at m/z 264.1--58.0. The method was linear in the range 0.01-10 ng/ml with a lower limit of quantitation of 0.0 1ng/ml. Intra- and inter-day precisions measured as relative standard deviation were3.15% and5.01%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study involving oral administration of a tablet containing 4 mg octahydroaminoacridine succinate to healthy volunteers. Pharmacokinetic parameters for octahydroaminoacridine include C(max) 1.19+/-0.53 ng/ml, T(max) 0.77+/-0.17 h, AUC(0-t) 3.42+/-1.01 ng h/ml and t(1/2) 2.89+/-0.56 h.