Validated LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of seven components of Naodesheng in rat serum after oral administration and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A simple, precise and reliable LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of vitexin, notoginsenoside R1, hydroxysafflor yellow A, ginsenoside Rd, puerarin, daidzein and senkyunolide I as components of Naodesheng (NDS) in rat serum. The Linearity ranges in rat serum were 0.045-4.5 μg/mL for vitexin, 0.0476-4.76 μg/mL for notoginsenoside R1, 0.0422-4.22 μg/mL for hydroxysafflor yellow A, 0.0426-4.26 μg/mL for ginsenoside Rd, 0.0436-4.36 μg/mL for puerarin, 0.026-2.6 μg/mL for daidzein, and 0.05-5 μg/mL for senkyunolide I, with the correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The established method was validated in terms of intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy, recovery, matrix effect and stability. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied for pharmacokinetic study of these seven components in rat serum after oral administration of NDS.