Determination of galangin in rat plasma by UPLC and pharmacokinetic study

• A UPLC method was fully validated to determine galangin in rat plasma.
• This is the most sensitive analysis for galangin.
• The plasma sample was prepared by liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate.
• Galangin was analyzed in rat plasma up to 2 h after administration.

In this study, a simple, sensitive, and robust analytical method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) has been developed for the determination of galangin in rat plasma using diazepam as internal standard (IS). After sample preparation by a simple liquid–liquid extraction, chromatography was performed on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 1.7 μm particle size) and ultraviolet detection set at a wavelength of 360 nm. The method was linear over the concentration range 10–1000 ng/mL with a lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 10 ng/mL. Inter- and intra-day precision (RSD %) were all within 9.5% and the accuracy (RE %) was equal or lower than 8.9%. Recoveries of galangin and IS were more than 78.3%. Stability studies showed that galangin was stable under a variety of storage conditions. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study involving oral administration of galangin to rats.