Simultaneous determination of ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rd, Rb1 and ophiopogonin D in rat plasma by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometric method and its application to pharmacokinetic study of ‘SHENMAI’ injection

A sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography–mass spectrometric method for the simultaneous determination of ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rd, Rb1 and ophiopogonin D in rat plasma was developed and validated. Chromatographic separation was performed on a C18 column using a step gradient program with the mobile phase of 0.5 mmol/L ammonium chloride solution and acetonitrile. The analytes and I.S. were detected using an electrospray negative ionization mass spectrometry in the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The method was linear over the investigated concentration range with a good correlation coefficient higher than 0.997. The lower limits of detection (LLOD) of these analytes were all lower than 2.0 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precisions were all no more than 7.5% and accuracies were within the range of 97.5–107.0%. The validated method was successfully applied to investigate the pharmacokinetics of ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rd, Rb1 and ophiopogonin D in rat after intravenous administration of ‘SHENMAI’ injection.