Enhancing effect of borneol on pharmacokinetics of ginsenoside Rb1 , ginsenoside Rg1 and notoginsenoside R1 in healthy volunteers after oral administration of compound Danshen dropping pills (CDDP)

Borneol (Bingpian), a monoterpenoid pharmaceutical ingredient, is commonly used as a main composition in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparations such as compound Danshen dropping pills (CDDP), and has also been approved by the US FDA as a flavoring substance or adjuvant in food. Borneol plays a regulating and guiding role as messenger drug in CDDP. However, the effect of borneol on the pharmacokinetics of the components of CDDP in human plasma is unclear. In this study, we investigate the effects of borneol on the pharmacokinetics of ginsenoside Rb₁ (Rb₁ ), ginsenoside Rg₁ (Rg₁ ) and notoginsenoside R₁ (NR₁ ) in CDDP. We used a double-cycle crossover-administration model in twelve healthy male volunteers, giving CDDP with borneol (drug T) and without borneol (drug R). The selective response monitoring (SRM) mode was used for mass spectrometry quantification in the positive mode. As a result, we found that borneol could significantly affect the pharmacokinetic parameters of notoginsenosides, and increase the absorption and systemic exposure of Rb₁ , Rg₁ and NR₁ in human plasma by about 1.85 to 3.71 times.

Improved efficacy of Panax notoginseng saponin loaded into BSP/alginate microspheres for the treatment of alcoholic gastric ulcers

Previously, we have reported the evaluations of alginate and Bletilla striata polysaccharide (BSP) in formulation of microsphere, which is a muco-adhesive carrier and can achieve a long duration of gastric retention. The combination of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) and B. striata is a traditional Chinese herbal formula that is used to treat gastric ulcers. BSP, an effective ingredient of B. striata, possesses both medicinal and excipient functions. Panax notoginseng saponin (PNS), which can easily dissolve in water, is the main effective ingredient in P. notoginseng (Burk.) for the treatment of gastric ulcers. However, microspheres containing PNS could directly cause drug leakage, ultimately reducing the encapsulation rate. In this study, PNS was fabricated into a hydrophobic dispersion with slow-release characteristics. Subsequently, PNS was packaged into BSP/alginate microspheres to improve the encapsulation rate. The prepared PNS-loaded microspheres were round, the release characteristics aligned with the Weibull equation, and the active ingredients were released by diffusion and erosion. The developed microspheres improved the effects of PNS and synergistically exerted the pharmaceutical effects of BSP on acute gastric ulcers.

Appropriate choice of collision-induced dissociation energy for qualitative analysis of notoginsenosides based on liquid chromatography hybrid ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Liquid chromatography hybrid ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry possessesd both the MS(n) ability of ion trap and the excellent resolution of a time-of-flight, and has been widely used to identify drug metabolites and determine trace multi-components for in natural products. Collision energy, one of the most important factors in acquiring MS(n) information, could be set freely in the range of 10%-400%. Herein, notoginsenosides were chosen as model compounds to build a novel methodology for the collision energy optimization. Firstly, the fragmental patterns of the representatives for the authentic standards of protopanaxadiol-type and protopanaxatriol-type notoginsenosides authentic standards were obtained based on accurate MS(2) and MS(3) measurements via liquid chromatography hybrid ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Then the extracted ion chromatograms of characteristic product ions of notoginsenosides in Panax Notoginseng Extract, which were produced under a series of collision energies and, were compared to screen out the optimum collision energies values for MS(2) and MS(3). The results demonstrated that the qualitative capability of liquid chromatography hybrid ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry was greatly influenced by collision energies, and 50% of MS(2) collision energy was found to produce the highest collision-induced dissociation efficiency for notoginsenosides. BesidesAddtionally, the highest collision-induced dissociation efficiency appeared when the collision energy was set at 75% in the MS(3) stage.

A rapid method for chemical fingerprint analysis of Pan Panax notoginseng powders by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A method coupling ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Qtof MS) using the electrospray ionization (ESI) source was developed for the identification of the major saponins from Panax notoginseng powder (PNP). Ten different PNP samples were analyzed and evaluated for their quality by similarity evaluation and principle component analysis (PCA). Based on the accurate mass, summarized characteristic fragmentation behaviors, retention times of different types of saponins, related botanical biogenesis, and reported chromatographic behavior of saponins, fifty-one common peaks were effectively separated and identified, including 28 protopanaxadiol saponins and 18 protopanaxatriol saponins. Simultaneously, 15 significant discrepancy compounds were identified from the disqualified PNP samples. The established UPLC/Qtof MS fingerprint method was successfully applied for profiling and identifying the major saponins of PNP, providing a fast quality evaluation tool for distinguishing the authentic PNP and the adulterated products.