Oral reserpine administration in horses results in low plasma concentrations that alter platelet biology.

BACKGROUND: Reserpine is a popular drug in the equine industry for long-term tranquilisation. Clinical observations revealed that blood from horses receiving oral reserpine was hypercoagulable. No studies have documented the pharmacokinetics of orally administered reserpine nor the effects of reserpine on platelets in horses. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the pharmacokinetics of oral reserpine in horses and the effects of clinically relevant concentrations of reserpine on platelet functionality in vitro. STUDY DESIGN: Experimental controlled study. METHODS: The pharmacokinetics of oral reserpine (2.5 mg/horse, once) were determined in six healthy adult horses. Plasma samples were collected and concentrations of reserpine were determined by UPLC-MS/MS. Using this data, the in vitro effects of reserpine on platelets were examined. Aggregation, adhesion and releasate assays for serotonin and thromboxane B2 were performed on platelets exposed to varying concentrations of reserpine (0.01-10 ng/mL), aspirin (negative control) and saline (unexposed control). RESULTS: Oral reserpine administration demonstrated low plasma concentrations with a Cmax of 0.2 ± 0.06 ng/mL and a prolonged half-life of 23.6 ± 6.24 h. Simulations over a dose range of 2-8 µg/kg predicted Cmax at steady state between 0.06-0.9 ng/mL. Platelets exposed to these reserpine concentrations in vitro displayed increased aggregation and adhesion compared to unexposed or aspirin-exposed platelets as well as compared to higher concentrations of reserpine. These functional changes correlated with lower concentrations of serotonin and higher concentrations of thromboxane B2 in the platelet suspension supernatant. MAIN LIMITATIONS: This study used a small number of horses and only in vitro platelet experiments. CONCLUSIONS: Oral reserpine demonstrates low plasma concentrations and a prolonged half-life in horses. At these concentrations, reserpine causes significant changes in platelet function, most likely due to serotonin release and re-uptake which primes platelets for activation and thromboxane B2 release. These findings suggest that clinicians should harvest blood for biological processing prior to the onset of reserpine administration.

Validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous determination of clopamide, reserpine and dihydroergotoxine: Application to pharmacokinetics in human plasma.

A simple, sensitive and rapid high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitation of clopamide, reserpine and dihydroergotoxine (ergoloid mesylates) in human plasma. Under basic conditions, liquid-liquid extraction using ethyl acetate was efficiently used for extraction of the analytes from plasma samples in presence of indapamide as internal standard (IS). The analytes were separated with isocratic elution on Phenomenex(®) Synergi Fusion-RP 80A column (50×4.6mm, 4µm). With positive ion electrospray ionization (ESI), the analytes were quantified and monitored on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer using Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) scanning mode. Satisfactory results regarding linearity, recovery, stability, accuracy and precision of the analytes were obtained. The method was linear in the concentration range of 0.04-30.00ng/mL for reserpine, 1-96.00ng/mL for clopamide, and 0.05-40.00ng/mL for dihydroergotoxine alkaloids, respectively. For all analytes, the high sensitivity of HPLC-MS/MS method revealed sufficient lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) ranged from 0.04-1ng/mL using 1mL of plasma. The recoveries from spiked control samples were ≥86.16% for all analytes and IS. The intra- and inter-day precision variations were lower than 13.03% while the accuracy values ranged from 91.76% to 111.50%. The developed method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic study of fixed dose combination of clopamide, reserpine and dihydroergotoxine in healthy male volunteers.

Simultaneous analysis of hydrochlorothiazide, triamterene and reserpine in rat plasma by high performance liquid chromatography and tandem solid-phase extraction.

A tandem solid-phase extraction method (SPE) of connecting two different cartridges (C(18) and MCX) in series was developed as the extraction procedure in this article, which provided better extraction yields (>86%) for all analytes and more appropriate sample purification from endogenous interference materials compared with a single cartridge. Analyte separation was achieved on a C(18) reversed-phase column at the wavelength of 265 nm by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The method was validated in terms of extraction yield, precision and accuracy. These assays gave mean accuracy values higher than 89% with RSD values that were always less than 3.8%. The method has been successfully applied to plasma samples from rats after oral administration of target compounds.

Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of deserpidine in human plasma: Application to a pharmacokinetic study.

A sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of deserpidine in human plasma. The plasma samples were prepared using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with ethyl ether-dichloromethane (3:2, v/v). Chromatographic separation was accomplished on an Ultimate XB-C18 column. The mobile phase consisted of methanol-5mM ammonium acetate-formic acid (72:28:0.036, v/v/v). Detection of deserpidine and the internal standard tropisetron was achieved by tandem mass spectrometry with an electrospray ionization interface in positive ion mode. The lower limit of quantification was 4.0pg/ml. The linear range of the method was from 4.0 to 2000pg/ml. The intra- and inter-day precisions were lower than 14.7% in terms of relative standard deviation (RSD), and the accuracy was within +/-8.7% in terms of relative error (RE). This validated method was successfully applied for the evaluation of pharmacokinetics of deserpidine after a single oral administration dose of 0.25mg deserpidine to 22 healthy volunteers.

Selection of HILIC columns to handle matrix effect due to phospholipids.

BACKGROUND: Phospholipids from biological samples are a source of matrix effect in liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. While the behavior of phospholipids has been documented under reversed-phase chromatography, there is a lack of information concerning the selectivity of hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) towards phospholipids. RESULTS: Human plasma extracts were used to evaluate retention times and matrix effects associated with phospholipids under HILIC conditions. It was observed that phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylcholine phospholipid retention times vary greatly between columns operated in different HILIC conditions. Therefore, matrix effects associated with phospholipids could present a quantitation problem if not evaluated thoroughly during method development. CONCLUSIONS: Analytical chemists should carefully choose the right combination of sample preparation and chromatographic conditions when working under HILIC conditions to avoid variable results.

Quantitative liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric determination of reserpine in FVB/N mouse plasma using a "chelating" agent (disodium EDTA) for releasing protein-bound analytes during 96-well liquid-liquid extraction.

A sensitive, specific, accurate and reproducible analytical method employing a divalent cation chelating agent (disodium EDTA) for sample treatment was developed to quantitate reserpine in FVB/N mouse plasma. Samples pretreated with 40 microl of 2% disodium EDTA in water were extracted by a semi-automated 96-well liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) procedure to isolate reserpine and a structural analog internal standard (I.S.), rescinnamine, from mouse plasma. The extracts were analyzed by turbo ionspray liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) in the positive ion mode. Sample preparation time for conventional LLE was dramatically reduced by the semi-automated 96-well LLE approach. The assay demonstrated a lower limit of quantitation of 0.02 ng/ml using 0.1-ml plasma sample aliquots. The calibration curves were linear from 0.02 to 10 ng/ml for reserpine. The intra- and inter-assay precision of quality control (QC) samples ranged from 1.75 to 10.9% for reserpine. The intra- and inter-assay accuracy of QC samples ranged from -8.17 to 8.61%. Reserpine and the I.S. were found to be highly bound to FVB/N mouse plasma protein. This is the first report of disodium EDTA employed as a special protein-bound release agent to recover protein-bound analytes from plasma. These matrix effects and the effects of pH in the HPLC mobile phase on the sensitivities of LC-MS-MS are discussed in this paper.

Quantitative ionspray liquid chromatographic/tandem mass spectrometric determination of reserpine in equine plasma.

A method based on ionspray liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) was developed for the determination of reserpine in equine plasma. A comparison was made of the isolation of reserpine from plasma by liquid-liquid extraction and by solid-phase extraction. A structural analog, rescinnamine, was used as the internal standard. The reconstituted extracts were analyzed by ionspray LC/MS/MS in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. The calibration graph for reserpine extracted from equine plasma obtained using liquid-liquid extraction was linear from 10 to 5000 pg ml-1 and that using solid-phase extraction from 100 to 5000 pg ml-1. The lower level of quantitation (LLQ) using liquid-liquid and solid-phase extraction was 50 and 200 pg ml-1, respectively. The lower level of detection for reserpine by LC/MS/MS was 10 pg ml-1. The intra-assay accuracy did not exceed 13% for liquid-liquid and 12% for solid-phase extraction. The recoveries for the LLQ were 68% for liquid-liquid and 58% for solid-phase extraction.

Interaction of some drugs on the pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics of MPC-1304, a dihydropyridine Ca2+ antagonist.

The aim of this study was to assess the pharmacokinetics and subsequent pharmacodynamic interaction of MPC-1304, a dihydropyridine Ca2+ antagonist, with other drugs in animal experiments. We measured the systolic blood pressure and heart rate of conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats implanted with battery-operated biotelemetry devices after combined administration of various drugs. Cimetidine (10 mg/kg) did not affect the reduction in systolic blood pressure and the increase in heart rate induced by MPC-1304, whereas it significantly increased the plasma concentration of a metabolite of MPC-1304 (M-1) compared to that detected when MPC-1304 was administered alone. When MPC-1304 was consecutively administered in combination with rifampicin (400 mg/kg) for 9 days, the plasma concentrations of MPC-1304 and of M-1 significantly decreased compared to those found when MPC-1304 alone was given. In spite of these reductions in plasma concentrations, rifampicin did not attenuate the hypotensive action induced by MPC-1304. When prazosin, reserpine, or methyldopa was administered in combination with MPC-1304, the hypotensive action was enhanced as compared to that by MPC-1304 alone or to that by the co-administered drug used alone (prazosin, reserpine, or methyldopa). Quinidine (10 mg/kg) affected neither the hypotensive action induced by MPC-1304 nor the plasma concentrations of MPC-1304 and M-1. These results indicate that cimetidine and rifampicin interact with MPC-1304 pharmacokinetically, without apparently changing the hypotensive action of MPC-1304, whereas quinidine does not affect the metabolism of MPC-1304, and that other hypotensive drugs, such as prazosin, reserpine, and methyldopa, potentiate the hypotensive action of MPC-1304.

Detection of reserpine in horses by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay was developed for the detection of reserpine. The assay was used to monitor the plasma concentrations of the drug given intramuscularly on one or two occasions to five horses. The blood concentrations of reserpine varied quite considerably between horses given the same dose of the drug. However, on average, reserpine could be detected consistently, and quantified, for 48 h after a single dose of 2.5 mg, and for a similar period after the second of two 2.5 mg doses given 13 d apart. Because of the apparently large variability in the pharmacokinetics of reserpine in horses, exact times cannot be given beyond which the drug will no longer be detectable in the plasma. However, following two doses of 2.5 mg reserpine given 13 d apart, at least 7 d must elapse after the second dose before there is no drug detectable in the plasma of most horses.

LC/MS determination of bromazepam, clopenthixol, and reserpine in serum of a non-fatal case of intoxication.

Combined liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC/MS) with a moving belt interface can be used as a rapid method for the determination of bromazepam, clopenthixol, and reserpine in serum samples obtained from cases of acute overdoses with combinations of these drugs. Low resolution detection limits are about 100 pg for the three drugs, while in high resolution mode the detection limit for bromazepam is shown to be at least 35 pg. Accurate masses were obtained in a serum sample within 5 ppm using high voltage scanning over a narrow mass range for about 10 ng of bromazepam and clopenthixol, respectively. Chemical deactivation of the belt was shown to effectively reduce memory effects and to improve the desorption characteristics of the belt leading to higher yields of evaporated intact molecules.

Colorimetric assay of reserpine in formulations and biological fluids.

Two colorimetric methods are presented for determining reserpine. In the first method, an iron hydroxamate complex is formed through the ester group in position 16 in the reserpine molecule. The color is measured at 535 nm (0.5-6 mg/25 ml). This method is useful for routine and control analyses of reserpine formulations. In the second method the tertiary amino group of reserpine reacts with 2% citric acid in acetic anhydride to form a red-violet complex which is measured at 505 nm (5-400 mug/10 ml). This method could be useful in measuring trace amounts of reserpine present in biological fluids.