A team of scientists from Taizhou, China have developed a means of studying the pharmokinetics of Qiangxin Lishui Prescription (QLP), a medicine used to treat heart failure. The team published their findings in the Journal of Separation Science (1).

Traditional Chinese Medicine | Image Credit: © marilyn barbone - stock.adobe.com

To determine the active substances within the medicine, the team used multi-component pharmacokinetic research. The goal of this study was to profile the traits and differences in the pharmacokinetics of QLP materials, such as salvianolic acid B, astragaloside IV, calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside and kaempferol, in QLP between normal rats and rats with chronic heart failure (CHF). This was done via microdialysis combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS).

Three different types of microdialysis were used with the UHPLC-MS/MS method: sensitive, selective, and online microdialysis. These were successfully established and applied to study the pharmacokinetics of QLP. According to the scientists, after the experiment, it was found that “the pathological condition of CHF could lead to the enhancement of systematic exposure and reduction of the metabolic rate of four bioactive components for better bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy” (1).

Reference

(1) Wang, Q.; Jiang, Y.; Wei, N.; Li, J.; Zhang, M.; Chen, L. Comparative pharmacokinetics of four bioactive components in normal and chronic heart failure rats after oral administration of Qiangxin Lishui Prescription by microdialysis combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography. J. Sep. Sci. 2023, 2300518. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jssc.202300518