Comparative analysis of six aconitine-type alkaloids in decocting extracts between the different processed Fuzi (Aconiti Lateralis Radix praeparata) and its pharmacokinetic behavior in rats by HPLC-MS/MS

Aconiti Lateralis Radix praeparata (also known as Fuzi in Chinese) has been extensively used in clinic. However, the toxicity issues limit the therapeutic range of Fuzi. Thus, a rapid and sensitive HPLC-MS/MS method was developed to simultaneously quantify and compare six active/toxic constituents in decocting extracts from four different processed Fuzi products and in rat plasma after oral administration of its decocting extracts. The selectivity, linearity, sensitivity, precisions, accuracy, matrix effects, extraction recoveries, and stability were validated. The comparative analysis of six alkaloids in decocting extracts between the four kinds of Fuzi products were conducted by the validated HPLC-MS/MS. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA) were adopted to compare the differences of decocting extracts from the different processed Fuzi products. Besides, selecting Heishunpian (HSP) as the representative of the processed Fuzi products, we investigated the pharmacokinetic behaviors of these major alkaloids after oral administration. The developed HPLC-MS/MS method to simultaneously analyze these aconitine-type alkaloids in decocting extracts, and its pharmacokinetic behavior after oral administration may pave a way for quality control of Fuzi and monitoring the safety and rationality of clinical prescriptions.