Simultaneous quantification of five bioactive 16-deoxybarringtogenol C triterpenoid saponins in rat plasma by HPLC-MS : application to a pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge husks extract

In this study, a simple and rapid liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed to simultaneously determinate five 16-deoxybarringtogenol C triterpenoid saponins with the potential of neuroprotection in rat plasma following the oral administration of the Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge husks extract. With digoxin as the internal standard, the plasma samples were pre-treated by ethyl acetateisopropanol (1:1, v/v). The chromatographic separation of the five analytes was performed using a Phenomenex C18 column (250 mm 34.6 mm, 5.0 mm) with a mobile phase of 0.05% formic acid (A)acetonitrile (B). The mass spectrometric detection was carried out in the selected ion mode in positive ionization. The extraction recoveries of the five analytes were all over 71.28%. The established method was fully validated in line with the ICH and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines and successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study on the five analytes in rat plasma. The terminal half-life (t1/2) of the five analytes was 2.92 ± 0.57, 5.52 ± 1.75, 2.48 ± 0.62, 2.95 ± 0.94, and 2.34 ± 0.81, respectively. This study was purposed to investigate the oral pharmacokinetic parameters and gain an in-depth insight into the reasonable preclinical use of the husks extract derived from X. sorbifolia Bunge.