Comparative Pharmacokinetic Studies on Ginsenosides in the Normal and Ultrafine Granular Powder of Panax ginseng by Using UHPLC-MS/MS

Abstract

Abstract Pharmacokinetic Studies on 5 major ginsenosides (Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd and Re) in the normal and ultrafine pulverization of Panax ginseng were compared in rats. An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) method was established for analyzing 5 ginsenosides of Panax ginseng ultrafine granular powder (UGP; D90 < 45µm) and common powder (CP; 150–250µm). A Syncronls C18 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.7 µm) was used in this experiment with a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min at 35°C by linear gradient elution using acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% formic acid. The identification and quantification of ginsenosides were performed in a multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) tandem mass system with electrospray ionization (ESI) source in the negative ionization mode. This method was applied to quantitative analysis of ginsenosides of UGP and CP in vitro and in vivo. The in vitro dissolution characteristics of UGP and CP were investigated, and Then the pharmacokinetic differences of the above 5 ginsenosides in rats plasma after oral administration of UGP and CP were simultaneously studied. Dioscin was selected as the internal standard. The dissolution amount of UGP and CP in vitro was measured and the dissolution curve was drawn. Through the pharmacokinetic parameters, including Cmax, Tmax, AUC (0-t), etc., the relative bioavailability of the target ginsenosides in these two preparations was determined. The results show that ginseng UGP has higher relative bioavailability than CP, and there were significant differences between the pharmacokinetic parameters after oral administration of UGP and CP. The present study provides scientific information for further exploration of the pharmacology of ginseng and offers a reference for clinical administration of ginseng UGP.