•Anthraquinones alter bile acid disposition in sandwich cultured rat hepatocytes.•Anthraquinones regulate expression of bile acid transporters and enzymes.•Emodin and chrysophanol inhibit canalicular bile acid efflux transporters.•Inhibition on basolateral efflux transporters exacerbates bile acid retention.Hepatic adverse reaction associated with Polygoni Multiflori Radix (PMR) has been frequently reported in recent years. Highly-enriched anthraquinones (AQs) in PMR, such as emodin, chrysophanol and physcion, have been found to be hepatotoxic. In the present study, sandwich-cultured rat hepatocytes (SCRHs) were employed to investigate the effect of individual and combined AQs on the disposition of endogenous bile acids (BAs) and exogenous probe substrates including deuterium-labeled taurocholate (d5-TCA), glycochenodeoxycholic acid (d4-GCDCA) and 5 (and 6)-carboxy-2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein (CDF). Emodin and chrysophanol significantly inhibited bile salt export pump and multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (Mrp2), respectively, as evidenced by decreased biliary excretion index (BEI) of d5-TCA and CDF. Moreover, basolateral efflux transporters were inhibited by all individual and combined AQs. As a result, cellular accumulation of total and specific endogenous BAs were significantly elevated by individual AQs, alone or combined. In addition, down-regulation of Mrps in both gene and protein levels by AQs served as another critical contributing factor for BA accumulation in SCRHs. To be noted, subsequent adaptive gene regulation, including reduced Ntcp expression, upregulated Bsep levels, and downregulated Cyp8b1, alleviated, to a certain extent, but not prevented from toxic BA accumulation. In summary, all three AQs of interest are likely to alter BA disposition through direct inhibition of BA transporters as well as regulated expression of BA transporters and enzymes.Download high-res image (309KB)Download full-size image

Huperzine A is a potent, reversible, and blood-brain barrier permeable acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. The aim of this study was to compare the pharmacokinetics, tolerability, and bioavailability of two formulations with the established reference formulation of huperzine A in a fasting, healthy Chinese male population. This was a randomized, single-dose, 3-period, 6-sequence crossover study. The plasma concentrations of huperzine A were determined by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Tolerability was assessed based on subject interview, vital sign monitoring, physical examination, and routine blood and urine tests. The mean (SD) pharmacokinetic parameters of the reference drug were Cmax, 1.550 (0.528) ng/mL; t1/2, 12.092 (1.898) h; AUC0-72h, 17.550 (3.794) ng·h/mL. Those of the test formulation A and test formulation B were Cmax, 1.412 (0.467), 1.521 (0.608) ng/mL; t1/2, 12.073 (2.068), 12.271 (1.678) h; AUC0-72h, 15.286 (3.434) ng·h/mL, 15.673 (3.586) ng·h/mL. The 90% confidence intervals for the AUC0-72h and Cmax were between 0.80 and 1.25. No adverse events were reported by the subjects or found with results of clinical laboratory test. The test and reference products met the regulatory criteria for bioequivalence in these fasting, healthy Chinese male volunteers. All three formulations appeared to be well tolerated.

•A novel LC-MS/MS method to quantify pramipexole in mouse plasma and tissues.•Phospholipid removal by protein precipitation with weak cation exchange SPE.•Post-column infusion and post-extraction addition methods to study matrix effects.•First assay to elucidate the role of phospholipids in pramipexole bioanalysis.Intranasal delivery is emerging as a promising alternative for oral or intravenous administration of central nervous system (CNS) drugs, such as pramipexole which is widely used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. To evaluate the effectiveness of intranasal delivery of pramipexole, preclinical pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution studies following intranasal administration need to be investigated. In this paper, we developed and validated a robust and sensitive LC-MS/MS assay without matrix effect for accurate measurements of pramipexole in mouse plasma and tissue samples. Pramipexole and its stable isotope labeled internal standard (d3-pramipexole) were extracted from biological samples by protein precipitation (PPT) coupled with solid phase extraction (SPE) using weak cation exchange SPE cartridges. Matrix effects were studied using post-column infusion and post-extraction addition experiments by direct monitoring of typical phospholipids including glycerophosphocholines (GPChos) and lysoglycerophosphocholines (Lyso-GPChos). Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Welch Ultimate® XB-CN column using isocratic elution with a run time of 3.0 min. The assay was linear in the concentration range of 0.05–100 ng/mL and the intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy met the acceptance criteria. Compared with previous reported assays, the current sample preparation approach exhibited significant reduction of matrix effects due to the dramatically decreased levels of residual matrix components such as GPChos and Lyso-GPChos. This method has been successfully applied to pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution studies of pramipexole in mice following a single intravenous or intranasal dose of 50 μg/kg.