Mercury accumulation of Tibetan medicine Zuotai in mice / 中成药

AIM To explore the mercury accumulation in KM mice after being given Zuotai at different doses and time.METHODS KM mice were randomly divided into blank group,Zuotai low-,middle-and high-dose (6.07,60.70 and 606.97 mg/kg,42 d;606.97 mg/kg,14 d) groups.The mercury contents in brain (olfactory bulb,cortex,hippocampus,hypothalamus,brain stem,cerebellum),heart,lung,kidney,liver,spleen,serum,muscle of mice were measured after administration.RESULTS Compared with the blank group,Zuotai at low-dose significantly increased the mercury contents in hippocampus,cerebellum,lung,kidney,liver and serum of mice after 42-day treatment;Zuotai at middle-dose markedly increased the mercury contents in olfactory bulb,cortex,hippocampus,brain stem,cerebellum,heart,lung,kidney,liver,spleen and serum of mice after 42-day treatment;the mice treated with high-dose of Zuotai for 42,14 days significantly increased the mercury contents in olfactory bulb,cortex,hippocampus,hypothalamus,brain stem,cerebellum,heart,lung,kidney,liver,spleen,muscle and serum.CONCLUSION Mercury can be accumulated in different tissues of mice after intragastric administration of Zuotai in a dose-and time-dependent manner,which suggests that Zuotai and its compound preparations should not be used in high-dose and long-term.

Effect of Zuotai and HgS on gene expression of drug-metabolizing enzymes in livers of mice / 中国中药杂志

Zuotai and cinnabar(96%HgS) are contained in many traditional medicines. To examine their potential effects on drug metabolism genes, mice were orally given Zuotai or HgS at doses of 10, 30, 100, 300 mg•kg⁻¹ for 7 days. HgCl2(33.6 mg•kg⁻¹) was gavaged for control. Twenty-four hour later after the last administration, livers were collected, and expressions of genes related to metabolic enzymes and transporters were examined. Zuotai and HgS had no effects on major phase-1, phase-2 and transporter genes; HgCl2 increased the expressions of CYP2B10, CYP4A10, OATP1A4, UGT1A1, UGT2A3, SULT1A1, SULT2A1, MRP1, MRP3 and MRP4; expression of OATP1A1 was decreased by HgCl2, but not by Zuotai and HgS. Therefore, Zuotai and HgS have different adverse effects on drug-metabolizing genes from HgCl2.

Effect of Tibetan medicine Zuotai on in vivo pharmacokinetics of crocin-1 in rats / 中草药

Objective To study the effect of Tibetan medicine Zuotai on in vivo pharmacokinetics of crocin-1 in rats.Methods After im injection of crocin-1 (5 mg/kg) in control (continuously ig normal saline for 7 d) and expermental (continuously ig Zuotai suspension for 7 d or 21 d) rats,The plasma concentration of crocin-1 was determined by RP-HPLC,and plasma concentration-time data were analyzed by DAS 2.0 software to get the related pharmacokinetic parameters of crocin-1.Results After continuously ig administration of Zuotai [10 mg/(kg?d)] for 7 d and 12 d in experimental rats,the pharmacokinetic parameters of crocin-1 changed significantly.The AUC,Cmax,and MRT were significantly greater in experimental rats than those in control rats,and the CL and Vd were significantly lower than those in control rats,and the AUC of crocin-1 was greater in the 21 d administration group than that in the 7 d administration group.Conclusion The result demonstrates that Tibetan medicine significantly affects the pharmacokinetics of crocin-1 in rats.After administration of Zuotai in rats,the absorption degree of crocin-1 is significantly increased and the clearance rate is significantly decreased.