Simultaneous quantification of Polyphyllin D and Paris H, two potential antitumor active components in Paris polyphylla by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and the application to pharmacokinetics in rats

Polyphyllin D and Paris H are two potential antitumor active components in Paris polyphylla, one of the Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs). The present study details the development and validation of a rapid, sensitive and accurate LC–ESI-MS/MS method for the separation and simultaneous determination of Polyphyllin D and Paris H in rat plasma using Ginsenoside Rh2 as the internal standard (IS). A simple protein precipitation method was used for the preparation of plasma sample. Chromatographic separation was successfully achieved on an Agilent Zorbax C18 column using a step gradient program with the mobile phase of 10 mmol/L aqueous ammonium acetate and acetonitrile. Both analytes were detected by negative mode electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) was applied for all monitored analytes. This method demonstrated good linearity and did not show any endogenous interference. The lower limits of quantification (LLOQs) of Polyphyllin D and Paris H were both 1.0 ng/mL using 100 μL rat plasma. The average recoveries of Polyphyllin D and Paris H from rat plasma were both above 80%. The inter-day precisions (%RSD) of both analytes determined in five days were all below 15%. The developed and validated method has been successfully applied in the simultaneous quantification and pharmacokinetic studies of Polyphyllin D and Paris H in rats.