Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Comparison of Chinese Herbal Ointment Liu-He-Dan and Micron Liu-He-Dan Ointment in Rats with Acute Pancreatitis

Aim. To compare the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of herbal ointment Liu-He-Dan (LHD) and micron LHD (MLHD) in rats with acute pancreatitis (AP). Methods. Twenty rats were allocated into normal, AP, LHD, and MLHD groups. LHD or MLHD was applied on rats' abdomens. Plasma levels of emodin, rhein, aloe emodin, physcion, and chrysophanol were determined by high performance liquid chromatography—mass spectrometry—mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-MS) at different time points, and the pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated. Serum amylase, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 levels, and the pancreatic pathological scores were determined at 48 h after LHD or MLHD treatment. Results. T (1/2) α and area under the curve (AUC) of emodin in the MLHD group were lower than those in the LHD group, while T (1/2) α and AUC of aloe emodin in the MLHD group were higher than those in the LHD group (P < 0.05). T (1/2) α and T (max) of physcion in the MLHD group were significantly shorter than those in the LHD group (P < 0.05). Compared with the AP group, the amylase, malondialdehyde (MDA), TNF-α, and IL-6 levels decreased significantly after three days of treatment in LHD and MLHD groups, while the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), TNF-α, and the pancreatic pathological score, were similar. The pharmacodynamic parameters between the LHD and MLHD groups were similar. Conclusion. MLHD had better pharmacokinetics than, and similar pharmacodynamics to, LHD in the management of rats with AP, which indicated that MLHD might be substituted for LHD in the treatment of AP and thus reduce the amount of medicinal herbs used.