Pharmacokinetics of Five Different Types of Safflower Constituents in Rat Plasma after Oral Administration of Safflower Powder

Abstract

The petals of Carthamus tinctorius L. (safflower) is an important traditional medicine for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. The pharmacokinetic properties of multiple safflower constituents have not been fully understood. In the present research, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass method in dynamic multiple reaction monitoring mode was developed and validated to simultaneously quantify in rat plasma of five different characteristic types of safflower constituents, including chalcone, poly-acetylene, glycoside of 6-hydroxykaempferol, etc. All the five constituents, hydroxysafflor yellow A, bidenoside C, 6-hydroxykaempferol-3,6-diglucoside, chlorogenic acid, and p-coumaric acid were detected in rat plasma after oral administration of safflower powder. p-Coumaric acid was the most quickly absorbed one with Tmax of 0.1 hr. The poly-acetylene constituent, bidenoside C, displayed the largest AUC0-t value (2177.796 ng · h/L) followed by hydroxysafflor yellow A (1564.1 ng · h/L). The impressively favorable pharmacokinetic behavior of bidenoside C reported herein for the first time rendered the importance for paying more attention to its role in the in vivo pharmacologic effects of safflower.