Plasma Pharmacokinetics, Bioavailability, and Tissue Distribution of Four C-Glycosyl Flavones from Mung Bean (Vigna radiata L.) Seed Extracts in Rat by Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

The main polyphenols in mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) seed (MBS), an edible legume with various biological activities, are C-glycosyl flavones (vitexin, isovitexin, isovitexin-6″-O-α-l-glucoside, and dulcinoside). In our study, a validated ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was developed to quantitate the concentrations of four C-glycosyl flavones from MBS extracts in the plasma and various tissues of rats and successfully applied to study their pharmacological profile and tissue distribution in vivo. Four C-glycosyl flavones were rapidly absorbed after oral administration, achieving a C_max at around 1.5 h, and they could be distributed widely and rapidly in tested tissues. The concentrations of four C-glycosyl flavones in all of the tested tissues decreased obviously in 4 h, which indicated that there was not a trend of long-term accumulation of them. This is the first time to report on pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution studies of four C-glycosyl flavones in rat. The results provided a significative basis for the application of MBS.