High-resolution mass spectrometry-based methodology for the identification of the metabolites of pterostilbene produced by rat, dog and human hepatocytes.

Pterostilbene, a natural bibenzjyl compound, has been demonstrated to have pleiotropic anticancer effects against a variety of cancer types. The aim of this study was carried out to disclose the metabolic profiles of pterostilbene using rat, dog and human hepatocytes. Metabolites were characterized by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole Orbitrap mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization interface operating in positive ion mode. The structures of the metabolites were proposed by accurate MS, MS/MS spectra and based on their fragmentation patterns. A total of 12 metabolites, including six new ones, were detected and identified. M10 and M12 were unambiguously identified as pinostilbene and 3'-hydroxy-pterostilbene, respectively, by using reference standards. Our results revealed that pterostilbene was metabolized through the following pathways: (a) hydroxylation to form 3'-hydroxy-pterostilbene (M12), which further undergoes glucuronidation (M9), demethylation (M7) and GSH conjugation through the ortho-quinone intermediate; (b) demethylation to produce desmethyl-pterostilbene (M10), which is further subject to glucuronidation (M4); (c) direct conjugation with glucuronide (M11); and (d) direct sulfation (M8). Among the tested species, no significant species difference was observed. The current study provides valuable information on the metabolism of pterostilbene, which is helpful for us to understand the action of this compound.

Determination of esculentoside A in dog plasma by LC-MS/MS method: application to pre-clinical pharmacokinetics.

A simple and rapid high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the quantitative determination of esculentoside A (EsA) in dog plasma using ginsenoside Rg1 as the internal standard (IS). After liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with n-butanol, the analyte and IS were separated on a Diamonsil C(18) (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 3 µm) column with the mobile phase of methanol-water containing 0.1% acetic acid (70:30, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.2 ml/min. An ion trap mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source performed in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode was used as the detector. The precursor-product ion transitions were m/z 849.3 [M+Na](+)→m/z 805.3 for EsA and m/z 823.3 [M+Na](+)→m/z 643.3 for IS. The total chromatographic run time was 5 min. The method was sensitive enough with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 5 ng/ml and had a good linearity (r(2)>0.997) over the linear range of 5-500 ng/ml. The mean extraction recovery of EsA from spiked plasma samples was over 75%. The intra- and inter-precisions were no more than 8.8% and accuracies were within the range of -4.6 to 8.7%. All the validated data were within the accepted criteria as stated in the FDA bioanalytical method validation guideline. The developed method was suitable for the quantification of EsA and successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of EsA after an oral administration to beagle dogs.

Simultaneous determination of amlodipine and bisoprolol in rat plasma by a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method and its application in pharmacokinetic study.

A sensitive, specific liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was established for the quantitative determination of amlodipine and bisoprolol, using clenbuterol as the internal standard (IS). The analytes and IS were isolated from 100µL plasma samples by a simple liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). Reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) separation was accomplished on a Diamonsil C(18) column (50mm×4.6mm, 5µm) with a mobile phase composed of methanol-water-formic acid (75:25:0.01, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 0.3mL/min. The method had a chromatographic total run time of 3min. Multiple reacting monitoring (MRM) transitions of m/z [M+H](+) 409.1→237.9 (amlodipine), m/z [M+H](+) 326.2→116.0 (bisoprolol) and m/z [M+H](+) 277.0→203.0 (clenbuterol, IS) were used to quantify amlodipine, bisoprolol and IS, respectively. The method was sensitive with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 0.2ng/mL for both amlodipine and bisoprolol, and the linear range was 0.2-50ng/mL for both amlodipine and bisoprolol (r(2)>0.9961). All the validation data, such as accuracy, precision and inter-day repeatability, were within the required limits. The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of amlodipine and bisoprolol in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.

[Determination of protein binding rate of oleanolic acid in human plasma and serum albumin].

A LC-MS method was established for the determination of the protein binding rates of oleanolic acid in human plasma and serum albumin. The equilibrium dialysis combined with LC-MS to determine the total concentration in plasma and free drug concentration of oleanolic acid was carried out. The human plasma protein binding rates of oleanolic acid at three concentrations were 79.6%, 81.9% and 63.3%, respectively. The human serum albumin protein binding rates of oleanolic acid at three concentrations were 53.5%, 56.6% and 47.7%, respectively. The method is shown to be simple, accurate, sensitive and specific for the determination of biological samples. The protein binding rates in human plasma and serum albumin were of high strength.