OBJECTIVETo verify established the total quantum statistic moments model with astragaloside IV, paeoniflorin, tetramethylpyrazine in Buyanghuanwu injection, in order to establish a pharmacokinetic experimental method with multi-component traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound system.

METHODThe RP-HPLC was adopted, with the chromatographic column of C18, 4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm. As for astragaloside IV, the ELSD detector was adopted with acetonitrile-water (35: 65) as the mobile phase at 1 mL x min(-1); the pressure of column was (15.0 +/- 0.408) MPa, the column temperature was 30 degrees C. Regarding paeoniflorin and tetramethylpyrazine, the detection of wavelengths was 254 nm, with acetonitrile-water (35:65) as the mobile phase at 1 mL x min(-1), the column pressure of (15.17 +/- 0.41) MPa. The pharmacokinetic parameters for single component were dealt with DAS and the total quantum statistical moment (TQSM) parameters were calculated using formulations.

RESULTAll of the three components followed the two compartmental pharkacokinetic model (P < 0.01) in rats. Compared with the superimposed total concentration, each single component showed difference in parameters up to 10 000 times at most, whereas the RSD of TQSM parameters was 3.510%. The TQSM pharmacokinetic parameters of the three components in Buyanghuanwu injection showed that AUC(t), MRT(t), VRT(t), CL(t), V(t), were (119.8 +/- 27.20) g x min x L(-1), (210.0 +/- 54.49) min, (5.608 +/- 2.723) x 10(4) min2, (0.319 6 +/- 0.068 8) mL x min(-1) x kg(-1) and (64.12 +/- 8.243) mL x kg(-1), respectively, suggesting that the half-life time for the three components were (145.5 +/- 37.76) min and 95% of them were metabolized within 0-674. 2 min.

CONCLUSIONThe TQSM can be used to study pharmacokinetic parameters of multi-component TCM compound, because the method can characterize the pharmacokinetic regularity of quantum-time change in a multi-component system.