The bioavailability and excretion of an antitussive compound IAsp-N-Glc in rats by validated UPLC-MS/MS methods

IAsp-N-Glc is a potential antitussive agent that is first reported to be isolated from Ginkgo Semen, but the bioavailability and excretion of IAsp-N-Glc are unknown. Therefore, we carried out our study to obtain the bioavailability and excretion profiles of IAsp-N-Glc in rats. Rapid, specific, and reliable quantification methods for the measurement of IAsp-N-Glc in rat plasma and fecal samples by using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry were developed and validated. A C18 column was used for the separation of IAsp-N-Glc and internal standards, and water (containing 0.1% formic acid) and acetonitrile were chosen as the mobile phase for the separation in the flow-gradient mode. In the ranges of 37.5-7500 ng/mL and 120-30000 ng/mL, the calibration curves of IAsp-N-Glc exhibited satisfactory linearity for plasma and fecal samples with each linear correlation coefficient higher than 0.99, respectively. The methods were reproducible and reliable. The analytes were stable, and no apparent matrix effects were observed. The bioanalytical methods were successfully used to study the pharmacokinetics and excretion of IAsp-N-Glc in rats. Oral administration of IAsp-N-Glc exhibited a low absolute oral bioavailability (1.83±0.09%), and 59.63±6.29% of IAsp-N-Glc was excreted in feces. This report is the first to describe the bioavailability and excretion of IAsp-N-Glc in rats and will lay the foundation for the in-depth study and drug development of IAsp-N-Glc.