Pharmacokinetics of Ginsenosides Rg1, Re and Notoginsenoside R1 in Rats by an in vivo Microdialysis Coupled with Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

The pharmacokinetic profiles of ginsenosides Rg1, Re and notoginsenoside R1, major active components of Xuesaitong injection, were firstly studied in Sprague-Dawley rats by the microdialysis technique, which is semi-invastive and need less animals. Without pretreatment, the dialysate samples were eluted on a Zorbax Eclipse SB-C₁₈ (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 3.5 μm) column and quantified by monitoring the ions at m/z 859 (GRg1), m/z 931 (NR1) and m/z 945 (GRe) in negative electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by fitting the accumulative area under curve to time, which avoids the system deviation about parameter estimation. Their disposition kinetics could be adequately described by a twoor one-compartment model with first-order elimination. Comparing with the conventional serial blood sampling, microdialysis sampling approach could potentially yield more reliable pharmacokinetic data due to the intensive sampling time points, especially for rapidly eliminated drugs.