Determination and pharmacokinetics of violanthin in mouse plasma by UPLC-MS/MS

Abstract Violanthin, a compound isolated from the stems of Dendrobium officinale , exhibits potent antioxidant and antibacterial activities. However, no research has been conducted on the identification of violanthin in mouse plasma using UPLC-MS/MS. The present study aims to develop a selective UPLC-MS/MS method for the quantification of violanthin in mouse plasma. Samples were prepared using acetonitrile for protein precipitation, with aconitine as an internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was achieved on a UPLC HSS T3 column with acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase. Quantification was performed in multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode, targeting fragment ions m / z 579.6→457.2 for violanthin and m / z 646.6→586.5 for IS. Mouse blood samples were collected at different time points following intravenous (4 mg kg −1 ) and oral (30 mg kg −1 ) administration of violanthin. The calibration plots for violanthin in mouse plasma exhibited a linear trend across the entire range of 5–2,000 ng mL −1 , with both intra-day and inter-day precision RSDs below 10%. The bioavailability was determined to be 24.3%. This UPLC-MS/MS method effectively facilitated pharmacokinetic studies of violanthin in mice.