title: A sensitive method for the determination of the novel cholinesterase inhibitor ZT-1 and its active metabolite huperzine A in rat blood using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.
abstract: ZT-1 has been developed as a novel acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, but is rapidly degraded to huperzine A (Hup A) in water or aqueous organic solvents. A sensitive method has been developed for simultaneous determination of ZT-1 and its active metabolite Hup A in blood, and was applied to the investigation of the pharmacokinetics of ZT-1 in rats. The method involves immediate hydrogenation of ZT-1 with sodium borohydride to the stable form rZT-1 following blood sampling. The NaBH4-treated blood sample is then submitted to liquid-liquid extraction, and the resultant extract is analyzed by liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry. Huperzine B is used as internal standard for the quantification. ZT-1 was found to be rapidly absorbed in the intestinal tract, with a time to reach the peak blood concentration (Tpeak) of 5 min after an intragastric dose of ZT-1 embedded in povidone to rats at 0.5 mg ZT-1/kg. The mean maximum blood concentration (Cmax) and area under the blood level-time curve (AUC(0 --> 8)) of ZT-1 were 1.57 ng/mL and 0.48 ng. h/mL, respectively. The Tpeak, Cmax, and AUC values of the metabolite Hup A were 0.22 h, 109.9 ng/mL, and 96.3 ng. h/mL, respectively. Following an intravenous dose of 0.1 mg ZT-1/kg rat body weight, the blood concentration of ZT-1 was higher than that of Hup A, and the AUC(0 --> 8) values were 26.2 ng. h/mL for ZT-1 and 6.0 ng. h/mL for Hup A. The elimination half-lives (T1/2) of ZT-1 and Hup A were 0.68 and 1.47 h, respectively. The oral bioavailability (F) of intact ZT-1 in rats treated with ZT-1 embedded in povidone was very low, 0.37%.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 555 Zuchongzhi Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai 201203, China. chli@mail.shcnc.ac.cn
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Feifei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Dayuan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids; D000818:Animals; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000097:blood*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000097:blood*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; C050426:huperzine A