title: Concurrent quantification and comparative pharmacokinetic analysis of bioactive compounds in the Herba Ephedrae-Semen Armeniacae Amarum herb pair.
abstract: The Mahuang-Xingren herb-pair (MX), the combination of Herba Ephedrae (Mahuang in Chinese) and Semen Armeniacae Amarum (Xingren in Chinese), is a classical combination used in traditional Chinese Medicine to treat asthma and bronchitis. A simple and reliable ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed to simultaneously quantify and compare the pharmacokinetics of 5 ephedra alkaloids and epimers of amygdalin and prunasin in rat plasma after oral administration of Mahuang, Xingren, and MX aqueous extracts. Samples were pretreated by a single-step protein precipitation with acetonitrile, and diphenhydramine hydrochloride and puerarin were used as internal standards. Pharmacokinetic parameters were investigated using DAS 3.2.2 (Mathematical Pharmacology Professional Committee of China, Shanghai, China). The validated method demonstrated adequate sensitivity, selectivity, and process efficiency for the bioanalysis of 8 compounds, including 3 pairs of epimers. MX administration improved the bioavailability of amygdalin and prunasin. Furthermore, MX facilitated intake of lower doses of ephedra alkaloids and increased elimination rates in comparison with Mahuang alone. These results illustrate the rationale behind the preferred use of the combination of Mahuang and Xingren. To our knowledge, this is the first report of stereo-selective metabolism of amygdalin. Further, the metabolic mechanism underlying this phenomenon merits future research attention.
authors.affiliation: School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China.
authors.forename: Feilong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China.
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China.
authors.forename: Mengyue
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China.
authors.forename: Qinhai
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, People's Hospital of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Jinghong 666100, PR China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China. Electronic address: tangqf96@163.com.
authors.forename: Qingfa
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China. Electronic address: ljb@smu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiabo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D000678:Amygdalin / Q000032:analysis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D000818:Animals; D019659:Asteraceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D001682:Biological Availability; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D029789:Ephedra / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D009570:Nitriles / Q000032:analysis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D011786:Quality Control; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D009570:Nitriles; C019063:prunasin; D000678:Amygdalin
keywords: Amygdalin; Ephedrine; Epimers; LC–MS/MS; Pharmacokinetics; Xingren