Table 4.

Pharmacokinetic parameters of MTO and βE after intravenous administration of MTO, βE, and MTO/βE-SLNs in rats at a dose of 2 mg/kg for MTO and 4 mg/kg for βE (n = 6).

Formulation	MTO	βE	MTO in MTO/βE-SLNs	βE in MTO/βE-SLNs
AUC0–24 (mg·h·L−1)	1.18 ± 0.15	4.86 ± 1.76	51.55 ± 2.19 **	64.46 ± 2.95 **
T1/2 (h)	1.53 ± 0.33	2.9 ± 0.45	13.13 ± 1.15 *	16.53 ± 1.22 *
Cmax (mg/L)	3.45 ± 0.58	6.68 ± 1.21	67.78 ± 2.89 **	90.15 ± 3.59 **

C_max: maximum plasma concentration; T_1/2: terminal elimination half-life; AUC_0–24: area under the plasma concentration vs. time curve from time zero to 24; MTO: mitoxantrone; βE: β-elemene; MTO/βE: MTO and βE (1:2) combination; MTO-SLNs: solid lipid nanoparticles loaded with MTO; MTO/βE-SLNs: solid lipid nanoparticles loaded with MTO and βE. Statistically significant differences were found between MTO, βE, and MTO/βE-SLNs groups. Data are presented as means ± SD, n = 6. * p < 0.05 versus MTO, * p < 0.05 versus βE, ** p < 0.01 versus MTO, and ** p < 0.01 versus βE.