Pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution study of schisandrin B in rats by ultra-fast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.

A rapid, sensitive and high throughput ultra-fast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) method was established and validated for the determination of schisandrin B in rat plasma and various tissues (including heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney). The biological samples were prepared by protein precipitation, and the separation was achieved on a shim-pack XR-ODS C18 column (75 mm × 3.0 mm, 2.2 μm) with a mobile phase consisting of methanol-0.1% formic acid water (85:15, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The MS/MS detection was performed on an API 3200 QTRAP mass spectrometry equipped with electrospray ionization (ESI) source using multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode by monitoring the fragmentation of m/z 401.2→300.2 for schisandrin B and m/z 271.2→203.1 for imperatorin (internal standard, IS). The calibration curve was linear in the range of 1-500 ng/mL for plasma and tissue homogenates (r ≥ 0.9927). The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 1 ng/mL. The validated method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution study of schisandrin B after oral administration to rats. The pharmacokinetic curve showed double peaks after oral administration, which demonstrated that a hepatoenteral circulation may exist. Tissue distribution showed the highest level was observed in liver, then in kidney, which indicated schisandrin B was mainly accumulated in liver and renal excretion might be a main elimination route.