A simple and specific HPLC method with dual wavelength UV detection for the determination of ergosta-4,6,8(14),22-tetraen-3-one (ergone) in rat plasma was developed and proved to be efficient. The method used ergosterol as internal standard (IS). Following a single-step protein precipitation, the analyte and IS were separated on an Inertsil ODS-3 column with a mobile phase containing methanol-water (99:1, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The analytes were detected by using UV detection at wavelength of 350 (ergone) and 283 (IS) nm, respectively. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.1-2.0 µg/mL and the lower limit of quantification was 0.1 µg/mL. The intra-day and inter-day precision studies showed good reproducibility with RSD less than 8.5%. The intra-day and inter-day accuracy ranged from 95.6 to 104%. Mean extraction recovery was above 95% at the low, medium and high concentrations. The present HPLC-UV method was simple and reliable. The method described herein had been successfully applied for the pharmacokinetic studies in male SD rats after administration of 20 mg/kg dose of solution of ergone.
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