Pharmacokinetic analysis of atractylenolide III in rat plasma after oral administration of Atractylodes japonica rhizome extract by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry

Abstract

Atractylenolide III is one of the major bioactive compounds in Atractylodes japonica rhizome; it has been used clinically for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. In the present study, a simple, rapid, and selective analytical method was developed and validated for the quantification of atractylenolide III in rat plasma samples using ultra-performance liquid chromatography–ion trap mass spectrometry (UPLC–ion trap MS). Liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate was used for plasma sample preparation. Bergapten was used as an internal standard (IS). The separation of compounds was carried out on a C18 column, with isocratic elution of 0.1% formic acid in water–acetonitrile (45:55, v/v) at 35 °C. Mass detection was performed in the positive ion mode, under optimized conditions for an electrospray ionization source at m/z 249.1 for atractylenolide III and m/z 217.0 for the IS. The methods of instrumental analysis and plasma sample extraction were validated in terms of precision, accuracy, matrix effect, and extraction recovery, with acceptable values. The present method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of atractylenolide III in rat plasma samples after oral administration of A. japonica rhizome extract.