<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><italic>Rhizoma Anemarrhenae</italic> is a well-known herbal medicine with saponins as its commonly regarded major bioactive components. It is essential to classify the properties of saponins which are associated with their toxicity and efficacy. In this study, 25 compounds were identified by HPLC-Q-TOF/MS in the extract of <italic>Rhizoma Anemarrhenae</italic> and 8 saponins were detected in rat plasma by HPLC-MS/MS after oral administration of this extract. These were neomangiferin, mangiferin, timosaponin E1, timosaponin E, timosaponin B-II, timosaponin B-III, timosaponin A-III and timosaponin A-I. A sensitive and accurate HPLC-MS/MS method was developed and successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of the abovementioned eight saponins after oral administration of the <italic>Rhizoma Anemarrhenae</italic> extract to rats. The method validation, including specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, recovery, matrix effect and robustness, met the requirements of the intended use. The pharmacokinetic parameter, <italic>T</italic>max value, ranged from 2 to 8 h for these eight saponins whereas their elimination half-life <italic>(t</italic>1/2) ranged from 4.06 to 9.77 h, indicating slow excretion. The plasma concentrations of these eight saponins were all very low, indicating a relatively low oral bioavailability. All these results provide support for further clinical studies.</abstract>

Rhizoma Anemarrhenae is a well-known herbal medicine with saponins as its commonly regarded major bioactive components. It is essential to classify the properties of saponins which are associated with their toxicity and efficacy. In this study, 25 compounds were identified by HPLC-Q-TOF/MS in the extract of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae and 8 saponins were detected in rat plasma by HPLC-MS/MS after oral administration of this extract. These were neomangiferin, mangiferin, timosaponin E1, timosaponin E, timosaponin B-II, timosaponin B-III, timosaponin A-III and timosaponin A-I. A sensitive and accurate HPLC-MS/MS method was developed and successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of the abovementioned eight saponins after oral administration of the Rhizoma Anemarrhenae extract to rats. The method validation, including specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, recovery, matrix effect and robustness, met the requirements of the intended use. The pharmacokinetic parameter, Tmax value, ranged from 2 to 8 h for these eight saponins whereas their elimination half-life (t1/2) ranged from 4.06 to 9.77 h, indicating slow excretion. The plasma concentrations of these eight saponins were all very low, indicating a relatively low oral bioavailability. All these results provide support for further clinical studies.

Identification and pharmacokinetics of saponins in <italic>Rhizoma Anemarrhenae</italic> after oral administration to rats by HPLC-Q-TOF/MS and HPLC-MS/MS

Department of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital

Acta Pharmaceutica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Identification and pharmacokinetics of saponins in  after oral administration to rats by HPLC-Q-TOF/MS and HPLC-MS/MS

Rhizoma Anemarrhenae is a well-known herbal medicine with saponins as its commonly regarded major bioactive components. It is essential to classify the...

Identification and pharmacokinetics of saponins in Rhizoma Anemarrhenae after oral administration to rats by HPLC-Q-TOF/MS and HPLC-MS/MS

Published Online: Apr 03, 2021

Page range: 567 - 585

Accepted: Oct 09, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/acph-2021-0033

Keywords
saponin, identification, pharmacokinetics, HPLC-Q-TOF/MS, HPLC-MS/MS

© 2021 Hai-Qiao Wang et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Identification and pharmacokinetics of saponins in Rhizoma Anemarrhenae after oral administration to rats by HPLC-Q-TOF/MS and HPLC-MS/MS

Published Online: Apr 03, 2021

Page range: 567 - 585

Accepted: Oct 09, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/acph-2021-0033

Keywordssaponin, identification, pharmacokinetics, HPLC-Q-TOF/MS, HPLC-MS/MS

© 2021 Hai-Qiao Wang et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
saponin, identification, pharmacokinetics, HPLC-Q-TOF/MS, HPLC-MS/MS