Variations in the Composition of Fructus Evodiae after Processing with Radix Glycyrrhizae Extract

Objective： To evaluate the changes in the concentrations of five components in Fructus Evodiae used in Chinese medicine, including evodiamine and glycyrrhizic acid, during processing of Fructus Evodiae with Radix Glycyrrhizae extract by using high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） and to provide a scientific basis for different clinical uses of processed and unprocessed Fructus Evodiae. Methods： The concentrations of the Fructus Evodiae components in processed or unprocessed Fructus Evodiae were evaluated by HPLC using a YMC J＇sphere ODS-H80 column （4.6 mm × 250 ram, 5 μm） with acetonitrile-water-tetrehydrofuran-acetic acid （41：59：1：0.2, v/v/v/v） as the mobile phase. The detection wavelength was 225 nm, the column temperature was 35 %, the flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, and the injection volume was 10 μL. The concentrations of the Radix Glycyrrhizae components were determined by HPLC with a KromasiI-C18 column （4.6 mm × 250 mm, 4 μm） and a gradient elution of acetonitrile （A） and 0.05% aqueous phosphoric acid （B） as the mobile phase. The detection wavelength was 237 nm, the column temperature was 35 ℃, the flow rate was 1.0 mlEmin, and the injection volume was 10μL. Results： The calibration curves of evodia lactone, evodiamine, rutaecarpine, liquiritin, and glycyrrhizin showed good linear relationships （r〉0.99）. The recoveries of evodia lactone, evodiamine, rutaecarpine, liquiritin, and glycyrrhizin were 96.59%, 104.18%, 101.91%, 97.75%, and 97.95%, respectively. The concentrations of the components in processed Fructus Evodiae were obviously different to those in unprocessed Fructus Evodiae. Conclusions： The developed method is rapid and accurate. The results provide a reference for processed Fructus Evodiae and the changes that could be expected in its effects compared to unprocessed Fructus Evodiae.

A new strategy of enhancing absorptivity and safety for evodiamine: polyamidoamine derivatives modified by polyethylene glycol chain

Background:Traditional Chinese medicine involves complex ingredients and mixtures of ingredients that often exhibit low bioavailability,and excipients are often lacking to increase the absorption-enhancing effects.This study modified the generation 4 polyamidoamine dendrimer with polyethylene glycol of different molecular weights(5000,2000,1000)to form a series of polyamidoamine-co-polyethylene glycol(PAMAM-co-PEG)as a novel class of oral absorption enhancers.Evodiamine,the major alkaloid found in the traditional Chinese medicine Wu Zhu Yu(Fructus Evodiae),was used as a model drug to verify the absorption-enhancing effects and the safety of this alkaloid.Methods:This study utilized the solubility determination method documented in the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China(2015 edition)and the D0 values recommended in the US FDA guidelines to comprehensively evaluate the solubility of evodiamine.The permeability of evodiamine was assessed using the apparent permeability coefficient in experiments based on in vitro cell models.Multiple aspects of the biological safety of PAMAM-co-PEG were explored using the MTT assay,LDH assay,and total protein release of the rat intestinal tract.Moreover,the absorption-enhancing effects of PAMAM-co-PEG at different molecular weights on evodiamine were verified via the use of in vitro cell models and in vivo intestinal loop circulation experiments with rats.Results:Evodiamine exhibited low solubility and permeability and was classified into class IV compounds using the biopharmaceutical classification system.PAMAM-co-PEG 2000 demonstrated improvement in the biosafety and absorption-enhancement effect of evodiamine at a specific concentration.This study showed that 0.05%(w/v)of PAMAM-co-PEG 2000 increased the cumulative penetration of evodiamine via cell transport by 1.32 times,and 0.10%(w/v)of PAMAM-co-PEG 2000 increased the area under curve value of evodiamine by 1.31 times.Conclusion:Evodiamine possesses low solubility and permeability and leads to poor oral bioavailability and a certain degree of cytotoxicity.PAMAM-co-PEG 2000 was found to be a potentially safe and efficient oral absorption enhancer.The results of this study might create a foundation for the development of novel excipients suitable for the complex active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine.

An Improved Method of Simultaneous Determination of Four Bioactive Compounds in Evodiae Fructus Using Ionic Liquids as Mobile Phase Additives in High Performance Liquid Chromatography

There are many compounds with different structures and chemical properties in Evodiae Fructus. It is hard to simultaneously determine the bioactive compounds by high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC）. A new method was proposed for four bioactive compounds（synephrine, limonoids, evodiamine and rutecarpine） to be separated completely and determined accurately using ionic liquids（ILs） as mobile phase additives. The mechanism and the effect of the ILs for changing the chromatographic behaviors of the four compounds were studied by systemati- cally changing the pH value of mobile phase, the types and concentrations of ILs as well as the concentrations of phosphate buffer. The chromatographic behaviors of the analytes with a mobile phase containing ILs complied with the stoichiometric displacement model for retention（SDM-R）. All results demonstrate the dual nature of ionic liquids, which are competitive adsorption and ion-pair agent. Meanwhile, excellent linearity was observed for all the com- pounds with correlation coefficients between 0.9992 and 0.9998. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification of the four compounds varied from 0.47μg/mL to 0.87 μg/mL and from 1.79 μg/mL to 2.44μg/mL, respectively. Three kinds of Evodiae Fructus processed through different methods were analyzed via the method. The result shows that the contents of evodiamine and rutecarpine as the two main active compounds by processing with vinegar and salt are obviously higher than those of the raw products.