A simple liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry approach for the simultaneous quantification of thirteen compounds in rats following oral administration of raw and processedFructus Xanthii: Application in a comparative pharmacokinetic study

Abstract

A simple and sensitive analysis using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with a tandem mass spectrometric system operated in selected reaction monitoring mode was developed for the determination of 11 phenolic acids, atractyloside, and carboxyatractyloside in rat plasma. The two classes of analytes were then separated on a Waters ACQUITY™ UPLC HSS T3 column (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 µm) using gradient elution with a mobile phase of 0.2% formic acid in water containing 10 mM ammonium acetate and methanol. Detection was accomplished by selected reaction monitoring scanning via an electrospray source operating in negative ionization mode. The calibration curve was linear (R2 = 0.990) over a concentration range of 1.20–3500 ng/mL, while the validated lower limit of quantification was 1.20 ng/mL. The precision varied from 0.84 to 4.62%, and the accuracy varied within ±5%. The method proved robust with sample freezing and thawing and with short‐ and long‐term sample storage. The established method was used for simultaneous quantification and was successfully used for the first time for the pharmacokinetic evaluation of 13 compounds after the intragastric administration of raw and processed Fructus Xanthii in rats. The results indicated that processing affects the absorption and metabolism of Fructus Xanthii extract. Importantly, the results also indicated the importance of processing for the clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine.

Pharmacokinetic comparison of 15 active compositions in rat plasma after oral administration of raw and honey‐processed Aster tataricus extracts

“…It can provide both toxicological and clinical information and facilitate the direct optimization of drug candidates. The pharmacokinetic study of Chinese herbal medicine is vital to improve drug efficacy, reduce toxicity, and guide formulation design [18]. To date, only pharmacokinetic studies of terpenoids (shionone and epifriedelinol) in rat plasma after oral administration of AT extract has been reported [19].…”

Pharmacokinetic comparison of nine bioactive components in rat plasma following oral administration of raw and wine‐processed Ligustri Lucidi Fructus by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

“…Processing for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a unique pharmaceutical technology gradually accumulated and developed in medical activities, which is called "paozhi" in Chinese [1,2], including grinding into fine powder, steaming with water [3] and wine, sautéing with other herbs, frying with wine and honey, frying and baking with salt, and so on [4,5]. Different from chemical drugs, TCM often needs to be processed for removing impurities, correcting odor, introducing drugs to channels, changing drug properties, reducing toxicity, enhancing effectiveness, altering their efficacies, or making them more applicable to clinic [6–8].…”