Determination of atractylodin in rat plasma by HPLC-UV method and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A simple and rapid method for quantification of atractylodin in rat plasma was developed by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection for the first time. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and water (76:24, v/v). The wavelength was set at 340nm. The calibration curve ranged from 0.025-5.0 μg/mL. Both accuracy and precision were satisfactory. This new method was applied to pharmacokinetics of atractylodin after oral administration of 30g/Kg Atractylodis Rhizoma and intravenous administration of 2mg/Kg of single atractylodin to rats. For oral administration, the main pharmacokinetic parameters C _max, T _max, T _0.5, and k _e were 1.93±0.9mg/L, 2.25±0.5hr, 8.08±1.3hr, and 0.09±0.02/hr, respectively. For intravenous administration, T _0.5, Ke, Vc, and CL were 3.30±0.38hr, 0.21±0.02/hr, 31.7±5.8L/kg, and 6.59±1.1L/h/kg, respectively.