Pharmacokinetic comparisons of six steroid saponins in rat plasma following oral administration of crude and stir‐fried Fructus Tribuli extracts by UHPLC–MS/MS

Abstract

Modern pharmacological studies have shown that Fructus Tribuli can improve sexual function and treat cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we focused on comparing the pharmacokinetics of crude Fructus Tribuli (CFT) and stir-fried Fructus Tribuli (SFT) to further clarify the changes in chemical composition in vivo. The quantitation of six analytes was performed in a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer using the multiple reaction monitoring mode. Separation was performed on a Halo ® C 18 column using 0.05% formic acid and 5 μmol/L sodium formate in water, and 0.05% formic acid and 5 μmol/L sodium formate in acetonitrile as the mobile phase. The selectivity, precision, accuracy, extraction recovery, matrix effect and stability of the method were fully validated. Compared with the crude group, the parameters C max and AUC 0-t of terrestroside B and terrestrosin K increased significantly (P < 0.05), but the C max and AUC 0-t of polianthoside D, terrestrinin D, tribuluside A and terrestrosin D were decreased, terrestrosin D being especially decreased (P < 0.05), after oral administration of SFT extract. These results showed that the developed method was suitable for pharmacokinetic analysis of the six steroid saponins of CFT and SFT in rat plasma, and can be used to facilitate future clinical studies.

“UHPLC‐Q‐TOF/MS‐chemometrics‐network pharmacology” integrated strategy to discover quality markers of raw and stir‐fried Fructus Tribuli and process optimization of stir‐fried Fructus Tribuli

“…The content of Terrestrosin K, Terrestrosin D, and other steroidal saponins in RFT and SFT has been estimated previously via the UHPLC‐MS/MS technique, which indicated their measurability 18,21 . The pharmacokinetics of Terrestrosin K and Terrestrosin D has also been investigated via in vivo experiments in rats 27,36–38 . However, considering the current state of research on RFT and SFT and production and development of reference standards of FT, Terrestrosin D and Terrestrosin K are the best choices that can meet the Q‐marker requirements at this stage.…”

“…18,21 The pharmacokinetics of Terrestrosin K and Terrestrosin D has also been investigated via in vivo experiments in rats. 27,[36][37][38] However, considering the current state of research on RFT and SFT and production and development of reference standards of FT, Terrestrosin D and Terrestrosin K are the best choices that can meet the Q-marker requirements at this stage. Therefore, given the conclusions of previous studies and considering the "five principles" of Q-marker research, it was initially concluded that Terrestrosin D is an RFT Q-marker and Terrestrosin K is an SFT Q-marker.…”