Epimedium (EM) and Psoraleae Fructus (PF) are a traditional herb combination often used as a fixed form to treat osteoporosis disease in the clinic. However, the intricate interactions of this pair remain unknown. In our study, we undertook a comprehensive examination of their compatibility behaviors. Concurrently, a precise and sensitive quantitation method was successfully developed and validated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of 12 components. This method was applied in analyzing herbal extracts and biological samples (both in the portal vein and systemic plasma), which was also used to study the pharmacokinetics of the herb pair. The results indicated that the combination of EM and PF enhanced the dissolution of chemical components from PF in extracts, but it had a negligible influence on the contents of the components from EM. On the contrary, the in vivo exposure of the lowly exposed EM flavonoids significantly increased following the combination of EM and PF, whereas the highly exposed psoralen and isopsoralen were greatly reduced. These interactions might be crucial for the synergy and toxicity reduction of the herbal pair in disease treatment, which pave the way for further exploration into the clinical application and pharmacological mechanisms of EM and PF.

中文翻译：

---

大鼠血浆中 12 种物质的灵敏液相色谱-串联质谱分析方法的建立和验证及其在淫羊藿和补骨脂药对大鼠口服药代动力学中的应用

淫羊藿（EM）和补骨脂（PF）是传统的草药组合，在临床上经常作为固定形式用于治疗骨质疏松症。然而，这一对错综复杂的相互作用仍然未知。在我们的研究中，我们对它们的兼容性行为进行了全面的检查。同时，成功开发并验证了一种精确、灵敏的定量方法，采用液相色谱-串联质谱法测定 12 种成分。该方法用于分析草药提取物和生物样品（门静脉和全身血浆），也用于研究草药对的药代动力学。结果表明，EM和PF的组合增强了提取物中PF化学成分的溶出，但对EM成分的含量影响可以忽略不计。相反，EM和PF组合后，低暴露的EM黄酮类化合物的体内暴露显着增加，而高暴露的补骨脂素和异补骨脂素则大大减少。这些相互作用可能对于药物对在疾病治疗中的协同作用和降低毒性至关重要，这为进一步探索 EM 和 PF 的临床应用和药理机制铺平了道路。