In vitro study on the metabolism of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in mouse's tissues

The study was designed to investigate the characters of metabolism of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in mouse's tissues, basing on establishing a RP-HPLC method for determination of EGCG. And the results showed that there was a good linearity over the range 0.1-200.0 mg/L (r>;0.999). The recoveries were more than 85.0% in all tissue samples, and the intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation were less than 10.0% in all cases. So the RPHPLC method was readily applied for quantitative analysis of EGCG in rats' tissue samples. And it was fastest for metabolism of EGCG in plasma. But the metabolism of EGCG in tissue homogenates varied a lot. It was metabolized slowly in liver homogenate, while it was metabolized comparatively fast in small intestine and large intestine homogenates. And the pH value in large intestine played an important role in the metabolism of EGCG. Therefore, basing on the establishment of method for determination of EGCG in rat's intestine and feces, the characters of metabolism of EGCG were clarified, so as to provide a basic theory for exploring the metabolic fate and develop an advanced preparation of EGCG.