Pharmacokinetics of plantamajoside and acteoside from Plantago asiatica in rats by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

• LC–MS method was developed for simultaneous determination of plantamajoside and acteoside in rat plasma.
• The fully validated method was applied to pharmacokinetic study.
• Pharmacokinetics of two analytes in rats administered with Plantago asiatica was firstly reported.

Plantago asiatica is a medicinal and dietary plant rich in polyphenolic compounds such as phenylpropanoid glycosides plantamajoside and acteoside. The aims of the present study were to develop a new and sensitive method for simultaneous determination of plantamajoside and acteoside and investigate their pharmacokinetic properties in rats. A sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method with multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was employed for quantification of two analytes in rat plasma. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.2–200 ng/ml with correlation coefficient greater than 0.9983 for both analytes. The accuracy of plantamajoside and acteoside were between −4.2% and 8.1%, −3.8% and 8.9% relative error, respectively. Precision for the two analytes ranged from 2.7 to 10.2% relative standard deviation. The pharmacokinetic results showed plantamajoside and acteoside were quickly absorbed in rat with the time to maximum plasma concentration 16.7 ± 2.8 and 13.3 ± 2.8 min, respectively. The elimination constants were 0.28 ± 0.01 1 h−1 for plantamajoside and 0.47 ± 0.03 1 h−1 for acteoside. The developed method and the pharmacokinetic data provide a basis for further studies on bioactivity of P. asiatica.

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