Development and validation of UPLC–MS/MS method for determination of eupatilin in rat plasma and its application in a pharmacokinetics study

Abstract

Eupatilin, mainly derived from Artemisia asiatica (Asteraceae), is an O-methylated flavone with various bioactivities. In the present study, a validated ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) method was established for the quantification of eupatilin in rat plasma with the internal standard (IS) of tussilagone and the protein precipitation of plasma samples was performed using acetonitrile–methanol (9:1, v/v). The eupatilin and IS were eluted separately on a UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.7 μm) with the gradient mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile. The protonated analytes were quantified by multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source operated in positive ion mode. The calibration plots were found to be linear over the range from 2 to 1000 ng/mL for eupatilin in rat plasma. Both of the intra-day and inter-day precision variations (RSDs) were ≤13%. The recoveries of eupatilin in rat plasma were between 83.7% and 94.6%, and the accuracy of the method ranged from 95.8% to 107.6%. In addition, the validated method was applied to pharmacokinetic study of eupatilin after an intravenous dose of 2 mg/kg to rats.