Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric analysis of oleracone D and its application to pharmacokinetic study in mice

Abstract

We have demonstrated a sensitive analytical method of measuring oleracone D in mouse plasma using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Oleracone D and oleracone F (internal standard) in mouse plasma samples were processed using a liquid-liquid extraction method with methyl tertbutyl ether, resulting in high and reproducible extraction recovery (80.19-82.49 %). No interfering peaks around the peak elution time of oleracone D and oleracone F were observed. The standard calibration curves for oleracone D ranged from 0.5 to 100 ng/mL and were linear with r2 of 0.992. The inter- and intra-day accuracy and precision and the stability fell within the acceptance criteria. The pharmacokinetics of oleracone D following intravenous and oral administration of oleracone D at doses of 5 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg, respectively, were investigated. When oleracone D was intravenously injected, it had first-order elimination kinetics with high clearance and volume of distribution values. The absolute oral bioavailability of this compound was calculated as 0.95 %, with multi-exponential kinetics. The low aqueous solubility and a high oral dose of oleracone D may explain the different elimination kinetics of oleracone D between intravenous and oral administration. Collectively, this newly developed sensitive LC-MS/MS method of oleracone D could be successfully utilized for investigating the pharmacokinetic properties of this compound and could be used in future studies for the lead optimization and biopharmaceutic investigation of oleracone D.