Assessment of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and emerging brominated flame retardants in Pheretima (a Traditional Chinese Medicine): Occurrence, residue profiles, and potential health risks.

China produces and consumes large quantities of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) as well as several other unregulated electronic waste recycling activities, causing high BFR concentrations in the natural environment. Thus, Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) may be contaminated by legacy BFRs (e.g. polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)) and emerging BFRs (eBFRs, such as decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE)) during growth, processing, packaging, and transportation. Pheretima, which is a typical animal drug recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, was used as an example to evaluate human exposure to BFRs through TCM intake. This study is the first to determine 25 PBDEs and 5 eBFRs in Pheretima and estimate the daily BFR intake via Pheretima-containing TCMs. Twenty-seven Shanghai Pheretima and fifty-one Guang Pheretima samples were collected between March and June 2019 in southeast China. High BFR detection frequencies were found in Pheretima, of which BDE-209 and DBDPE were the most predominant analytes. The total PBDE contents ranged from 73 pg/g to 8,725 pg/g, while that of the eBFRs varied between 115 pg/g and 2,824 pg/g. The profiles and abundances were found to be species- and origin-dependent. However, the traditional processing of Pheretima may reduce BFR residues. Based on the usual clinical doses of Pheretima and the available chronic oral reference doses of BDE-47, 99, 153, and 209, the mean (95th percentile) of the total hazard quotient was estimated to be 9.1 × 10-5 (2.7 × 10-4). Therefore, there is little risk related to BFR exposure for patients taking formulated Pheretima-containing TCMs. However, it is necessary to establish routine monitoring programs for the co-existence of pollutants in TCMs to perform a systematic and comprehensive risk assessment.

[Pharmacokinetics of fangchinoline and tetrandrine in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pharmacokinetics profile of fangchinoline and tetrandrine in rats after administration of single compound and mixture with other intergradient in traditional prescription. METHOD: A method for determination of fangchinoline and tetrandrine in rat plasma by using HPLC-MS has been developed and validated. The pharmacokinetics of two compounds and two compounds in the effective component group (ECG) of Xiaoxuming decoction were compared. RESULT: Compared with the single dose of compound experiment results, the t(max) of fangchinoline and tetrandrine were longer than those in the single dose of ECG experiment. At the meanwhile the rest parameter showed no significant difference. CONCLUSION: Other components in the ECG of Xiaoxuming decoction delayed the absorption rate of fangchinoline and tetrandrine, the bioavailability of two compounds were the same as that of the single dose of compound experiment.

[Study on LC-MS fingerprint for quality assessment of Aristolochia manshuriensis with chemical pattern recognition].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze LC-MS fingerprints of Aristolochia manshuriensis for quality assessment with two different chemical pattern recognition models. METHOD: LC-MS fingerprints of A. manshuriensis were established from 24 batches of samples from different habitats. SIMCA and Clustering analysis were used to compare the parameters of the 29 common peaks. RESULT: Two methods had good consistency, while they reflected the inherent sample information from different perspectives, respectively. CONCLUSION: Modern equipment analysis technology and multivariable chemical pattern recognition would be an efficient way for quality control and variety identification of A. manshuriensis.