Quantitative determination of sarsasapogenin in rat plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Sarsasapogenin, a natural compound from Chinese medical herb Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bge., has recently received a great deal of attention due to its various bioactivities. In this study, an easy and applicable liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of sarsasapogenin in rat plasma was developed. Sample preparation was accomplished through a simple one-step protein precipitation procedure with methanol. Negative electrospray ionization was performed using multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode with transitions of m/z 417.4/273.2 for sarsasapogenin, and 415.2/271.4 for diosgenin (internal standard). The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.5-500 ng/mL (r = 0.9994), with a lower limit of quantification at 0.5 ng/mL. The RSD of intra- and inter-day precision was below 6.41%, and accuracy ranged from 87.60% to 99.20%. The RSD of matrix effect and recovery yield was within ±15% of nominal concentrations and sarsasapogenin was stable during stability tests. This validated method had been successfully applied to the preclinical pharmacokinetic studies of sarsasapogenin in rats. The half-life (t1/2) was (15.1 ± 2.3), (16.1 ± 3.0) and (15.4 ± 3.9) h after single intragastric administration of 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg sarsasapogenin, respectively. And it was found that, the area under the plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC0-72h) and the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) were linearly related to dose.