A sensitive and reliable high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method, using a solid-phase extraction (SPE), was developed and validated for determination of leucovorin (LV) in human plasma. Plasma sample was extracted by using a Sep-Pak cartridge which could be renewable. The sample was analyzed by HPLC with UV detection at 286 nm. The method was shown to perform selectively and sensitively for LV. The main metabolite of LV, 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid, and endogenous substances in plasma did not show any interference in the analysis. The limit of detection was 10 ng/mL for LV in plasma and the linear range was 50-1500 ng/mL in plasma. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of intra-day and inter-day assays was 2.8-6.1% and 2.4-5.3%, respectively. The extraction recoveries of LV in plasma were over 90%. The method was proved to be applicable to the pharmacokinetic study of LV in healthy volunteers after a single oral administration (75 mg). The pharmacokinetic parameters and relative bioavailability were investigated for domestic LV tablet and capsule vs an imported tablet.

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