Stability of caffeic acid phenethyl amide (CAPA) in rat plasma

A validated C₁₈ reverse-phase HPLC method with UV detection at 320 nm was developed and used for the stability evaluation of caffeic acid phenethyl amide (CAPA) and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) in rat plasma. CAPA is the amide derivative of CAPE, a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound that has been found to be active in a variety of biological pathways. CAPA has been shown to protect endothelial cells against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress to a similar degree to CAPE. CAPE has been reported to be rapidly hydrolyzed in rat plasma via esterase enzymes. CAPA is expected to display a longer half-life than CAPE by avoiding hydrolysis via plasma esterases. The stability of CAPA and CAPE in rat plasma was investigated at three temperatures. The half-lives for CAPA were found to be 41.5, 10 and 0.82 h at 25, 37 and 60 °C, respectively. The half-lives for CAPE were found to be 1.95, 0.35 and 0.13 h at 4, 25 and 37 °C, respectively. The energy of activation was found to be 22.1 kcal/mol for CAPA and 14.1 kcal/mol for CAPE. A more stable compound could potentially extend the beneficial effects of CAPE.