Mechanism of baicalin compatibility in chinese medicine formula Banxia Xiexin Decoction () by pharmacokinetics and indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in mice.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effects of different formulations of Banxia Xiexin Decoction ( , BXD) on the pharmacokinetics of baicalin (BAL) in mice.

METHODS

Pungent, bitter, and sweet components of BXD (totaling 7 Chinese herbs) were formulated into the following groups: K (bitter herbs), XK (pungent and bitter herbs), KG (bitter and sweet herbs), and BXD (all 7 herbs) groups. These different formulations were administered intragastrically in mice, and blood was collected via the tail vein for continuous monitoring. BAL, which is a main active constituent in Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi., was detected in this study. Indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (icELISAs) based on anti-BAL-monoclonal antibodies were employed to determine BAL concentrations in each group.

RESULTS

The concentrations of BAL in blood samples from mice in the K and XK groups were lower than those in other groups. In all groups, BAL concentrations peaked at around 1-1.5 h and again at 5-7 h. There were no significant differences in the timing of peak BAL concentrations between groups. However, the peak concentrations and area under curve (AUC) in the KG and BXD groups were almost 3 times of those in the K and XK groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Differing compatibilities of BXD caused dissimilar pharmacokinetics of BAL. Moreover, we demonstrated a method for the continuous detection of blood concentrations of Chinese medicines in mice, and icELISA may be a feasible technique for the study of pharmcokinetic mechanisms of Chinese medicine.