Pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution study of eight volatile constituents in rats orally administrated with the essential oil of Artemisiae argyi Folium by GC–MS/MS

Artemisia argyi is commonly used as a remedy for gynecological and respiratory disease in traditional Chinese medicine. The essential oil is considered as the major active ingredients of A. argyi, mainly composed of eucalyptol, α-thujone, camphor, borneol, bornyl acetate, eugenol, β-caryophyllene, and caryophyllene oxide, while limited study addresses the in vivo disposition of these volatile ingredients. In present study, a rapid, sensitive and selective GC-MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the quantification of the eight volatile constituents in rat plasma and tissues after orally dosing with the essential oil of Artemisiae Argyi Folium (AAEO) using naphthalene as an internal standard (IS). The analytes were extracted from biosamples by liquid-liquid extraction with hexane/ethyl acetate. The GC separation was achieved on a TG-5SILMS column (30 m × 0.25 mm, 0.25 μm film thickness) and MS detection was performed on selective reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. The assay had a lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) less than 2 ng/ml for the analytes with good linearity (r ≥ 0.9907). Their disposition profile in rat plasma and tissues was characterized after orally giving AAEO, and the data revealed the analytes underwent rapid absorption from GI tract and were mainly transferred to the liver, heart, kidney, lung, and spleen with prompt elimination. The results provided a meaningful basis for guiding the pharmacodynamic study and clinical applications of this herbal medicine.