| Abstract: | This study aimed to develop a specific UHPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS method for simultaneous determination and pharmacokinetics of pinoresinol glucoside and chlorogenic acid in rat plasma after oral administration of Eucommia ulmoides . The chromatographic separation was achieved on a Hypersil GOLD column with gradient elution by using a mixture of 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution and acetonitrile as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 200 μL/min. A tandem mass spectrometric detection was conducted using multiple‐reaction monitoring via an electrospray ionization source in negative ionization mode. Samples were pre‐treated by a single‐step protein precipitation with acetonitrile, and bergenin was used as internal standard. After oral administration of 3 mL/kg E. ulmoides extract in rats, the maximum plasma concentrations of pinoresinol glucoside and chlorogenic acid were 57.44 and 61.04 ng/mL, respectively. The times to reach the maximum plasma concentration were 40.00 and 23.33 min for pinoresinol glucoside and chlorogenic acid, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision (RSD) values for the two analytes were <2.46 and 5.15%, respectively, and the accuracy (RE) values ranged from −12.76 to 0.00. This is the first study on pharmacokinetics of bioactive compounds in rat plasma after oral administration of E. ulmoides extract. |
