Pharmacokinetic study of ginsenoside Rc and simultaneous determination of its metabolites in rats using RRLC-Q-TOF-MS.

A rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with quadruple-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RRLC-Q-TOF-MS) method was developed for pharmacokinetic study of ginsenoside Rc and applied in the simultaneous determination of ginsenoside Rc metabolites in rats. The experimental results indicate that the concentration versus time profile of ginsenoside Rc shows a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model after intravenous administration of ginsenoside Rc at a dosage of 0.4mg/kg for rats. In the metabolic study, prototype ginsenoside Rc and its deglycosylated metabolites Mb, Mc, and compound K were characterized by comparing the retention time (tR), accurate mass, and characteristic MS/MS fragment ions with standard compounds. The experiments show that part of the ginsenoside Rc was excreted through urine as prototype and part was metabolized into metabolites Mb and Mc after intravenous administration. In contrast, most of ginsenoside Rc were transformed into Mc and CK in feces after oral administration. The in vivo metabolic pathway of ginsenoside Rc was summarized.