Analysis of bioactive components and pharmacokinetics of Caulophyllum robustum in rat plasma after oral administration by UPLC–ESI–MS/MS

A UPLC–MS/MS method was developed and validated the determination and pharmacokinetic study of magnoflorine, cauloside C, hederagenin, and oleanolic acid from Caulophyllum robustum. Digoxin was used as the internal standard. The pretreated plasma samples were carried out on a Waters ACQUITYUPLC HSS T3 column at 35°C with a mobile phase of acetonitrile–water (90:10, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. This article describes the most simple, sensitive, and validated UPLC–MS/MS method to date for the simultaneous successful determination of four compounds in rat plasma after oral administration of the extract of C. robustum and their pharmacokinetic studies.