An LC–MS/MS method for determination of jujuboside A in rat plasma and its application to pharmacokinetic studies

A novel, simple, and sensitive method for the determination of jujuboside A in rat plasma using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was developed. Following solid-phase extraction, measurement of jujuboside A was performed by negative ion electrospray ionization (ESI) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The limit of detection was 1.25 ng/mL, and the lower limit of quantification was 5 ng/mL in rat plasma. Good linearity was obtained over the range of 6.25–500 ng/mL, and the correlation coefficient was better than 0.998. The intra- and inter-day precisions ranged 4.4–7.5% and 2.9–10.7%, respectively. The accuracy derived from QC samples ranged 3.2–7.8% and 2.2–3.5%, respectively. The recovery ranged from 72.9 to 75.1% and the matrix effect from 96.7 to 105.3%. The analyte was stable under various conditions (at room temperature, during freeze–thaw, in the autosampler and under deep-freeze conditions). The developed method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study in rats.