PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jun Iwabu
AU  - Junko Watanabe
AU  - Kazuhiro Hirakura
AU  - Yoshinori Ozaki
AU  - Kazuhiro Hanazaki
TI  - Profiling of the Compounds Absorbed in Human Plasma and Urine after Oral Administration of a Traditional Japanese (Kampo) Medicine, Daikenchuto
AID  - 10.1124/dmd.110.033589
DP  - 2010 Nov 01
TA  - Drug Metabolism and Disposition
PG  - 2040--2048
VI  - 38
IP  - 11
4099  - http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/38/11/2040.short
4100  - http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/38/11/2040.full
SO  - Drug Metab Dispos2010 Nov 01; 38
AB  - Daikenchuto (DKT), a pharmaceutical-grade traditional Japanese (Kampo) medicine, has been widely used for the treatment of various gastrointestinal disorders including postoperative ileus and has been integrated into the modern medical care system in Japan as a prescription drug. DKT is a multiherbal medicine consisting of Japanese pepper (zanthoxylum fruit), processed ginger, and ginseng with maltose as an additive. Despite substantial research on the pharmacological activities of DKT and its ingredients, the lack of studies on absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of DKT has made it difficult to obtain a consistent picture of its mechanism of action. In the present study, we constructed an analysis procedure consisting of seven conditions of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric analysis, which enabled the identification of 44 ingredients of DKT component herbs. We investigated the plasma and urine profiles of these ingredients 0.5 to 8 h after oral administration of 15.0 g of DKT in four healthy volunteers. The results indicated that 1) hydroxy-α-sanshool and [6]-shogaol, the prominent peaks in plasma derived from Japanese pepper and ginger, respectively, were detected at 0.5 h and thereafter decreased throughout the sampling period; 2) ginsenoside Rb1, a prominent peak derived from ginseng, increased gradually during the sampling period; 3) glucuronide conjugates of hydroxy-sanshools, shogaols, and gingerols were detected in plasma and urine; and 4) no obvious differences between samples from the two male and the two female individuals were observed. These results provide a strong basis for future studies on pharmacokinetics and pharmacology of DKT.