Abstract

BackgroundAidi Injection (ADI), a Chinese herbal preparation with anti-cancer activity, is used for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Several clinical studies have shown that co-administration of ADI with doxorubicin (DOX) is associated with reduced toxicity of chemotherapy, enhanced clinical efficacy and improved quality of life for patients. However, limited information is available about the herb-drug interactions between ADI and DOX. The study aimed to investigate the pharmacokinetic mechanism of herb-drug interactions between ADI and DOX in a rat model of HCC.MethodsExperimental HCC was induced in rats by oral administration of diethylnitrosamine. The HCC rats were pretreated with ADI (10 mL/kg, intraperitoneal injection) for 14 consecutive days prior to administration of DOX (7 mg/kg, intravenous injection) to investigate pharmacokinetic interactions. Plasma concentrations of DOX and its major metabolite, doxorubicinol (DOXol), were determined using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS).ResultsPreadministration of ADI significantly altered the pharmacokinetics of DOX in HCC rats, leading to increased plasma concentrations of both DOX and DOXol. The area under the plasma drug concentration-time curve (AUCs) of DOX and DOXol in rats pretreated with ADI were 3.79-fold and 2.92-fold higher, respectively, than those in control rats that did not receive ADI.ConclusionsIncreased levels of DOX and DOXol were found in the plasma of HCC rats pretreated with ADI.

Highlights

  • Aidi Injection (ADI), a Chinese herbal preparation with anti-cancer activity, is used for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)

  • Method validation Plasma concentrations of DOX and DOXol were quantified using a validated UPLC-Ultra-performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS) method previously developed in our laboratory [26]

  • Sensitivity, selectivity, accuracy, intra- and inter-day precision and stability of the method were validated according to the requirements for bioanalytical methods laid out in the Guidance for Industry Bioanalytical Method Validation Document from the American Food and Drug Administration

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Aidi Injection (ADI), a Chinese herbal preparation with anti-cancer activity, is used for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Several clinical studies have shown that co-administration of ADI with doxorubicin (DOX) is associated with reduced toxicity of chemotherapy, enhanced clinical efficacy and improved quality of life for patients. Several clinical studies have shown that combining ADI with chemotherapy reduces the toxicity of chemotherapy, enhances clinical efficacy and improves the quality of life of cancer patients [7,8,9]. Many patients use ADI for HCC, before and after treatment with DOX, to reduce toxicity and improve the efficacy of chemotherapy [21, 22] These effects are, insufficient to explain why ADI improves the clinical efficacy of chemotherapy drugs and the mechanism leading to increased efficacy needs to be explained. There have been no reports describing research into pharmacokinetic herb-drug interactions between ADI and DOX and the nature of the interaction remains unknown

Methods
Results
Conclusion

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.