This study develops several chemical and physical methods to evaluate the quality of a traditional Chinese formulation, Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) coupled with electrospray ionization was used to measure the herbal biomarkers of saikosaponin A, saikosaponin D, ferulic acid, and paeoniflorin from this herbal formula. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) and light microscopy photographs with Congo red staining were used to identify the cellulose fibers if raw herbal powder had been added to the herbal pharmaceutical product. Moreover, water solubility and crude fiber content examination were used to inspect for potential herbal additives to the herbal pharmaceutical products. The results demonstrate that the contents of the herbal ingredients of saikosaponin A, saikosaponin D, ferulic acid, and paeoniflorin were around 0.351 ± 0.017, 0.136 ± 0.010, 0.140 ± 0.005, and 2.281 ± 0.406 mg/g, respectively, for this herbal pharmaceutical product. The physical examination data demonstrate that the raw herbal powder had rough, irregular, lumpy, filamentous, and elongated shapes, as well as strong Congo red staining. In addition, water solubility and crude fiber content were not consistent in the herbal pharmaceutical products.

A sensitive and efficient liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of gentiopicroside, geniposide, baicalin, and swertiamarin in rat plasma. To avoid the stress caused by restraint or anesthesia, a freely moving rat model was used to investigate the pharmacokinetics of herbal medicine after the administration of a traditional Chinese herbal prescription of Long-Dan-Xie-Gan-Tang (10 g/kg, p.o.). Analytes were separated by a C18 column with a gradient system of methanol-water containing 1 mM ammonium acetate with 0.1% formic acid. The linear ranges were 10-500 ng/mL for gentiopicroside, geniposide, and baicalin, and 5-250 ng/mL for swertiamarin in biological samples. The intra-and inter-day precision (relative standard deviation) ranged from 0.9% to 11.4% and 0.3% to 14.4%, OPEN ACCESSMolecules 2014, 19 21561 respectively. The accuracy (relative error) was from −6.3% to 10.1% at all quality control levels. The analytical system provided adequate matrix effect and recovery with good precision and accuracy. The pharmacokinetic data demonstrated that the area under concentration-time curve (AUC) values of gentiopicroside, geniposide, baicalin, and swertiamarin were 1417 ± 83.8, 302 ± 25.8, 753 ± 86.2, and 2.5 ± 0.1 min µg/mL. The pharmacokinetic profiles provide constructive information for the dosage regimen of herbal medicine and also contribute to elucidate the absorption mechanism in herbal applications and pharmacological experiments.

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Characteristics and emission factors of condensable particulate matter (CPM) and filterable particulate matter (FPM2.5) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (16 U.S. EPA PAHs and 15 + 1 EU PAHs) emitted from a coal-fired power plant (plant A) and a coal-fired boiler (plant B) in Taiwan were investigated via stack samplings. Removal efficiencies of CPM, FPM2.5, and PAHs achieved with baghouse (BH) + seawater flue gas desulfurization (SWFGD) were also evaluated for plant A. Results indicate that CPM concentrations measured in plants A and B are 12.7 ± 1.44 and 28.0 ± 6.32 mg/Nm3, respectively, which are significantly higher than FPM2.5 concentrations measured in two plants. The CMP/FPM ratios measured in plants A and B are 12.7 ± 1.44 and 28.0 ± 6.32, respectively. The organic content is the major contributor to CPM collected from plant A (90 ± 3.7%), while the inorganic content contributes 93 ± 2.4% of CPM collected from plant B. Furthermore, different compositions of soluble ion are found in CPM/FPM collected from the stacks of plants A and B. This difference might be attributed to different coal used, varying combustion efficiencies, and different removal efficiencies of organic and inorganic contents achieved with different air pollution control devices (APCDs) with different operating temperatures in plants A and B. The average PAH concentrations measured at stacks of plants A and B are 28.4 and 43.4 μg/Nm3, respectively. Gaseous PAHs predominate in terms of both mass and toxic equivalency (TEQ) concentrations, acounting for 99.5 and 96.0%, respectively. The 15 + 1 EU PAHs contribute 99.0 and 99.99% to total TEQ of gaseous and particulate PAHs, respectively. The removal efficiency of CPM achieved with BH and SWFGD of plant A is 38.3%, which is significantly lower than that of FPM2.5 (99.8%) and PM (99.9%). The PAH removal efficiency achieved with APCDs in plant A increases as the ring number increases. The overall PAH removal efficiencies achieved with the APCDs of plant A are 89.8 and 94.3% based on mass and TEQ concentrations, respectively.

Maleic acid has been shown to be used as a food adulterant in the production of modified starch by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration. Due to the potential toxicity of maleic acid to the kidneys, this study aimed to develop an analytical method to investigate the pharmacokinetics of maleic acid in rat blood and kidney cortex. Multiple microdialysis probes were simultaneously inserted into the jugular vein and the kidney cortex for sampling after maleic acid administration (10 or 30 mg/kg, i.v., respectively). The pharmacokinetic results demonstrated that maleic acid produced a linear pharmacokinetic phenomenon within the doses of 10 and 30 mg/kg. The area under concentration versus time curve (AUC) of the maleic acid in kidney cortex was 5-fold higher than that in the blood after maleic acid administration (10 and 30 mg/kg, i.v., respectively), indicating that greater accumulation of maleic acid occurred in the rat kidney.

Paclitaxel is effective against breast cancer. The herbal medicine, Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San (JWXYS), is the most frequent prescription used to relieve the symptoms of breast cancer treatments. The aim of the study was to investigate the herb-drug interaction effects of a herbal medicine on the distribution of paclitaxel to lymph. A validated ultraperformance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was used to determine the paclitaxel levels in rat plasma and lymph after intravenous infusion of paclitaxel alone with or without 7 days of JWXYS pretreatment. The pharmacokinetic results indicate that paclitaxel concentrations in plasma exceeded those in lymph by approximately 3.6-fold. The biodistribution of paclitaxel from plasma to lymph was 39 ± 5%; however, this increased to 45 ± 4% with JWXYS pretreatment. With JWXYS pretreatment, the AUC and C max of paclitaxel in plasma were significantly reduced by approximately 1.5-fold, compared to paclitaxel alone. Additionally, JWXYS decreased the AUC and C max of paclitaxel in lymph. However, the lymph absorption rate of paclitaxel with or without JWXYS pretreatment was not significantly changed (27 ± 3 and 30 ± 2%, resp.). Our findings demonstrate that when paclitaxel is prescribed concurrently with herbal medicine, monitoring of the blood pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel is recommended.