Simultaneous determination of three flavonoid C-glycosides in mice biosamples by HPLC–ESI-MS method after oral administration of Abrus mollis extract and its application to biodistribution studies

A simple HPLC–ESI-MS method was developed for the determination of vicenin-2 (1), isoschaftoside (2), and schaftoside (3) of Abrus mollis extract in mice plasma and tissues (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys). The separation was achieved by HPLC on a Shim-Pack CLC-ODS column with a mobile phase composed of 0.1% formic acid (mobile phase A, 72%) and methanol–isopropanol (9:1) (mobile phase B, 28%). The electrospray source of the MS was operated in the selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode at m/z 593 ([M−H]−) for 1, and 563 ([M−H]−) for 2 and 3, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) of 1–3 was in the range of 8.5–12.6 ng/mL for plasma, and 32.5–49.4 ng/g for tissue tested. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was found to be 25 ng/mL for plasma, and 100 ng/g for tissue. The calibration curves were linear in all matrices (r2 > 0.994) in the concentration range of 25–500 ng/mL in plasma or 100–1250 ng/g in tissue, respectively. Intra-day and inter-day precision studies demonstrate that the method is precise with coefficients of variation intra-day and inter-day below 5.9 and 7.4% for all the samples, respectively. The recoveries of three flavonoid C-glycosides ranged from 95.3 to 106.4% for plasma, and 92.6 to 107.3% for tissues. Following oral administration of A. mollis extract to mice at a dose of 72 mg/kg, the concentrations of 1–3 in plasma and tissues were quantifiable in bio-samples collected up to 180 min. The method described is suitable for studies on the distribution of three flavonoid C-glycosides of A. mollis extract in plasma and different tissues of mice.