Xiang J

Simultaneous determination of the 10 major components of Da-Cheng-Qi decoction in dog plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of the 10 major components of Da-Cheng-Qi decoction (rhein, emodin, aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, rheochrysidin, naringin, naringenin, hesperidin, magnolol and honokiol) in dog plasma. Plasma samples were spiked with internal standard (ibuprofen), acidified with HCl and extracted twice by liquid-liquid extraction using ethyl acetate. Separation was performed on a YMC-Pack ODS-A C(18) column (5 microm, 150 mm x 4.6 mm) and a C(18) guard column (5 microm, 4.0 mm x 2.0 mm) with methanol-water (92:8, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The LC/MS system was operated under the multiple reaction monitoring mode using electrospray ionization in the negative ion mode. All analytes showed good linearity over a wide concentration range (r>0.99). The linear range of the calibration curves was 5000-19.53 ng/mL for rhein; 400-3.13 ng/mL for emodin; 800-3.13 ng/mL for aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, naringin, naringenin, hesperidin, magnolol and honokiol; 160-0.63 ng/mL for rheochrysidin. The lower limit of quantification was: 19.53 ng/mL for rhein; 3.13 ng/mL for emodin, aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, naringin, naringenin, hesperidin, magnolol and honokiol; 0.6 3 ng/mL for rheochrysidin. The overall mean accuracy for the 10 major components of Da-Cheng-Qi decoction was 90.40-108.60%. Intra-day and inter-day precision was < or =12.43% and < or =11.32%, respectively. We conclude that this method is appropriate for simultaneous determination of the 10 major components of Da-Cheng-Qi decoction in dog plasma and the investigation of the pharmacokinetics of Da-Cheng-Qi decoction in dog.

Tissue Pharmacology of Da-Cheng-Qi Decoction in Experimental Acute Pancreatitis in Rats

Objectives. The Chinese herbal medicine Da-Cheng-Qi Decoction (DCQD) can ameliorate the severity of acute pancreatitis (AP). However, the potential pharmacological mechanism remains unclear. This study explored the potential effective components and the pharmacokinetic characteristics of DCQD in target tissue in experimental acute pancreatitis in rats. Methods. Acute pancreatitis-like symptoms were first induced in rats and then they were given different doses of DCQD (6 g/kg, 12 g/kg, and 24 g/kg body weight) orally. Tissue drug concentration, tissue pathological score, and inflammatory mediators in pancreas, intestine, and lung tissues of rats were examined after 24 hours, respectively. Results. Major components of DCQD could be found in target tissues and their concentrations increased in conjunction with the intake dose of DCQD. The high-dose compounds showed maximal effect on altering levels of anti-inflammatory (interleukin-4 and interleukin-10) and proinflammatory markers (tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin-6) and ameliorating the pathological damage in target tissues (P < 0.05). Conclusions. DCQD could alleviate pancreatic, intestinal, and lung injury by altering levels of inflammatory cytokines in AP rats with tissue distribution of its components.