Pharmacokinetics in rat plasma and tissue distribution in mice of Galangin determined by UHPLC–MS/MS

Galangin (GAL), the major bioactive flavonol extracted from Alpinia officinarum Hance (Zingiberaceae), has attracted much attention due to its multiple biological activities. To develop a fast, reliable, and sensitive ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) method for the quantification of GAL in rat plasma and mouse tissues. UHPLC–MS/MS using electrospray ionization operating in negative-ion mode was used to determinate GAL in 18 rats receiving three doses of GAL (2 and 9 mg/kg by intravenous injection, 5 mg/kg by oral administration), with six rats for each dose. Blood samples were collected at 0.0333, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 h. A total of 25 mice received 18 mg/kg GAL by intraperitoneal injection. Liver, heart, lung, spleen, brain, and kidney tissue samples were collected at 0.25, 0.5, 2, 4, and 6 h. The precision of the method was better than 12.1%, while the accuracy ranged from −4.8% to 8.1%. The results of pharmacokinetics demonstrated rapid GAL absorp...