Development and validation of LC–MS/MS method for quantification of pseudolaric acid B from the root bark of Pseudolarix kaempferi in rat plasma: Application to a pharmacokinetic study

•An LC–MS/MS was developed and validated for the determination of PAB in rat plasma.•Detection was performed on a triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer in the MRM mode.•This method was first applied in pharmacokinetic study after intravenous administrations of PAB.

Pseudolaric acid B (PAB), which is the main biologically active diterpene acid of Pseudolarix kaempferi, has presented anti-fungal, anti-tumor, anti-fertility, and anti-tubulin activities. In this study, a sensitive and selective liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method with multiple-reaction monitoring mode was employed for quantification of PAB in rat plasma. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.86–288 ng/mL with correlation coefficient (r) greater than 0.995 for PAB, and the lower limit of quantification was 0.86 ng/mL in rat plasma. The accuracy of PAB was between −9.1% and 7.0% relative error, and precision ranged from 1.2 to 10.6% relative standard deviation. This method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic studies of PAB in Sprague-Dawley rats. After single intravenous administration of 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 mg/kg PAB to rats, the t1/2 were (16.1 ± 5.6), (30.0 ± 13.7), and (27.4 ± 5.3) min, respectively. The pharmacokinetics (C2 min, AUC) of PAB within the used dosage range were in accordance with linear pharmacokinetic characteristics.

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