Ultra sensitive quantitation of endogenous oxytocin in rat and human plasma using a two-dimensional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay

Oxytocin (OT) is a neuropeptide with an extremely low endogenous level (low pg/ml) in human plasma. It is very challenging to develop a highly sensitive assay to measure endogenous OT, including radioimmunoassay (RIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Electrospray ionization (ESI) liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) can provide high-throughput and selective methods for quantification of peptides in biological samples. A novel and highly sensitive two-dimensional LC–MS/MS (2D-LC–MS/MS) assay combining solid-phase extraction (SPE) has been developed and validated for the determination of endogenous OT in both human and rat plasma. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 1.00 pg/ml for human and 50.0 pg/ml for rat. Human plasma diluted with water (1:6, v/v) was successfully optimized as a surrogate matrix for human to prepare standard curves without endogenous interference. The extraction efficiency and absolute recovery were above 65.8% using the HLB SPE procedure, and matrix effects were lower than 12%. The method was validated in the range of 1.00–250 pg/ml for human plasma and 50.0–10,000 pg/ml for rat plasma with precision less than 12.7% and accuracy less than 7%.     

Determination of timiperone in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

We report a sensitive new method for the determination of timiperone in rat plasma by using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. The method involves extraction of plasma samples with heptane-isoamyl alcohol at pH>8, followed by back-extraction into dilute acetic acid. Separation was accomplished by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography on an ODS column with the mobile phase consisting of 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 3.5)-acetonitrile-methanol (65:20:15, v/v). Recovery was greater than 80%. Calibration curve was linear over the concentration range 0.5–50.0 ng/ml. The limit of quantitation of timiperone was 0.5 ng/ml plasma.     

Pentazocine monitoring in rat hair and plasma by HPLC-fluorescence detection with DIB-Cl as a labelling reagent.

Pentazocine (PZ) in rat hair and plasma was determined by HPLC-fluorescence detection with 4-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzoyl chloride (DIB-Cl) as a labelling reagent and cyclazocine (CZ) as an internal standard (IS). PZ and IS extracted from hair or plasma sample were derivatized with DIB-Cl and the resulted solution was cleaned up with solid phase extraction. The isocratic separation of DIB-PZ and -CZ within 20 min could be achieved by a Wakopak Handy-ODS column (250 x 4.6 mm i.d.) using a mobile phase composed of 0.1 mol/L acetate buffer (pH 6.2):acetonitrile (25:75, v/v). The detection limits of PZ at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 for rat hair and plasma were 0.18 ng/mg and 0.57 ng/mL, respectively. Reproducible and precise results could be obtained by an IS method with RSD values less than 6.6% for within- and between-day measurements. The method was successfully applied for the monitoring of PZ levels in Zucker rat hair and plasma samples after a single administration of 25 mg/kg PZ. Moreover, incorporation rates of PZ into black and white hair of Zucker rat were evaluated.     

Development and validation of a liquid chromatographic method for Casiopeina IIgly in rat plasma

A sensitive and specific liquid chromatographic method using solid-phase extraction with Sep-pak cartridges has been developed for the determination of Casiopeina IIgly and validated over the linear range 2.5-50 microg/ml in rat plasma. The analysis was performed on a Symetry C(18) (5 microm) column with a Phenomenex C(18) precolumn. The mobile phase was methanol-water (58:42, v/v). The column effluent was monitored at 273 nm. The results showed that the assay is sensitive at 2.5 microg/ml. Maximum intra-day coefficient of variation was 11.47%. The recovery based upon addition of internal standard to rat plasma was 80.98%. The method was used to perform preclinical pharmacokinetic studies in rat plasma and was found to be satisfactory.     

Determination of 25-OH-PPD in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and its application in rat pharmacokinetic studies

A sensitive and specific liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed for the investigation of the pharmacokinetics of 20(R)-dammarane-3beta,12beta,20,25-tetrol (25-OH-PPD) in rat. Ginsenoside Rh(2) was employed as an internal standard. The plasma samples were pretreated by liquid-liquid extraction and analyzed using LC/MS/MS with an electrospray ionization interface. The mobile phase consisted of methanol-acetonitrile-10 mmol/l aqueous ammonium acetate (42.5:42.5:15, v:v:v), which was pumped at 0.4 ml/min. The analytical column (50 mm x 2.1 mm i.d.) was packed with Venusil XBP C8 material (3.5 microm). The standard curve was linear from 10 to 3000 ng/ml. The assay was specific, accurate (accuracy between -1.19 and 2.57% for all quality control samples), precise and reproducible (within- and between-day precisions measured as relative standard deviation were <5% and <7%, respectively). 25-OH-PPD in rat plasma was stable over three freeze-thaw cycles and at ambient temperatures for 6h. The method had a lower limit of quantitation of 10 ng/ml, which offered a satisfactory sensitivity for the determination of (25-OH-PPD) in plasma. This quantitation method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of 25-OH-PPD after both an oral and an intravenous administration to rats and the absolute bioavailability is 64.8+/-14.3%.     

Development and validation of a highly rapid and sensitive LC-MS/MS method for determination of SZ-685C, an investigational marine anticancer agent, in rat plasma--application to a pharmacokinetic study in rats

A sensitive and rapid method was developed and validated for the quantitative analysis of the novel anticancer agent SZ-685C in rat plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) in negative ion mode in order to support the following pre-clinical and clinical studies. SZ-685C and the internal standard (IS, emodin) were extracted from rat plasma by a simple liquid-liquid extraction technique using ethyl acetate as extraction solvent. Chromatographic separation was performed on an Elite Hypersil BDS C18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm i.d., 3 μm). Elution was carried out using methanol/acetonitrile/2mM ammonium formate (pH 4) (80:15:5 (v/v/v)) at a flow-rate of 0.3 mL/min with a run time of 2.5 min. This assay was linear over a concentration range of 50-10,000 ng/mL with a lower limit of quantification of 50 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-batch precision was less than 15% for all quality control samples at concentrations of 100, 1000 and 7500 ng/mL. These results indicate that the method was efficient with a short run time and acceptable accuracy, precision and sensitivity. This method was successfully applied to explore pharmacokinetics of SZ-685C in rats after oral and intravenous administration of this agent. The absolute bioavailability is about 54.8-66.8% and the t(1/2) is 5.7-9.2h, these results provide basic information for further comprehensive pre-clinical research.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of a potent AII receptor antagonist (DMP 811) in plasma

An HPLC assay for DMP 811, 4-ethyl-2-propyl-1-[(2′-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl)-methyl]imidazole-5-carboxylic acid (I) in rat and dog plasma has been developed. Compound I was isolated from plasma using a liquid—liquid back extraction procedure. The extraction recovery was greater than 81%. Separation of I from endogenous components in plasma was achieved on an E. Merck C₈ column using a mobile phase of 0.05 M ammonium acetate, brought to pH 3.75 with acetic acid, and acetonitrile (78:22, v/v). The eluent was monitored by fluorescence with excitation and emission set at 235 and 370 nm, respectively. The assay was linear from 2 to 2000 ng/ml. Inter- and intra-day coefficients of variation for the rat-plasma assay ranged from 0.9 to 5.2% (5–2000 ng/ml) and 2.7 to 16.5% (2–2000 ng/ml), respectively. The respective coefficients of variation for the dog-plasma assay were 1.9 to 5.6% and 1.2 to 14.0%. The percent differences from the accuracy results were 12% or less. Using 0.5 ml of plasma for extraction, the minimum quantifiable limit was 2 ng/ml. This method has been used to quantify plasma levels of I in rats or dogs following 3–10 mg/kg i.v. or p.o. doses.     

Determination of solifenacin succinate, a novel muscarinic receptor antagonist, and its major metabolite in rat plasma by semi-micro high performance liquid chromatography

A sensitive and specific method for the simultaneous determination of the unchanged drug (solifenacin) and its major metabolite (M1, 4S-hydroxy solifenacin) in rat plasma was developed and validated. Both solifenacin and M1 were extracted from rat plasma by a two-step liquid-liquid extraction and analyzed by semi-micro HPLC with UV detection at an absorbance wavelength of 220 nm. The chromatographic separations were performed on a TSKgel ODS-80Ts (5 microm, 150 mmx2.0 mm i.d.) reversed-phase column with a mobile phase of 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 3.0):acetonitrile (71:29, v/v). The intra-day precision (expressed as coefficient of variation, CV) ranged from 0.4% to 1.7%, and the accuracy (expressed as relative error, RE) ranged from -5.2% to 2.0% for solifenacin. The corresponding precision ranged from 1.3% to 3.2%, and accuracy ranged from -4.0% to 8.6% for M1. The lower limit of quantitation for both solifenacin and M1 was 2 ng/ml when 1 ml of plasma was used. No endogenous interference was observed in rat plasma.     

Development and validation of a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric method for the determination of DPC 423, an antithrombotic agent,in rat and dog plasma

A sensitive and selective LC-MS-MS method for the determination of DPC 423 (I), an antithrombotic agent, is described. This method used a solid-phase extraction from 0.1 ml plasma with an Isolute C(2) cartridge. HPLC separation was carried out on a YMC ODS-AQ C(18) column (50x2 mm) at a flow-rate of 300 microliter/min with an analysis time of 5 min. Compounds were eluted using a mobile phase of H(2)O/CH(3)CN/HCOOH: 66:34:0.1 (v/v/v), pH 4.0. A structural analogue of I was used as the internal standard to account for variations in recovery and instrument response. Mass spectrometric detection was carried out with a PE Sciex API III(+) triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with a Turbo IonSpray source as the LC-MS interface. Good intra-day and inter-day assay precision (<10% CV) and accuracy (<10% difference) were observed over a concentration range of 0.005-2.5 microM in plasma. The extraction recoveries were approximately 90% and the method was found to be linear for the assay (r(2)>0.999). The method has been successfully applied to discovery and preclinical pharmacokinetic studies, including a dose range-finding study and toxicokinetic exposure studies in rat and dog.     

Development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatography method using diode array detection for the simultaneous quantification of aripiprazole and dehydro-aripiprazole in human plasma

A high-performance liquid chromatography method with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was developed for quantification of aripiprazole and dehydro-aripiprazole, in human plasma. After a simple liquid-liquid extraction, chromatographic separation was carried out on a C18 reversed-phase column, using an ammonium buffer-acetonitrile mobile phase (40:60, v/v). The total run time was only 7 min at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min. The precision values were less than 12% and the accuracy values were ranging from 98 to 113% and the lower limit of quantification was 2 ng/ml for both compounds. Calibration curves were linear over a range of 2-1000 ng/ml. The mean trough plasma concentrations in patients treated with aripiprazole were 157 and 29 ng/ml for aripiprazole and dehydro-aripiprazole, respectively.     

Estimation of carboxylic acid metabolite of clopidogrel in Wistar rat plasma by HPLC and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A new HPLC method was developed for the estimation of carboxylic acid metabolite of clopidogrel bisulfate in rat plasma using atorvastatin as internal standard. Plasma samples were extracted with a mixture of ethyl acetate and di-chloro methane (80:20, v/v) followed by subsequent reconstitution in a mixture of water:methanol:acetonitrile (40:40:20, v/v). The chromatographic separation was achieved with gradient elution on Kromasil ODS, 250 mm x 4.6 mm i.d., 5 microm analytical column maintained at 30 degrees C. Carboxylic acid metabolite of clopidogrel as well as the internal standard were detected at a wavelength of 220 nm. The method was validated as per USFDA guidelines. Calibration curves were linear in the concentration range of 125.0-32,000 ng/ml and the correlation coefficient was better than 0.999. The extraction efficiency for the carboxylic acid metabolite of clopidogrel was more than 85.76%. The intra-day accuracy ranged from 98.9% to 101.5% with a precision of 1.30% to 6.06%. Similarly, the inter-day accuracy was between 96.2% and 101.1% with a precision of 3.47% to 4.30%. The drug containing plasma samples were stable at -70 degrees C for 48 days and at ambient temperature for 24h. In the auto-sampler maintained at 15 degrees C, the processed and reconstituted samples were stable for 35 h. The drug containing frozen plasma samples were stable enough to with stand three freeze thaw cycles. The method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of the two different polymorphs of clopidogrel bisulfate in Wistar rat.     

Determination of hydroxy metabolites of polychlorinated biphenyls in plasma and tissue by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

This study examines a novel sample preparation method for the determination of 11 hydroxy metabolites of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in plasma and organ tissues, followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC/MS). The clean-up method was optimized to eliminate the interference matter by using a silica column and 10 mL of n-hexane/dichloromethane (4:6, v/v) as an eluent. Solid-phase and solvent extraction procedures were used for the plasma and tissues samples, respectively. Compared to C(18) and C(8) solid-phase, C(2) showed higher extraction efficiency with n-hexane as the eluent for plasma. The hydroxy-PCB extraction recoveries achieved with this combined extraction and clean-up procedure from plasma ranged from 87 to 117%, while those from tissues ranged from 82 to 111%. The linear detector responses for propyl derivatives of hydroxy-PCBs were obtained with the coefficients of determination varying from 0.992 to 0.998 in the concentration range of 0.1-20 ng mL(-1). The method detection limits ranged from 0.1 to 0.5 ng mL(-1) in 1 mL of plasma and from 0.1 to 0.5 ng g(-1) in 1g of tissues. This procedure was successfully applied to the study of 3-OH-2,3',4,4',5-PeCB in rat plasma and liver samples after intraperitoneal injection (20 mg/kg) of 2,3',4,4',5-PeCB.     

Determination of zolpidem in serum microsamples by high-performance liquid chromatography and its application to pharmacokinetics in rats

A single-solvent extraction step high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for quantitating zolpidem in rat serum microsamples (50 μl). The separation used a 2.1 mm I.D. reversed-phase OD-5-100 C₁₈ column, 5 μm particle size with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of methanol–acetonitrile–26 mM sodium acetate buffer (adjusted to pH 2.0 with 40% phosphoric acid) containing 0.26 mM tetrabutylammonium phosphate (13:10:77, v/v/v). The detection limit was 3 ng/ml for zolpidem using an ultraviolet detector operated at 240 nm. The recovery was greater than 87% with analysis performed in 12 min. The method is simple, rapid, and applicable to pharmacokinetic studies of zolpidem after administering two intravenous bolus doses (1 and 4 mg/kg) in rats.     

Quantitative determination of Astragaloside IV, a natural product with cardioprotective activity, in plasma, urine and other biological samples by HPLC coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

Astragaloside IV is a novel cardioprotective agent extracted from the Chinese medical herb Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch) Bge. This agent is being developed for treatment for cardiovascular disease. Further development of Astragaloside IV will require detailed pharmacokinetic studies in preclinical animal models. Therefore, we established a sensitive and accurate high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) quantitative detection method for measurement of Astragaloside IV levels in plasma, urine as well as other biological samples including bile fluid, feces and various tissues. Extraction of Astragaloside IV from plasma and other biological samples was performed by Waters OASIS(trade mark) solid phase extraction column by washing with water and eluting with methanol, respectively. An aliquot of extracted residues was injected into LC/MS/MS system with separation by a Cosmosil C18 5 microm, 150 mm x 2.0 mm) column. Acetonitrile:water containing 5 microM NaAc (40:60, v/v) was used as a mobile phase. The eluted compounds were detected by tandem mass spectrometry. The average extraction recoveries were greater than 89% for Astragaloside IV and digoxin from plasma, while extraction recovery of Astragaloside IV and digoxin from tissues, bile fluid, urine and fece ranged from 61 to 85%, respectively. Good linearity (R2>0.9999) was observed throughout the range of 10-5000 ng/ml in 0.5 ml rat plasma and 5-5000 ng/ml in 0.5 ml dog plasma. In addition, good linearity (R2>0.9999) was also observed in urine, bile fluid, feces samples and various tissue samples. The overall accuracy of this method was 93-110% for both rat plasma and dog plasma. Intra-assay and inter-assay variabilities were less than 15.03% in plasma. The lowest quantitation limit of Astragaloside IV was 10 ng/ml in 0.5 ml rat plasma and 5 ng/ml in 0.5 ml dog plasma, respectively. Practical utility of this new LC/MS/MS method was confirmed in pilot pharmacokinetic studies in both rats and dogs following intravenous administration.     

Investigation of the pharmacokinetics and determination of cholesteryl carbonate zidovudine in rat plasma by non-aqueous reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection

A simple reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method was established for the separation and quantification of a novel prodrug of zidovudine in rat plasma. Zidovudine was one of the original drugs used to treat HIV infection. Appropriate aliquots of rat plasma were spiked with cholesteryl carbonate zidovudine (AZTC) and treated with acetonitrile to precipitate plasma proteins. The supernatant after supercentrifugation was collected and an aliquot of 20 microL was injected directly into an HPLC system consisting of a Diamonsil C18 column and a diode array detector. The mobile phase consisted of methanol (85%, v/v) and diethyl ether (15%, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The extraction recoveries of AZTC at the three concentrations examined were all higher than 80%. The HPLC assay was linear over the concentration range 0.5-80 microg/mL. A one-compartment model with apparent first-order elimination was used to describe the plasma concentration-time profile for AZTC after administration via the tail vein. The mean elimination half-life (t1/2) was 292.4 min. This RP-HPLC method will be useful for the evaluation of the pharmacokinetics of AZTC in rats.     

Determination of mitiglinide in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection

A selective and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography method has been developed and validated for determination of mitiglinide (MGN) in rat plasma using 2-(4-biphenylyl) propionic acid (BPA) as internal standard. Liquid-liquid extraction was used for sample preparation. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a C(18) column using acetonitrile and 0.02 mol/l KH(2)PO(4) buffer (pH 4.0) (45:55, v/v) as mobile phase delivered at 1.0 ml/min. The UV detector was set at 210 nm. The assay was linear over the range 0.1-20 microg/ml for MGN. The average extraction recoveries of MGN and BPA from rat plasma were 98.6 and 97.4%, respectively. The developed method has been applied to the pharmacokinetic study of MGN in rats.     

Determination of scutellarin in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection

A validated high-performance liquid chromatography method is described for the determination of scutellarin in rat plasma using a liquid-liquid extraction and ultraviolet (UV) absorbance detection. The separation used a Diamonsil ODS column (250 mm x 4.6mm i.d., 5 microm particle size) with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of methanol-acetonitrile-50mM dihydrogen ammonium phosphate buffer (22:15:63 (v/v/v), adjusted to pH 2.5 with 1M phosphoric acid). The ultraviolet detector operated at 335 nm. Plasma samples were extracted with ethyl acetate after acidification. The extraction recovery of scutellarin ranged from 68.1 to 80.5%. High selectivity and a low quantitation limit (0.050 microg/ml) were achieved. The linear range was 0.050-12.5 microg/ml, correlation coefficient r=0.9981. The method has a good reproducibility, R.S.D. values were below 7.9% for within-day and between-day precision. The method is simple, rapid, and applicable to preliminary pharmacokinetic studies of scutellarin in rats.     

Determination of endogenous levels of 13-cis-retinoic acid (isotretinoin), all-trans-retinoic acid (tretinoin) and their 4-oxo metabolites in human and animal plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with automated column switching and ultraviolet detection

A highly sensitive HPLC method with automated column switching was developed for the simultaneous determination of endogenous levels of 13-cis-retinoic acid (isotretinoin), all-trans-retinoic acid (tretinoin) and their 4-oxo metabolites in plasma samples from man, Cynomolgus monkey, rabbit, rat and mouse. Plasma (0.4 ml) was deproteinated by adding ethanol (1.5 ml) containing the internal standard acitretin. After centrifugation, 1.4 ml of the supernatant were directly injected onto the precolumn packed with LiChrospher 100 RP-18 (5 μm). 1.25% ammonium acetate and acetic acid-ethanol (8:2, v/v) was used as mobile phase during injection and 1% ammonium acetate and 2% acetic acid-ethanol (102:4, v/v) was added, on-line, to decrease the elution strength of the injection solution. After backflush purging of the precolumn, the retained components were transferred to the analytical column in the backflush mode, separated by gradient elution and detected at 360 nm. Two coupled Superspher 100 RP-18 endcapped columns (both 250×4 mm) were used for the separation, together with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-water-10% ammonium acetate-acetic acid: (A) 600:300:60:10 (v/v/v/v), (B) 950:20:5:20 (v/v/v/v), and (C) 990:5:0:5 (v/v/v/v). The method was linear in the range 0.3–100 ng/ml, at least, with a quantification limit of 0.3 ng/ml. The mean recoveries from human plasma were 93.2%–94.4% and the mean inter-assay precision was 2.8%–3.2% (range 0.3–100 ng/ml). Similar results were obtained for animal plasma. The analytes were found to be stable in the plasma of all investigated species stored at −20°C for 4.3 months and at −80°C for 9 months, at least. At this temperature, human plasma samples were even stable for 2 years. The method was successfully applied to more than 6000 human and 1000 animal plasma samples from clinical and toxicokinetic studies. Endogenous levels determined in control patients and pregnant women were similar to published data from volunteers.     

Simultaneous determination of the major active components of tea polyphenols in rat plasma by a simple and specific HPLC assay

A simple and specific HPLC assay for simultaneous determination of two major active components (-) epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), and (-) epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG) of tea polyphenols (TP) in rat plasma was developed and validated. Following addition of resorcinol as internal standard (IS) the analytes were isolated from rat plasma by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a reversed-phase C18 column using an isocratic mobile phase consisting of 0.1% citric acid+CH(3)CN (86:14, v/v) running at flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. The effluent was monitored at a wavelength of 280 nm. EGCG, ECG and IS were well separated from each other and free from interference from blank plasma and other components in TP as well as metabolites post-dosing. The calibration curve was constructed by plotting peak area ratio of analytes to IS vs. concentration. The method showed good linearity over range of 0.5-300 microg/mL for EGCG and 0.1-60 microg/mL for ECG (r>0.999). The intra- and inter-day precision (R.S.D.) was better than 6 and 12%, respectively. Assay accuracy was better than 94.78% for both compounds. Extraction recovery at QC samples was between 85.73 and 91.93% for EGCG and 79.08 and 86.51% for ECG. The developed method was successfully used to simultaneously measure plasma concentrations of EGCG and ECG after intravenous administration of TP to rats and yielded two typical biexponential decay concentration-time curves.     

Simultaneous quantification of tracheloside and trachelogenin in rat plasma using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

We developed and validated a quantitative method for simultaneously determining the concentrations of tracheloside and trachelogenin in rat plasma. Plasma samples were prepared by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. Isocratic chromatographic separation was performed on a reversed-phase Diamonsil C(18) column (4.6×200 mm, 5 μm). The mobile phase consisted of methanol and 10mM aqueous ammonium formate (80:20, v/v). Analyte detection was achieved by positive electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry. Calibration was performed by internal standardization with glipizide, and regression curves ranging from 0.625 to 625 ng/mL were constructed for both the analytes. The intra- and inter-day precision values were below 8%, and accuracy ranged from -5.33% to 2.53% in all quality control samples. In this study, the validated method was successfully applied to determine the pharmacokinetic profile of tracheloside and trachelogenin in rat plasma after oral and intravenous administration of trachelospermi total lignans.