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Qingyan Dropping Pills have the effects of relieving wind and heat, detoxifying, and promoting the pharynx. It is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicines to treat acute and chronic pharyngitis, as well as sore throats and dry throats caused by surgery. Recently, many studies have shown that Qingyan Dropping Pills have certain effects on bacteriostasis, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiviral activities. As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic enters the post-epidemic era, the regular use of drugs for COVID-19 pandemic symptoms has become a new trend. Therefore, there is a good market prospect to explore and develop Chinese patent medicines with antiviral effects. A preliminary study on the herbal formula and material basis of Qingyan Dropping Pills revealed that they have potential for antiviral applications. In this paper, the research on the quality study and antiviral effect of Qingyan Dropping Pills was reviewed, and the research direction of its secondary development was discussed to provide ideas and references for the new use of old traditional Chinese medicines.
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Radiation protection drugs are often accompanied by toxicity, even amifostine, which has been the dominant radio-protecting drug for nearly 30 years. Furthermore, there is no therapeutic drug for radiation-induced intestinal injury (RIII). This paper intends to find a safe and effective radio-protecting ingredient from natural sources. The radio-protecting effect of Ecliptae Herba (EHE) was discovered preliminarily by antioxidant experiments and the mouse survival rate after 137Cs irradiation. EHE components and blood substances in vivo were identified through UPLC‒Q-TOF. The correlation network of "natural components in EHE-constituents migrating to blood-targets-pathways" was established to predict the active components and pathways. The binding force between potential active components and targets was studied by molecular docking, and the mechanism was further analyzed by Western blotting, cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA), and ChIP. Additionally, the expression levels of Lgr5, Axin2, Ki67, lysozyme, caspase-3, caspase-8,8-OHdG, and p53 in the small intestine of mice were detected. It was found for the first time that EHE is active in radiation protection and that luteolin is the material basis of this protection. Luteolin is a promising candidate for RⅢ. Luteolin can inhibit the p53 signaling pathway and regulate the BAX/BCL2 ratio in the process of apoptosis. Luteolin could also regulate the expression of multitarget proteins related to the same cell cycle.
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2022.09.003.].
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Objective: Taxifolin is a natural flavonoid compound that can be isolated from onions, grapes, oranges and grapefruit. It also acts as a medicine food homology with extraordinary antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. This study aims to explain the protective effects and potential mechanisms of taxifolin against inflammatory reaction. Methods: Levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were assessed in different time after the treatment of taxifolin in RAW264.7 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Subsequently, the mRNA and protein levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and the phosphorylation expression levels of the MAPK signal pathway were also evaluated. A silico analysis was used to explain the binding situation for the investigation of taxifolin and MAPK signal pathway. And then MAPK inhibitors were used to reveal the expression level of iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α in RAW264.7 cells. Results: It was demonstrated that cell inflammatory damage induced by LPS was significantly alleviated after the treatment of taxifolin. Then, the mRNA and protein levels of iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α were reduced and the phosphorylation expression levels of the MAPK signal pathway were down-regulated remarkably as well. In silico analysis, taxifolin could form a relatively stable combination with MAPK signal pathway. MAPK inhibitors showed increasing or decreasing effect in the mRNA levels of iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α, which suggesting that taxifolin down-regulated iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α expressions were not entirely through the MAPK pathway. Conclusion: This finding demonstrated that taxifolin improved the inflammatory responses that partly involved in the phosphorylation expression level of MAPK signal pathway in RAW264.7 cells exposed to acute stress.
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Heart failure with high prevalence is the endpoint of many cardiovascular diseases. Once diagnosed， patients usually need lifelong medication， which seriously affects their quality of life. The drugs commonly used to treat heart failure include angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors， beta-blockers， aldosterone receptor antagonists， and diuretics. However， the long-term use of those drugs can lead to side effects such as hypotension， depletion of body fluid， and electrolyte imbalance and even increase mortality. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， Qi deficiency and blood stagnation is the major cause of heart failure and when Qi is not moving， blood is not flowing. Therefore， the TCM clinical treatment of heart failure uses the Chinese medicinal materials which replenish Qi， activate blood， and dispell stasis to treat both internal cause and external symptoms. Recent studies have demonstrated that Chinese herbal medicines such as Astragali Radix， Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma， Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma， Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma， Angelicae Sinensis Radix， as well as the compound formulas such as Buyang Huanwutang， Simiao Yongantang， Qili Qiangxin capsules， and Qishen Yiqi drops， play a significant role in the prevention and treatment of heart failure via replenishing Qi， activating blood， and dispelling stasis. Inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammatory responses， mitigation of myocardial fibrosis， improvement of calcium cycling， and protection of mitochondrial function represent the key mechanisms for the treatment of heart failure with Chinese medicinal materials. Focusing on the pathogenic mechanisms and signaling pathways of heart failure， this paper systematically describes the pharmacological effects， molecular mechanisms， and research progress in the clinical application of Chinese medicinal herbs with effects of replenishing Qi， activating blood， and dispelling stasis and their compound formulas in the prevention and treatment of heart failure， aiming to provide scientific evidence for the development and clinical use of anti-heart failure Chinese medicinal materials.
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Rotundic acid(RA),an ursane-type pentacyclic triterpene acid isolated from the dried barks of Ilex rotunda Thunb.(Aquifoliaceae),possesses diverse bioactivities.To further study its pharmacokinetics,a simple and sensitive liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry(LC-QqQ-MS/MS)method was developed and validated to quantify RA concentration in rat plasma and tissue using etofesalamide as an internal standard(IS).Plasma and tissue samples were subjected to one-step protein precipitation.Chromatographic separation was achieved on a ZORBAX Eclipse XDB-C18 col-umn(4.6 mm×50 mm,5 μm)under gradient conditions with eluents of methanol:acetonitrile(1∶1,V/V)and 5mM ammonium formate:methanol(9∶1,V/V)at 0.5mL/min.Multiple reaction monitoring transitions were performed at m/z 487.30 → 437.30 for RA and m/z 256.10 → 227.10 for IS in the negative mode.The developed LC-QqQ-MS/MS method exhibited good linearity(2-500 ng/mL)and was fully validated in accordance with U.S.Food and Drug Administration bioanalytical guidelines.Dose proportionality and bioavailability in rats were determined by comparing pharmacokinetic data after single oral(10,20,and 40 mg/kg)and intravenous(10 mg/kg)administration of RA.Tissue distribution was studied following oral administration at 20 mg/kg.The results showed that the absolute bioavailability of RA after administration at different doses ranged from 16.1％to 19.4％.RA showed good dose proportionality over a dose range of 10-40 mg/kg.RA was rapidly absorbed in a dose-dependent manner and highly distributed in the liver.In conclusion,this study is the first to systematically elucidate the absorption and distribution characteristics of RA in rats,which can provide additional information for further development and evaluation of RA in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies.
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Over the past decade, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has widely embraced systems biology and its various data integration approaches to promote its modernization. Thus, integrative pharmacology-based traditional Chinese medicine (TCMIP) was proposed as a paradigm shift in TCM. This review focuses on the presentation of this novel concept and the main research contents, methodologies and applications of TCMIP. First, TCMIP is an interdisciplinary science that can establish qualitative and quantitative pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics (PK-PD) correlations through the integration of knowledge from multiple disciplines and techniques and from different PK-PD processes
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Immune checkpoints are the crucial regulators of immune system and play essential roles in maintaining self-tolerance, preventing autoimmune responses, and minimizing tissue damage by regulating the duration and intensity of the immune response. Furthermore, immune checkpoints are usually overexpressed in cancer cells or noninvasive cells in tumor tissues and are capable of suppressing the antitumor response. Based on substantial physiological analyses as well as preclinical and clinical studies, checkpoint molecules have been evaluated as potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of multiple types of cancers. In the last few years, extensive evidence has supported the immunoregulatory effects of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). The main advantage of TCMs and natural medicine is that they usually contain multiple active components, which can act on multiple targets at the same time, resulting in additive or synergistic effects. The strong immune regulation function of traditional Chinese medicine on immune checkpoints has also been of great interest. For example,
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Wutou-Gancao herb-pair is extensively used to attenuate the toxicity and enhance the efficacy of aconite. In this study, potential synergic mechanism of the herb pair was investigated by utilizing multiple ap-proaches. In silico and in vitro Caco-2 cell models were applied to study the potential binding mode of bioactive ingredients existing in liquorice with P-glycoprotein (P-gp), as well as the inhibition effects on P-gp. Additionally, anti-inflammatory activity of aconitine (AC) combined with active ingredients of liquorice, as well as pharmacokinetic patterns of AC after co-administration was investigated. Anti-inflammatory effect of AC (1 mg/kg) in rats was enhanced in combination with bioactive ingredients of liquorice (10 mg/kg). In the meanwhile, the exposure of AC in vivo was altered, in terms of Cmax and AUC. For instance, the Cmax and AUC were increased to 1.9 and 1.3 folds, respectively, when used in combination with liquiritigenin. The in silico study revealed the potential binding mode with outward facing conformation of P-gp. The resulting data obtained from transport of rhodamine-123 (Rh-123) across Caco-2 cell monolayer further indicated that the function of P-gp was inhibited by chemicals in liquorice. The synergic effect was therefore proposed to be attributed to inhibition of P-gp by liquorice since AC has been demonstrated to be the substrate of P-gp. The resuls revealed that potential synergic mechanism of Wutou-Gancao herb-pair by inhibiting function of key efflux transporter P-gp to enhance the exposure of AC in systematic circulation, and further the anti-inflammatory effect, which helps clarify the compatibility rationale of these two herbs.
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@#This study aimed to investigate the improvement of tolance and pharmacodynamics of nano-micelle irinotecan formulation compared with irinotecan hydrochloride injection(Campto). The toxic effects of the two formulations on colorectal cancer cells COLO205, HT-29, HCT-8 and SW480 were tested in vitro. COLO205 tumor-bearing mouse model was constructed. The two preparations were given via tail vein injection to investigate the maximum tolerance dose(MTD)of tumor-bearing mice to the two preparations, and then to explore the improvement of anti-tumor efficacy of nano-micelle irinotecan formulation near the MTD. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the inhibitory effect of the two formulations on the four colorectal cancer cells in vitro. The MTD of nano-micelle irinotecan formulation and Campto was 432. 0 and 276. 5 mg/m2 respectively. Both of the two formulations showed significant anti-tumor effect in vivo, and the relative tumor proliferation rate and tumor wet weight inhibition rate of nano-micelle irinotecan formulation at high dose(345. 6 mg/m2)were significantly better than those of Campto at two doses(177. 0 and 221. 2 mg/m2)(P< 0. 05).
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Objective To study the inhibition of berberine on organ anion transporters (OATs) and its bidirectional trans-membrane transport.Method The transgene cell lines of the organ anion transporters including OAT1,OAT2,OAT3,OAT4,OAT7,and URAT1 were constructed and selected by animal cell transgenic method mediated by transporter Lipo 3000.Wild type (WT) cells were used as control group,and activity of OATs was verified by adding their radiolabeled substrates and inhibitors.The inhibition of 100 μmol/L berberine on the transporters was investigated in vitro.The IC50 of berberine on URAT1 was also determined.The bidirectional transport of berberine was studied through the Caco-2 model.Result The results showed that 100 μmol/L berberine inhibited the activity of OAT1,OAT2,OAT3,OAT4,OAT7 and URAT1 to (70.48±4.23)％,(69.13±1.28)％,(72.12±3.28)％,(79.77±6.49)％,(69.51 ±5.99)％ and (38.4 ± 2.67)％ respectively,the IC50 of berberine to URAT 1 was 13.19 μmol/L,the Papp (A-B) of 50 μmol/L and 100 μmol/L berberine were separately 0.28 × 10-6 and 0.40 × 10-6 cm/s,and the effiux rates were separately 3.18 and 3.15.Conclusion Berberine shows a stronger inhibition to URAT1 compared to OAT1,OAT2,OAT3,OAT4 and OAT7.Berberine may be the substrate of some effiux transporters.This study provides theoretical basis for explaining the low bioavailability ofberberine and forecasting the possible drug-drug interaction.
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Objective To study the inhibitory effects ofberberine on human organic cation transporter (OCTs) including OCT1,OCT2,OCT3,OCTN1 and OCTN2.Methods Using animal cell transgenic method mediated by transporter Lipo 3000,the drug transporters over expression cell lines S2-OCT1,S2-OCT2,S2-OCT3,S2-OCTN1 and S2-OCTN2 were obtained by selective medium culture.The OCTs evaluation model was established by detecting the trans-membrane transport of radioactive substrate in vitro.Wild type (WT) cells were used as control group,activity of OCTs was verified by adding its inhibitor.The inhibition of berberine on the transporters was investigated in vitro.The IC50 of inhibitory effect of berberine on various drug transporters was also calculated.Result The transport activity of transporter cell lines was increased by more than 5 times compared to the WT cell line respectively,what's more,their transport activity decreased significantly by their corresponding inhibitor.The ICs0 of berberine to OCT1,OCT2,OCT3,OCTN1 and OCTN2 were respectively 7.63,6.80,2.25,4.66 and 210.34 μmol/L.Conclusion Berberine significant inhibition to OCT1,OCT2,OCT3,OCTN1 and OCTN2.The inhibition on OCT1,OCT2,OCT3,OCTN1 is stronger compared to OCTN2.
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Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played a pivotal role in maintaining the health of Chinese people and is now gaining increasing acceptance around the global scope. However, TCM is confronting more and more concerns with respect to its quality. The intrinsic "multicomponent and multitarget" feature of TCM necessitates the establishment of a unique quality and bioactivity evaluation system, which is different from that of the Western medicine. However, TCM is investigated essentially as "herbal medicine" or "natural product", and the pharmacopoeia quality monographs are actually chemical-markers-based, which can ensure the consistency only in the assigned chemical markers, but, to some extent, have deviated from the basic TCM theory. A concept of "quality marker" (Q-marker), following the "property-effect-component" theory, is proposed. The establishment of Q-marker integrates multidisciplinary technologies like natural products chemistry, analytical chemistry, bionics, chemometrics, pharmacology, systems biology, and pharmacodynamics, etc. Q-marker-based fingerprint and multicomponent determination conduce to the construction of more scientific quality control system of TCM. This review delineates the background, definition, and properties of Q-marker, and the associated technologies applied for its establishment. Strategies and approaches for establishing Q-marker-based TCM quality control system are presented and highlighted with a few TCM examples.
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@#Hepatitis B virus(HBV)-infected hepatitis is one of the most common infectious disease worldwide. To find novel effective anti-HBV agents, a series of Matijin-Su(MTS)derivatives with aromatic heterocycles were synthesized and evaluated for their anti- HBV activities in HepG2 2. 2. 15 cells. Among them, compounds 7a(IC50=2. 94 μmol/L)and 9a(IC50=2. 21 μmol/L)exhibited more potent inhibitory activity against the replication of HBV DNA in HepG2 2. 2. 15 cells than that of lead compound MTS(IC50=11. 16 μmol/L). Notably, both 7a and 9a displayed a high selective index(SI)of 146. 39 and > 250, respectively, which were also much higher than that of MTS(SI=10. 78). Therefore, compounds 7a and 9a may be promising anti-HBV agents with safety profile for HBV infection.
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A rapid, sensitive and simple liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of clevidipine butyrate and its primary metabolite clevidipine acid in dog blood. After one-step protein precipitation with methanol, the chromatographic separation was carried out on an Ecosil C18 column (150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 µm) with a gradient mobile phase consisting of methanol and 5 mmol · L(-1) ammonium formate. A chromatographic total run time of 13.0 min was achieved. The quantitation analysis was performed using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) at the specific ion transitions of m/z 454.1 [M-H]- --> m/z 234.1 for clevidipine butyrate, m/z 354.0 [M-H]- --> m/z 208.0 for clevidipine acid and m/z 256.1 [M-H]- --> m/z 227.1 for elofesalamide (internal standard, IS) in the negative ion mode with electrospray ionization (ESI) source. The linear calibration curves for clevidipine butyrate and clevidipine acid were obtained in the concentration ranges of 0.5-100 ng · mL and 1-200 ng · mL(-1), separately. The lower limit of quantification of clevidipine butyrate and clevidipine acid were 0.5 ng · mL(-1) and 1 ng · mL(-1). The intra and inter-assay precisions were all below 12.9%, the accuracies were all in standard ranges. Stability testing indicated that clevidipine butyrate and clevidipine acid in dog blood with the addition of denaturant methanol was stable under various processing and/or handling conditions. The validated method has been successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of clevidipine butyrate injection to 8 healthy Beagle dogs following intravenous infusion at a flow rate of 5 mg · h(-1) for 0.5 h.
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High performance liquid chromatography [HPLC] with diode array detection [DAD] and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry [ESI/MS/MS] was used to analyze the main components in the methanol extract of Fructus Aurantii [FA] and the metabolites in rat biological samples after oral administration of the methanol extract of FA. There were 31 constituents identified in the extract of FA including 2 alkaloids, 1 coumarin, 10 flavonoid glycosides and 18 ploymethoxylated flavones. According to the UV spectrum and MS fragment character of main components in the methanol extract of FA. 18 parent constituents and 11 metabolites were tentatively identified in rat biological samples. Three groups of components in biological samples detected included flavonoid glycosides, their glucuronides and ploymethoxylated flavones. It was interested that flavonoid glycosides, their glucuronides and ploymethoxylated flavones can be investigated in rat plasma and urine, while in rat feces samples only flavonoid glycosides were detected. Triglycosyl, naringenin, neoeriocitrin, neoeriocitrin narirutin and hesperidin were the main components in rat feces which were found either in the plasma or in urine samples. However, naringin and neohesperidin were the main flavonoid glycosides which absorbed after oral administration. Except flavonoid glycosides and their glucuronides, ploymethoxylated flavones also the constituents absorbed because it was investigated mainly in rat plasma and urine but not in feces samples. The identification and elucidation of parent and metabolism components analyzed in biological samples provided the data for further pharmacological and clinical research on FA
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Chinese jujube [Ziziphus jujuba Mill.] has long been widely used for human consumption and medicinal purposes in China. It has been reported to possess several vital biological activities. However, the systematic study on the chemical constituents absorbed into plasma and their metabolites is still insufficient. A high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector-electrospray ionization ion-mass spectrometry [HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS[n]] method was established to analyze the ethanol extract in Ziziphus jujuba Mill and the constituents absorbed into rat serum. In the present study, a dose of 10 ml/kg of ethanol extract of jujube, which is equivalent to 12.5g crude dried herb/kg, was orally administrated to rats. The main components were analyzed in the ethanol extract of Ziziphus jujuba Mill and the parent constituents and metabolites were studied in rat plasma samples after oral administration of the ethanol extract of jujube. D101 macroporous polystyrene resin was a good pretreatment method to obtain better separation and impurity removal effect. Twenty-two compounds were identified in the ethanol extract of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. Four parent compounds and four metabolites were detected in rat serum. Among them, seventeen compounds were reported for the first time
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The enormous progress biotechnology, bioinformatics and nanotechnology made in recent years provides opportunities and scientific framework for development of biomedicine and constitutes a paradigm shift in pharmaceutical R&D and drug innovation. By analyzing the data and related information at R&D level over the past decades, developmental tendency and R&D patterns were summarized. We found that a growing number of biologics in the pipeline of pharma companies with successful products already in the market though, small molecular entities have primarily dominated drug innovation. Additionally, small/medium size companies will continue to play a key role in the development of small molecule drugs and biologics in a multi-channel integrated process. More importantly, modern and effective R&D strategies in biomedicine development to predict and evaluate efficacy and/or safety of 21st century therapeutics are urgently needed. To face new challenges, developmental strategies were proposed, in terms of molecular targeted medicine, generic drugs, new drug delivery system and protein-based drugs. Under the current circumstances, interdisciplinary cooperation mode and policy related to drug innovation in China were deeply discussed as well.
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Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR) is the root of Angelica sinensis which is a fragrant and perennial herb native to China,Japan,and Korea.In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM),the plant is useful for replenishing and invigorating blood,relieving pain,and moistening the intestines,resulting in its application for the treatment of menstrual disorders,and as an emollient and laxative for chronic constipation of the aged and debilitated.An in-depth review of the literature brings to light a great number of chemical constituents that have been isolated from ASR as well as both preclinical (in vivo and in vitro) and clinical studies,which over the years,have sought to investigate the medicinal relevance of some of these phytoconstituents and/or extract(s) prepared from ASR.The purpose of this review is therefore to present some major pharmacological and pharmacokinetic research findings on some selected phytoconstituents of ASR with emphasis on the current trends in terms of research techniques or design.This review would also provide a wealth of information for users/practitioners of TCM regarding the use of ASR or its products for maximum efficiency and minimal toxicity or side effects.
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Objective To develop and validate a simple,rapid,sensitive,and reproducible HPLC method for determination of hyperoside in plasma of dogs and for the subsequent pharmacokinetic (PK) study.Methods An accurate and reproducible HPLC-UV method was developed and validated for the determination of hyperoside in plasma of dogs,using kaempferol as internal standard.The plasma samples of dogs following ig administration of hyperoside were analyzed for the detection of quercetin after enzymatic hydrolysis treatment with combined β-glucuronidase and sulphatase.The analytes were separated on a Diamonsil C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm,5 μm).The mobile phase consisted of methanol-buffer solution (0.1mol/L NH4Ac + 0.3 mmol/L EDTA-Na2)-acetic acid (60:40:1) and was delivered at a flow rate of 1mL/min.The UV detector was set at 370 nm and the column temperature was maintained at 35 ℃.The sample injection volume was 20 μL.Data were collected and analyzed using the ANASTAR software.PK parameters were calculated with DAS software (2.0).Results Linear relationships were validated over the range of 0.01-1μg/mL for hyperoside (r =0.9997).The intra-and inter-day precision values for all samples were within 10.0％,and the accuracies of intra-and inter-day assays were within the range of 92.4％-102.4％.The validated method was successfully used to determine the hyperoside concentration in plasma of dogs for up to 12 h,after a single ig administration (25 mg/kg).The mean PK parameters for male and female dogs were as follows:Cmax (0.18 ± 0.05) and (0.16 ± 0.05) μg/mL,AUC0-∞ (0.79 ± 0.34) and (0.86 ± 0.27) μg/(mL·h),t1/2(ka) (0.89 ± 0.41) and (0.88 ± 0.28) h,respectively.Statistical analysis on the PK of hyperoside in male and female groups showed that sex had no significant impact on the PK of hyperoside (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The method is able and sufficient to be used in drug PK studies of hyperoside.