HPLC determination of four active saponins from Panax notoginseng in rat serum and its application to pharmacokinetic studies

Four main active saponins (ginsenosides Rg(1), Rb-1, Rd and notoginsenoside R-1) in Panax notoginseng in rat serum after oral and intravenous administration of total saponins of P. notoginseng (PNS) to rats were determined using a simple and sensitive high-performance chromatographic method. The serum samples were pretreated with solid-phase extraction before analysis. The calibration curves for the four saponins were linear in the given concentration ranges. The intra-day and inter-day assay coefficients in serum were less than 10.0% and the recoveries of the method were higher than 80.0% in the high, middle and low concentrations. This method was applied to study the pharmacokinetics following oral and intravenous administration of PNS. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.