Development of Sensitive Analytical Method of Rhodanthpyrone A by a LC-MS/MS and its Application to Bioavailability Study in Rats

A sensitive analytical method of rhodanthpyrone A in rat plasma was developed using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Rhodanthpyrone A and rhodanthpyrone B (internal standard) in rat plasma were extracted by a liquid-liquid extraction method with ethyl acetate. This extraction method gave results in high and reproducible extraction recovery in the range of 73.75-79.90% with no interfering peaks around the peak elution time of rhodanthpyrone A and B. The standard calibration curves for rhodanthpyrone A ranged from 0.5 to 2000 ng/mL were linear with $r^2$ > 0.994 and the inter- and intra-day accuracy and precision and the stability were within acceptance criteria. Using this validated analytical method, pharmacokinetics of rhodanthpyrone A following intravenous and oral administration of rhodanthpyrone A at doses of 2 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg, respectively, were investigated. Rhodanthpyrone A in rat plasma showed multi-exponential elimination pattern with high clearance and volume of distribution values. The absolute oral bioavailability of this compound was calculated as 3.7%. Collectively, the newly developed sensitive LC-MS/MS analytical method of rhodanthpyrone A could be successfully applied to investigate the pharmacokinetic properties of this compound and would be useful for the further studies on the efficacy, toxicity, and biopharmaceutics of rhodanthpyrone A.