Comparative pharmacokinetics of borneol in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion and sham-operated rats

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the pharmacokinetics of borneol in the pathological conditions of stroke and evaluate the pharmacokinetic differences of borneol caused by stroke after oral administration of borneol and Xingnaojing (XNJ).

Methods: The rats were divided into two groups, ischemia-reperfusion (IR) and sham-operated (SO) rats. Each group contained two subgroups: pure borneol and XNJ subgroups. After administration with the same dosages of borneol 162.0 mg/kg, plasma samples were collected. The cerebral ischemia-reperfusion model was created by reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The blood samples were collected punctually after oral administration and a specific gas chromatographic system-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) method was developed and employed to determine the level of borneol in the plasma. The pharmacokinetic parameters were analyzed using non-compartmental methods with Kinetica.

Results: After administration of borneol, the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC) values in stroke rats significantly increased by 302% and 275%, respectively, compared with the SO rats, and the same phenomenon appeared after administration of XNJ. In the rats with the same physiological conditions, the Cmax and AUC had higher values in the borneol subgroup (P<0.05).

Conclusions: These results suggest that the pathological damages of ischemia-reperfusion have a significant impact on the pharmacokinetic traits of borneol and that there are some components in XNJ inhibiting the absorption of borneol.