Quantification of cyproheptadine in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray tandem mass spectrometry in a bioequivalence study.

A rapid, sensitive and specific method to quantify cyproheptadine in human plasma using amitriptyline as the internal standard (IS) is described. The analyte and the IS were extracted from plasma by liquid-liquid extraction using a diethyl-ether/dichloromethane (70/30; v/v) solvent. After removing and drying the organic phase, the extracts were reconstituted with a fixed volume of acetonitrile/water (50/50 v/v)+0.1% of acetic acid. The extracts were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Chromatography was performed isocratically using an Alltech Prevail C18 5 µm analytical column, (150 mm x 4.6 mm I.D.). The method had a chromatographic run time of 4 min and a linear calibration curve ranging from 0.05 to 10 ng/mL (r2 > 0.99). The limit of quantification was 0.05 ng/mL. This HPLC/MS/MS procedure was used to assess the bioequivalence of cyproheptadine in two cyproheptadine + cobamamide (4 mg + 1 mg) tablet formulations (Cobactin® [cyproheptadine + cobamamide] test formulation supplied from Zambon Laboratórios Farmacêuticos Ltda. and Cobavital® from Solvay Farma (standard reference formulation)). A single 4 mg + 1 mg [cyproheptadine + cobamamide] dose of each formulation was administered to healthy volunteers. The study was conducted using an open, randomized, two-period crossover design with a 1-week washout interval. Since the 90% CI for Cmax and AUCs ratios were all within the 80-125% bioequivalence limit proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration, it was concluded that the cyproheptadine test formulation (Cobactin®) is bioequivalent to the Cobavital® formulation for both the rate and the extent of absorption of cyproheptadine.