Development and validation of a simple and rapid UPLC-MS/MS for determination of ginsenoside Rb1 in rat plasma and its pharmacokinetics

Ginsenoside Rb1, as one of the main active ingredients of ginseng, has rich pharmacological effects and has been proven to have antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory effects. In our work, a sensitive and selective UPLC-MS/MS method for determination of ginsenoside Rb1 in rat plasma was developed. Ziyuglycoside I was used as internal standard, protein precipitation by acetonitrile was used for plasma sample treatment. UPLC separation was achieved on a C18 with 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as the mobile phase with gradient elution. Multiple reactions monitoring mode was used for quantification, m/z 1154→1108 for ginsenoside Rb1, and m/z 811→603 for internal standard. Calibration plots were linear throughout the range 5–3,000 ng mL −1 . The recoveries ranged from 90.7% to 95.7%. RSD of intra-day and inter-day precision were less than 11.5%. The accuracy was between 91.4% and 111.5%. The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic study of ginsenoside Rb1 after intravenous and oral administration in rats. The bioavailability of ginsenoside Rb1 was found to be 0.41%.