Simultaneous determination of gallic acid, methyl gallate, and 1,3,6-tri-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose from Turkish galls in rat plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and its application to pharmacokinetics study

Turkish galls (TG) is a traditional Uygur medicine typically used in clinics for dental disease and chronic ulcerative colitis. In this study, a novel liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of gallic acid, methyl gallate, and 1,3,6-tri-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose in rat plasma, which are the major bioactive compounds of TG. After a feasible protein precipitation using acetonitrile for sample preparation, chromatographic separation was performed with a BDS Hypersil C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm, 5 μm) at 30°C, and water containing 10 mmol of ammonium acetate and acetonitrile was used as the mobile phase with a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The MS detector was operated in the selective reaction monitoring with negative-ionization mode. The results of the method validation, including selectivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, extraction recovery, matrix effect, and stability of the compounds in the biosamples, were all within the current acceptance criteria. The established method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetics study of three analytes in rats after an oral administration of TG extract and laid the foundation for studying the active components and mechanism of TG in vivo.

MCI extraction from Turkish galls played protective roles against X-ray-induced damage in AHH-1 cells

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the protective effects of MCI extract from Turkish galls against apoptosis induced by X-ray radiation in the AHH-1.

METHODS

The cells were divided into: control group; X-ray radiation group; MCI group, in which the confluent cells were preincubated with 5 μg/ml MCI for 2 h followed by radiation. For the radiation, cells preincubated with MCI were exposed to X-ray beams with a dose of 8 Gy in total. Cell viability, apoptosis and intracellular alteration of redox were monitored by MTT and flow cytometry.

RESULTS

Compared with radiation group, the number of cells arrested at the G0/G1 phase was significantly reduced in MCI group (P < 0.05). X-ray radiation induces remarkable apoptosis in AHH-1, which was reversed by MCI. Compared with the radiation group, the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was abrogated by pre-incubation with MCI (P < 0.05). In addition, the up-regulation of procaspase-3 induced by radiation was reversed by MCI. Radiation could induce up-regulation of Bax and down-regulation of Bcl-2; however, it is reversed completely after administration of MCI. Further, the enhanced expression of ERK and JNK induced by radiation was reversed by MCI.

CONCLUSIONS

MCI extract from Turkish galls played protective effects on the X-ray induced damage through enhancing the scavenging activity of ROS, decreasing Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and the down-regulating the activity of procaspase-3, as well as modulating the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways.