A Compositive Strategy to Study the Pharmacokinetics of TCMs: Taking Coptidis Rhizoma, and Coptidis Rhizoma-Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma as Examples
Qiao Li,
Yan Yang,
Ting Zhou,
Rui Wang,
Na Li,
Min Zheng,
Yuan-Yuan Li,
Ji-Quan Zhang,
Fei Wu,
Bai-Can Yang,
Yue-Ming Ma,
Bing-Liang Ma
Affiliations
Qiao Li
Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Yan Yang
Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Ting Zhou
Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Rui Wang
Engineering Research Center of Modern Preparation Technology of TCM of Ministry of Education, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Na Li
Department of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Min Zheng
Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Yuan-Yuan Li
Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Ji-Quan Zhang
Engineering Research Center of Modern Preparation Technology of TCM of Ministry of Education, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Fei Wu
Engineering Research Center of Modern Preparation Technology of TCM of Ministry of Education, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Bai-Can Yang
Department of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Yue-Ming Ma
Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Bing-Liang Ma
Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Pharmacokinetic studies are crucial for elucidating the effective constituents and formula compatibility of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). However, studies have usually been limited to single dosages and detection of systemic blood concentrations. To obtain comprehensive pharmacokinetic information, here we propose a multi-dosage and multi-sampling (blood from portal vein or systemic circulation, and liver) strategy to comparatively study the pharmacokinetics of multi-form TCMs, i.e., pure constituents, TCMs, or TCM formula extracts. Based on this strategy, we studied the pharmacokinetics of pure berberine, berberine in Coptidis Rhizoma (CRE), and berberine in Coptidis Rhizoma-Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma extracts (CR-GRE). After simple calculation and comparison of the obtained area under the curve (AUC) values, the results revealed the drastically different pharmacokinetic properties of pure berberine compared to CRE and CR-GRE. The results contribute to explaining the pharmacological loss of berberine activity after purification and the compatibility of the CR-GR drug pair. The results also innovatively showed that it was intestinal absorption that differentiated the pharmacokinetics of CRE and pure berberine, and CRE and CR-GRE. In conclusion, we propose a composite strategy to comparatively study the pharmacokinetics of TCMs, which could provide sufficient information to obtain a comprehensive view, before follow-up mechanism-of-action studies.
