Determination of glibenclamide and puerarin in rat plasma by UPLC-MS/MS: application to their pharmacokinetic interaction study.

In the treatment of diabetes mellitus, glibenclamide and puerarin may be co-administered unwittingly or wittingly. An ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed to determine the concentrations of glibenclamide and puerarin in rat plasma for the study of pharmacokinetic interaction between them. Analytes were extracted using liquid-liquid extraction. The separation was achieved on a Waters BEH C18 column using 5 mmol/L ammonium acetate solution (containing 0.1% formic acid) and methanol as mobile phase with a linear gradient program. Electrospray ionization source was applied and operated in the multiple reaction monitoring positive mode. The proposed method was proved simple, specific and reliable. Glibenclamide, Pueraria lobata extract and glibenclamide in combination with P. lobata extract were orally administered to rats, respectively. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by Microsoft Excel software and analyzed by SPSS 12.0 software. Compared with glibenclamide group, pharmacokinetic parameters of glibenclamide in the co-administration group such as area under the curve and mean residence time were increased while clearance was decreased. Pharmacokinetic parameters of puerarin in the co-administration group such as peak concentration and area under the curve were enlarged while clearance and apparent volume of distribution were reduced compared with P. lobata extract group. These changes could enhance drug efficacy, but could also make drug accumulation to increase adverse effects, so it was suggested that the dosage should be adjusted or the drug concentration in plasma should be monitored if glibenclamide and puerarin were co-administered.