UHPLC-MS simultaneous determination and pharmacokinetic study of three aromatic acids and one monoterpene in rat plasma after oral administration of Shaofu Zhuyu decoction.

We developed a sensitive and rapid method for determination of ferulic acid, caffeic acid, vanillic acid, and paeoniflorin in rat plasma based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The separation of the four compounds was carried out on an AcQuity UHPLC™ BEH C18 column using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water (containing 0.1% formic acid). Electrospray ionization in positive and negative ion mode and multiple reaction monitoring was used to identify and quantify active components. All calibration curves gave good linearity (r > 0.991) over the concentration range from 4.24-2875 ngmL(-1) for all components. The precision of the in vivo study was evaluated by intraday and interday assays and the percentages of RSD were all within 10.6%. The recovery ranged from 60.2 to 77.9%. The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic study of all three aromatic acids and one monoterpene in rat plasma. Furthermore, we compared the pharmacokinetics profile of the four compounds in normal and primary dysmenorrhea rats' plasma following oral administration of Shaofu Zhuyu decoction (SFZYD) and its ethanol supernatant extract (SFE).