Pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of eupatilin and its metabolite in rats by an HPLC-MS/MS method

J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2018 Sep 10:159:113-118. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2018.06.037. Epub 2018 Jun 22.

Abstract

Eupatilin, a major pharmacologically active ingredient in StillenTM, has been known to possess anti-peptic, anti-cancer and anti-allergy activities. A rapid, simple, sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of eupatilin and its main metabolite (eupatilin-7β-O-glucuronide, E-7-G) in rat plasma and tissues was established and validated. The linear range of eupatilin and E-7-G was 0.20∼500 ng/mL and 1.00-2500 ng/mL, and the lowest limit of quantification (LLOQ) of eupatilin and E-7-G was 0.20 and 1.00 ng/mL, respectively. The inter-day and intra-day precision of this assay was restricted to within 10%, with a highest accuracy of more than 90%. The matrix effect, recovery and stability of both eupatilin and E-7-G were all demonstrated to be within acceptable limits. The validated method was then successfully applied to a pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution study. The absolute bioavailability (F) of eupatilin was estimated to be 2.7%. After intravenous administration, eupatilin was degraded with high clearance (14.82 L/kg/h) and a short half-life t1/2 (0.29 h). Eupatilin was rapidly metabolized to E-7-G with systemic exposure at 1288.8 ng h ml-1, while the levels of the latter declined more slowly, with a longer t1/2 (4.15 h). Moreover, both eupatilin and E-7-G were widely distributed across various tissues, including the liver, kidney and intestine. Taken together, eupatilin showed poor absorption, extensive metabolism into E-7-G and a wide tissue distribution, especially in the intestine. These pharmacokinetic results yield helpful insights into the pharmacological actions of eupatilin.

Keywords: E-7-G; Eupatilin; HPLC-MS/MS; Pharmacokinetic; Tissue distribution.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / methods
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / metabolism
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / pharmacokinetics*
  • Flavonoids / metabolism
  • Flavonoids / pharmacokinetics*
  • Intestine, Small / drug effects
  • Intestine, Small / metabolism
  • Liver / drug effects
  • Liver / metabolism
  • Male
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods*
  • Tissue Distribution / drug effects
  • Tissue Distribution / physiology

Substances

  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal
  • Flavonoids
  • eupatilin