Determination and validation of chikusetsusaponin IVa in rat plasma by UPLC-MS/MS and its application to pharmacokinetic study

A novel, sensitive and rapid ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method for the quantification of chikusetsusaponin IVa (CHS-IVa) in rat plasma was established and validated. Plasma samples were pre-treated by precipitation of protein with acetonitrile and chromatographed on a Waters Symmetry C18 analytical column (4.6 × 50 mm, i.d., 3.5 μm) using a mobile phase consisting of methanol and water containing 0.05% formic acid (55:45, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The deprotonated molecular ions [M - H](-) were employed in electrospray negative ionization mode and selected reaction monitoring transitions were performed for detection. The calibration curves exhibited good linearity (r > 0.99) over the range of 0.5-1000 ng/mL for CHS-IVa. The recoveries of CHS-IVa were >92.5% and exhibited no severe matrix effect. This method was successfully applied in the pharmacokinetic study of CHS-IVa in rats. For oral administration, the plasma concentrations of CHS-IVa increased to a peak value at 0.35 ± 0.14 h, followed by a gradual decrease to the lower limit of quantitation in 24 h. For intravenous administration, the plasma concentrations of CHS-IVa decreased quickly (t1/2 , 1.59 ± 0.25 h). The absolute bioavailability of CHS-IVa in rats was 8.63%. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.