Determination of 12 potential nephrotoxicity biomarkers in rat serum and urine by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry and its application to renal failure induced by Semen Strychni

In previous nephrotoxicity metabonomic studies, several potential biomarkers were found and evaluated. To investigate the relationship between the nephrotoxicity biomarkers and the therapeutic role of Radix Glycyrrhizae extract on Semen Strychni‐induced renal failure, 12 typical biomarkers are selected and a simple LC–MS method has been developed and validated. Citric acid, guanidinosuccinic acid, taurine, guanidinoacetic acid, uric acid, creatinine, hippuric acid, xanthurenic acid, kynurenic acid, 3‐indoxyl sulfate, indole‐3‐acetic acid, and phenaceturic acid were separated by a Phenomenex Luna C₁₈ column and a methanol/water (5 mM ammonium acetate) gradient program with a runtime of 20 min. The prepared calibration curves showed good linearity with regression coefficients all above 0.9913. The absolute recoveries of analytes from serum and urine were all more than 70.4%. With the developed method, analytes were successfully determined in serum and urine samples within 52 days. Results showed that guanidinosuccinic acid, guanidinoacetic acid, 3‐indoxyl sulfate, and indole‐3‐acetic acid (only in urine) were more sensitive than the conventional renal function markers in evaluating the therapeutic role of Radix Glycyrrhizae extract on Semen Strychni‐induced renal failure. The method could be further used in predicting and monitoring renal failure cause by other reasons in the following researches.