Here we report a method capable of quantifying ginsenoside Rg3 in human plasma and urine. The method was validated over linear range of 2.5-1000.0ngmL(-1) for plasma and 2.0-20.0ngmL(-1) for urine using ginsenoside Rg1 as I.S. Compounds were extracted with ethyl acetate and analyzed by HPLC/MS/MS (API-4000 system equipped with ESI(-) interface and a C(18) column). The inter- and intra-day precision and accuracy of QC samples were <or=8.5% relative error and were <or=14.4% relative standard deviation for plasma; were <or=5.6% and <or=13.3% for urine. The Rg3 was stable after 24h at room temperature, 3 freeze/thaw cycles and 131 days at -30 degrees C. This method has been applied to pharmacokinetic study of ginsenoside Rg3 in human.
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