A rapid HPLC/ESI-MS method for the quantitative determination of oridonin in rat plasma

A rapid and accurate method using liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection (HPLC/ESI-MS) was developed and validated for the determination of oridonin in rat plasma. The analytes were extracted with ethyl acetate-n-butyl alcohol (100:2, v/v) after spiking the samples with ethyl hydroxybenzoate (internal standard). The separation was carried out on a Diamon-sil C18 column with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of methanol-water (80:20, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of the method was 10 ng/ml and the linear range was 10-4000 ng/ml. The intra-day and inter-day accuracy and precision of the assay were less than 9%. This method has been applied successfully to a preliminary pharmacokinetic study involving the intravenous administration of oridonin to rats.