Pharmacokinetics of ligustrazine ethosome patch in rats and anti-myocardial ischemia and anti-ischemic reperfusion injury effect

Xingyan Liu¹, Hong Liu¹, Zhaowu Zeng², Weihua Zhou³, Jianqiang Liu², Zhiwei He^1
1China-America Cancer Research Institute, Guangdong Medical College, ²Guangdong Key Laboratory for Research and Development of Natural Drugs, Guangdong Medical College, Dongguan, Guangdong, ³Yichun University, Yichun, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China

Abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of the ligustrazine ethosome patch and antimyocardial ischemia and anti-ischemic reperfusion injury effect. Male Sprague Dawley rats were divided randomly into 3 groups: Group A (intragastric ligustrazine), Group B (transdermal ligustrazine ethosome patch), and Group C (conventional transdermal ligustrazine patch). After treatment, samples of blood and of various tissues such as heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, brain, and muscle samples were taken at different time points. Drug concentration was measured with HPLC, and the drug concentration–time curve was plotted. Pharmacokinetic software 3p97 was applied to calculate pharmacokinetic parameters and the area under the drug concentration–time curve (AUC) in various tissues. The rat model of acute myocardial ischemia was constructed with intravenous injection of pituitrin and the model of myocardial ischemia-perfusion injury was constructed by tying off the left anterior descending coronary artery of rats to observe the effect of ligustrazine ethosome patches on ischemic myocardium and ischemia-reperfusion injury. Results showed that AUC was highest in the transdermal drug delivery group of ligustrazine ethosome patch. There were significant differences in whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, hematocrit, red blood cell aggregation index, and deformation index between ligustrazine the ethosome patch group and ischemic control group (P < 0.01). Moreover, ligustrazine ethosome patches could reduce the scope of myocardial infarction induced by long-term ischemia. Ligustrazine ethosome patches have a sustained-release property. They can maintain stable and sustained blood drug concentration, increase bioavailability, and reduce administration times. The drug patch can decrease hemorheological indices of myocardial ischemia in rats, as well as protect acute ischemic myocardium and ischemia-reperfusion injured myocardium.

Keywords: ligustrazine, ethosome, patch, pharmacokinetics, myocardial ischemia, ischemia-reperfusion injury