| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1212220 | Journal of Chromatography B | 2015 | 9 Pages |
•Home-made pipette tip extraction was developed for the flavonoids analysis in serum.•The tip extraction had faster extraction time, less sample and less solvent.•The method was used to study the pharmacokinetics of the flavonoids in rats.
Epimedii herba is a traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of osteoporosis. Epimedin A, B and C and icariin are the primary effective ingredients of this medicine. In this study, a simple and low-cost method based on pipette tip solid-phase extraction, high-performance liquid chromatography separation, and diode array detection has been developed for the simultaneous analysis of four flavonoids (epimedin A, B and C and icariin) from Epimedii herba in rat serum samples. In this novel extraction configuration, the sorbents were placed between a filter (hollow fiber) and the pipette tip. Pipette tip solid-phase extraction has several advantages compared to conventional extraction methods: faster extraction time (6.0 min); lower sample volume (100 μL); lower solvent volume (100 μL); and less solvent waste. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the method showed good linearity (0.05–10.0 μg mL−1), acceptable intra- and inter precision (RSD < 6%), low limits of quantification (0.027–0.045 μg mL−1) and satisfactory relative recoveries (98.63–103.18%). This method was successfully applied to investigate the pharmacokinetics of the major flavonoids in Epimedii herba extract after oral administration to rats (10 g kg−1 body weight). The primary pharmacokinetic parameters for rats were determined as follows: Cmax, 0.45–4.11 μg mL−1; Tmax, 0.21–0.26 h; t1/2α, 0.06–0.12 h; t1/2β, 2.02–3.48 h; AUC0–∞: 0.50–2.58 μg h mL−1; CL, 19.53–44.72 L kg−1 h−1; and MRT0–∞, 2.25–3.77 h. The developed method has the potential to promulgate the pharmacokinetics and provide more information for clinical applications.
