The aim of this study was to confirm pharmacokinetic screening of multiple components in healthy Korean subjects after oral administration of Samso‐eum and perform quantitation of active components in the human plasma. Thirteen potential bioactive components [puerarin (PRR), daidzin, nodakenin, ginsenoside Rb1, 18β‐glycyrrhetinic acid (18β‐GTA), 6‐shogaol, naringin, glycyrrhizin, hesperidin, platycodin D, naringenin, hesperetin, and 6‐gingerol] were screened based on literature. The results showed that three analytes (daidzin, naringenin, and hesperetin) were detected in trace amounts. In addition, PRR and 18β‐GTA were detected in human plasma after the oral administration of Samso‐eum. In this study, a liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry method was validated for the simultaneous determination of PRR and 18β‐GTA in human plasma. This was the first study to evaluate pharmacokinetics of PRR and 18β‐GTA after the usual oral dose of Samso‐eum (30 g containing 102.48 mg PRR, 48.18 mg glycyrrhizin) in human subjects.

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This study aimed to characterise the distribution of choroidal thickness (CT) in diabetic retinopathy eyes, inside and outside of the vascular arcade, as well as at the fovea, using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). Forty-nine healthy eyes, 80 diabetic retinopathy (DR) eyes (59 non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) eyes and 21 proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) eyes) were examined with OCT to obtain nine horizontal lines (far superotemporal, near superotemporal, central, near inferotemporal, far inferotemporal, far superonasal, near superonasal, near inferonasal, far inferonasal) inside and outside of the vascular arcade. Nine points were chosen in 0.5-mm intervals to calculate CT, which was measured at 81 points in each patient. In the DR group, CT decreased significantly, compared with the control group, in all nine horizontal lines except central and near inferotemporal (−29.74 to −36.97 μm, p < 0.05 for all). In the PDR group, CT decreased compared with the NPDR group, in all nine horizontal lines (−6.18 μm to −34.58 μm), but this difference was not significant. In DR eyes, an overall significant reduction of CT was observed inside and outside of the vascular arcade; CT showed a non-significant decrease in PDR eyes, compared with NPDR eyes.

So-Cheong-Ryong-Tang, which is a standardized Korean medicine of the National Health Insurance, is a traditional prescription for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, bronchitis, and bronchial asthma. Simultaneous analysis and development of SCRT is essential for its stability, efficacy, and risk management. In this study, a simple, reliable, and accurate method using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) fingerprinting with a diode array detector (DAD) was developed for the simultaneous analysis. The chromatographic separation of the analytes was performed by an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column (1.7 μM, 2.1 × 100 mm, Waters) with a mobile phase of water containing 0.01% (v/v) phosphoric acid and acetonitrile containing 0.01% (v/v) phosphoric acid. The flow rate and detection wavelength were set at 0.4 mL/min and 215, 230, 254, and 280 nm. All calibration curves of the thirteen components showed good linearity (R2 > 0.999). The limit of detection and limit of quantification ranged 0.001–0.360 and 0.004–1.200 µg/mL, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of intra- and interday was less than 2.60%, and the recoveries were within the range 76.08–103.79% with an RSD value of 0.03–1.50%. The results showed that the developed method was simple, reliable, accurate, sensitive, and precise for the quantification of bioactive components of SCRT.