rhyncophylline and hirsutine

Chronic pruritus is a major and distressing symptom of many cutaneous diseases, however, the treatment remains a challenge in the clinic. The traditional Chinese-Japanese medicine (Kampo medicine) is a conservative and increasingly popular approach to treat chronic pruritus for both patients and medical providers. Yokukansankachimpihange (YKH), a Kampo formula has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of itching of atopic dermatitis in Japan although its pharmacological mechanism is unknown clearly. In an attempt to clarify its pharmacological actions, in this study, we focused on the inhibitory activity of YKH against neurite growth induced with nerve growth factor (NGF) in cultured rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons because epidermal hyperinnervation is deeply related to itch sensitization. YKH showed approximately 200-fold inhibitory activity against NGF-induced neurite growth than that of neurotropin (positive control), a drug used clinically for treatment of chronic pruritus. Moreover, it also found that Uncaria hook, Bupleurum root and their chemical constituents rhynchophylline, hirsutine, and saikosaponin a, d showed inhibitory activities against NGF-induced neurite growth, suggesting they should mainly contribute to the inhibitory activity of YKH. Further study on the effects of YKH against epidermal nerve density in "itch-scratch" animal models is under investigation.

Topics: Alkaloids; Animals; Bupleurum; Cell Death; Cells, Cultured; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Ganglia, Spinal; Indole Alkaloids; Male; Nerve Growth Factor; Neurites; Oleanolic Acid; Oxindoles; Plant Extracts; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Saponins; Uncaria

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated to concurrently determine rhynchophylline and hirsutine in rat plasma. The sample preparation of rat plasma was achieved by alkalization and liquid-liquid extraction. The mass transition of precursor ion → product ion pairs were monitored at m/z 385.2 → 160.0 for rhynchophylline, m/z 369.3 → 144.0 for hirsutine and m/z 414.0 → 220.0 for noscapine (internal standard). This method revealed linear relationships from 2.5 to 50 ng/mL (r(2)  > 0.997) for rhynchophylline and from 2.5 to 50 ng/mL (r(2)  > 0.998) for hirsutine. The limit of quantification values for rhynchophylline and hirsutine in rat plasma were both 2.5 ng/mL. Intra-day and inter-day precisions were within 10.6% and 12.5%, respectively, for rhynchophylline and hirsutine, and the accuracy (bias) was <10%. Liquid-liquid extraction of rat plasma samples resulted in insignificant matrix effect, and the extraction recoveries were >83.6% for rhynchophylline, 73.4% for hirsutine and 90.7% for the internal standard. This method was applied successfully to a pharmacokinetic study of rhynchophylline and hirsutine in rats after oral administration.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Alkaloids; Animals; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Indole Alkaloids; Linear Models; Male; Oxindoles; Plant Extracts; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Uncaria