Table 4.

Pharmacokinetic parameters of free TP, TP-SLNs, and TP-NLCs after a single oral administration (500 μg/kg) in male rats

Parameters	Unit	TP	TP-SLNs	TP-NLCs
AUC0–t	μg h/L	5.858±1.565	7.318±1.628	9.012±1.576*
AUC0–∞	μg h/L	6.162±1.607	8.430±1.573	9.710±1.743*
MRT0–t	h	0.811±0.072	1.280±0.083***	2.032±0.111***,∆∆∆
MRT0–∞	h	0.974±0.080	2.003±0.628**	2.473±0.230***
t1/2z	h	0.706±0.087	1.544±0.574**	1.509±0.216**
Tmax	h	0.200±0.075	0.450±0.183	0.717±0.240**,∆
CLz/F	L/h/kg	85.621±21.738	60.889±10.692*	52.852±9.516**
Cmax	μg/L	8.656±2.077	5.794±1.747*	3.361±0.666**,∆

Notes: TP-NLCs have the same amount of total lipid as TP-SLNs, but 20% (w/w) of its solid lipid (Compritol 888 ATO) was replaced with selected liquid lipid (Capryol 90). Each value represents the mean ± SD (n=6);

^*P<0.05;

^**P<0.01;

^***P<0.001 compared to the TP group;

^∆P<0.05;

^∆∆∆P<0.001 compared to the TP-SLNs group.

Abbreviations: AUC_0–t, area under the concentration-time curve from the time of dosing to last observation; AUC_0–∞, area under the concentration-time curve from time 0 to ∞; CLz/F, plasma clearance; C_max, maximum plasma concentration; MRT, mean residence time; SD, standard deviation; t_1/2z, half-life; T_max, time of maximum plasma concentration; TP, triptolide; TP-NLCs, triptolide-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers; TP-SLNs, triptolide-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles; w, weight.