Development and Validation of an Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Method for the Determination of Wedelolactone in Rat Plasma and its Application in a Pharmacokinetic Study

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 24; no. 4; p. 762
• Main Authors: Chen, Qing, Wu, Xiaoxue, Gao, Xuemin, Song, Hua, Zhu, Xuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 20.02.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Animals; Biochemical analysis; Chromatography; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid - methods; Coumarins - administration & dosage; Coumarins - chemistry; Coumarins - pharmacokinetics; Drug Stability; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Eclipta prostrata; Enzymes; High performance liquid chromatography; Liquid chromatography; Liver; Metabolism; Metabolites; Molecular Structure; Pharmacokinetics; Pharmacology; Plant Extracts - administration & dosage; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - pharmacokinetics; Proteins; R&D; rat plasma; Rats; Reproducibility of Results; Research & development; Retention; Retention time; Studies; UPLC; wedelolactone; pharmacokinetics; wedelolactone; UPLC; rat plasma
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules24040762

Wedelolactone is a coumarin ether with significant hepatoprotective effects. However, there are few pharmacokinetic studies of wedelolactone, which will affect the studies of its efficacy and potential toxicity. In this study, a selective ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method was developed to confirm the pharmacokinetic parameters of wedelolactone in rat plasma. The chromatographic separation was carried out on a Kromasil C UPLC column (250 × 4.6 mm; 5.0 μm) by gradient mobile phase of methanol-water containing 0.5% acetic acid ( / ). Perfect linearity was obtained and the samples were stable under different conditions. The intra-day and inter-day precisions (relative standard deviation, %) were within 3.81% and accuracies (relative error, %) ranged from -4.01% to 7.12%. The extraction recoveries in rat plasma ranged from 95.98% to 108.93%. This rapid method was successfully applied in the pharmacokinetic study of wedelolactone in rat plasma. Following the oral administration of 5.00 mg/kg wedelolactone, the wedelolactone was rapidly absorbed. Pharmacokinetic parameters were used to quantitatively describe the dynamic changes of wedelolactone in vivo, providing a theoretical basis for pharmacological research on drugs and preclinical medication. The study of wedelolactone can provide a theoretical basis and quick analysis for the study of other traditional Chinese medicine. This may lead to breakthroughs in the pharmacokinetic study of complex Chinese medicines.