Saponin PH, akemisaponins E, saponin PJ 1 and scheffoleoside A, the main bioactive triterpene saponins of Chinese traditional medicine Akebia trifoliata, contribute to its diuretic pharmacological activity. Because of interactions of the multiple ingredients in vivo, pharmacokinetic studies of multiple triterpenes after administration of A. trifoliata extract are essential to clarify their pharmacological effects. The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient and sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of these four triterpene saponins in rat plasma.The biosamples were prepared by liquid-liquid extraction with n-butanol. The chromatographic separation was performed on a Phenomenex Luna ® C 18 (150 × 2 mm, 3 μm) with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. The MS/MS system was operated in a negative multiple reaction monitoring mode, and the precursor-product ion transitions were optimized as m/z 941.6 → 471.1 for saponin PH, 941.7 → 471.2 for akemisaponins E, 1089.7 → 601.1 for saponin PJ 1 , 957.6 → 487.4 for scheffoleoside A and 799.5 → 637.3 for ginsenoside Rg 1 (Rg 1 , internal standard). Method validation parameters (calibration curve linearity, lower limit of detection, recovery, matrix effect, intra-and inter-day precision) were within the acceptable ranges. This is the first reported on the UHPLC-MS/MS detection of saponin PH, akemisaponins E, saponin PJ 1 and scheffoleoside A, and applied to a preclinical pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of A. trifoliata extract in rats. This study provides a basis for clinical application and further development of A. trifoliata extract.

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Currently he is pursuing his M.Sc. degree at School of Electrical Engineering and its Automation, Hefei University of Technology. His research interests are wind power and power system controL Shenghu Li is a Professor at the School of Electrical Engineering and its Automation, Hefei University of Technology, China. His research interests are power system analysis and control, FACTS, and wind power. He is a member of IEEE and CS EE Fang Cui received her RSc. degree in electrical engineering from Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China. Currently she is pursuing her M.Sc. degree at School of Electrical Engineering and its Automation, Hefei University of Technology. Her research interests are power system reliability and renewable energy.