Cloud point extraction–HPLC method for the determination and pharmacokinetic study of aristolochic acids in rat plasma after oral administration of Aristolochiae Fructus

• CPE with Genapol X-080 as solvent was used in the concentration of AAs in rat plasma.
• Compare with LLE, the CPE method has higher extraction efficiency and a considerable LOD.
• The proposed CPE–HPLC method is economic, environmentally friendly, specific, sensitive and effective.
• Pharmacokinetics of AAs were investigated after oral administration of AF by rats.

Based on cloud-point extraction (CPE), a high performance liquid chromatography method (HPLC) was developed and validated for the determination of aristolochic acids (AAs) in rat plasma after oral administration of Aristolochiae Fructus (AF). Non-ionic surfactant Genapol X-080, an environmentally friendly solvent, was used for the micelle-mediated extraction. Various influencing factors on CPE process were investigated and optimized. AAs were extracted from rat plasma after adding 1 ml of 4.5% (v/v) surfactant in the presence of 0.2 mol/l HCl and 20 mg NaCl, and the incubation temperature and time were 50 °C and 10 min, respectively. Base-line separation was obtained for the AAs in rat plasma with the optimized chromatography conditions. The detection limits (LOD) reached downward 10 ng/ml. The intra-day and inter-day precisions were less than 7.8%, the accuracies were within ±5.5%, and the average recovery factors were in the range of 94.5–105.4%. In comparison with liquid–liquid extraction, the CPE method has a considerable LOD and higher recoveries. The proposed CPE–HPLC method was specific, sensitive and reliable, and could be an effective tool for the determination of AAs in biological matrixes. With the method the pharmacokinetics of AAs were investigated successfully after oral administration of AF by rats.