Generic drugs account for more than 95% of the chemicals market in China, and their quality is directly related to the efficacy and safety of the people. The bioequivalence evaluation with pharmacokinetic parameters as the end point is the main content of the consistency evaluation of the quality and efficacy of generic drugs. Gut microbiota is considered to have an important influence on pharmacokinetics. This article reviewed the influence of gut microbiota on pharmacokinetics and analyzed its potential significance in the evaluation of the consistency of quality and efficacy of generic drugs.

Background Bromadiolone is the second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide widely used all over the world. Exposure to bromadiolone in early life stage can lead to neurodevelopmental toxicity, but its toxic mechanism of neurodevelopment is not clear so far. Objective To investigate the developmental neurotoxicity and mechanism of bromadiolone to zebrafish embryos. Methods Zebrafish embryos were randomly divided into four groups: a solvent control group (dimethylsulphoxide) and three bromadiolone exposure groups (0.39, 0.78, and 1.18 mg·L⁻¹). The exposure period was from 4 h to 120 h post-fertilization. The number of spontaneous movement per minute was recorded at 24 h post-treatment. The locomotor ability of zebrafish larvae and the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were tested at 120 h post-treatment. The relative expression levels of neurodevelopment-related genes (elavl3, gap43, mbp, and syn2a) were measured by fluorescence quantitative PCR. Results Compared with the control group, the number of spontaneous movement per minute at 24 h decreased significantly in the 1.18 mg·L⁻¹ bromadiolone exposure group (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the total distance travelled of the zebrafish larvae in the 0.78 and 1.18 mg·L⁻¹ bromadiolone exposure groups decreased by 60% and 69% respectively (P<0.05, P<0.01), and the total movement time decreased by 34% and 65% respectively (P<0.05, P<0.01). The AChE activity in the 1.18 mg·L⁻¹ bromadiolone exposure group increased by 36% when compared with the control group (P<0.05). The fluorescence quantitative PCR results showed that compared with the control group, the expression levels of neurodevelopment-related genes elavl3, syn2a, and mbp were significantly down-regulated by 66%, 69%, and 65% in the 1.18 mg·L⁻¹ bromadiolone exposure group respectively (P<0.01), the expression level of gap43 was up-regulated by 56% in the 0.78 mg·L⁻¹ bromadiolone exposure group (P<0.01) and down-regulated by 34% in the 1.18 mg·L⁻¹ bromadiolone exposure group (P<0.05). Conclusion Bromadiolone exposure could inhibit spontaneous movement and locomotive behavior, down-regulate the expression levels of neurodevelopment-related genes, hinder the release of neurotransmitters, and result in neurodevelopmental toxicity in the early-staged zebrafish.

Pharmaceutical analysis is a discipline based on chemical, physical, biological, and information technologies. At present, biotechnological analysis is a short branch in pharmaceutical analysis; however, bioanalysis is the basis and an important part of medicine. Biotechnological approaches can provide information on biological activity and even clinical efficacy and safety, which are important characteristics of drug quality. Because of their advantages in reflecting the overall biological effects or functions of drugs and providing visual and intuitive results, some biotechnological analysis methods have been gradually applied to pharmaceutical analysis from raw material to manufacturing and final product analysis, including DNA super-barcoding, DNA-based rapid detection, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification, hyperspectral imaging combined with artificial intelligence, 3D biologically printed organoids, omics-based artificial intelligence, microfluidic chips, organ-on-a-chip, signal transduction pathway-related reporter gene assays, and the zebrafish thrombosis model. The applications of these emerging biotechniques in pharmaceutical analysis have been discussed in this review.