Determination of the content of the active component of Gratiola officinalis L. extract cucurbitacin B by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry after administation to laboratory animals

Objective: to develop and validate a chromatograph mass spectrometric method for the quantitative determination of cucurbitacin B in mouse plasma and liver, kidney, and heart homogenates, and to evaluate the blood cucurbitacin B levels and concentration dynamics following a single oral administration. Material and methods. An Agilent Technologies 1260 Infinity II high-performance liquid chromatograph and an AB Sciex QTrap 3200 MD mass spectrometer were used to develop the method for the quantitative determination of cucurbitacin B. Chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent InfinityLab Poroshell 120 EC-C18 analytical column with a gradient mobile phase. Mouse plasma sample preparation consisted of protein precipitation with methanol. Results. To study the pharmacokinetics of the components of the Grapevine officinalis extract, a bioanalytical method for determining cucurbitacin B in mouse plasma using high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was developed, and cucurbitacin B identification parameters were selected (lower limit of quantification). Conclusion. To determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of cucurbitacin B, it is necessary to search for other analytes – cucurbitacin B metabolites. Consequently, it is impossible to construct a pharmacokinetic curve for cucurbitacin B. The metrological characteristics of the method allow it to be used for the analytical portion of pharmacokinetic studies of both individual substances and plant extracts.