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A simple, specific and sensitive LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of metoprolol (MET), α-hydroxymetoprolol (HMT) and O-desmethylmetoprolol (DMT) in rat plasma. The plasma samples were prepared by protein precipitation, then the separation of the analytes was performed on an Agilent HC-C18 column (4.6 × 250 mm, 5 µm) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, and post-column splitting (1:4) was used to give optimal interface flow rates (0.2 mL/min) for MS detection; the total run time was 8.5 min. Mass spectrometric detection was achieved using a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray source interface in positive ionization mode. The method was fully validated in terms of selectivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, stability, matrix effect and recovery over a concentration range of 3.42-7000 ng/mL for MET, 2.05-4200 ng/mL for HMT and 1.95-4000 ng/mL for DMT. The analytical method was successfully applied to herb-drug interaction study of MET and breviscapine after administration of breviscapine (12.5 mg/kg) and MET (40 mg/kg). The results suggested that breviscapine have negligible effect on pharmacokinetics of MET in rats; the information may be beneficial for the application of breviscapine in combination with MET in clinical therapy.

Ferruginol, a diterpene phenol, has recently received attention for its extensive pharmacological properties, including anti-tumor, antibacterial, cardio-protective and gastroprotective effects. In the present study, a high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for determination of ferruginol in rat plasma and applied for the pharmacokinetics study. The HPLC assay was performed with a VP ODS-C(18) column. The mobile phaseconsisted of methanol and 1% acetic acid solution (90:10, v/v). The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, and the wavelength was set at 270 nm. This method was linear over the studied range of 0.1-10.0 microg/mL( )for ferruginol. The correlation coefficient was 0.9998. The intra-day and inter-day precisions were better than 4 and 5%, respectively. The extraction recovery and accuracy were greater than 97 and 96%, respectively. The detection limit was 30 ng/mL. The mean maximum concentration of ferruginol in rat plasma was 3.14 microg/mL at 40 min after oral administration at a dose of 20 mg/kg. Ferruginol was absorbed quickly p.o. with t(1/2)ka = 14.86 min and had a high rate of elimination with t(1/2) = 41.73 min. The pharmacokinetic process of ferruginol in rat was well described with a one-compartment model.

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A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for determining lehmannine (LMN) in rat plasma was developed for application in the pharmacokinetics study. The plasma was deproteinized with acetonitrile that contained an internal standard and was separated from the aqueous layer by adding sodium chloride. The HPLC assay was carried out using a VP-ODS column at 40 degrees C. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-0.02 mol/L ammonium acetate buffer-triethylamine (35:65:0.04, v/v/v). The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min. The detection wavelength was set at 220 nm. The method was used to determine the concentration-time profiles of LMN in the plasma following oral administration or bolus injection of LMN aqueous solution. The pharmacokinetic parameters of LMN were calculated for the first time by Drug and Statistics 1.0 program.