A Rapid LC-MS/MS Method for Simultaneous Determination of Ten Flavonoid Metabolites of Naringin in Rat Urine and Its Application to an Excretion Study

Naringin is a dietary flavonoid glycoside with multiple bioactivities. It has been involved in numerous metabolism and excretion studies, and its metabolic properties are clear. However, information concerning the excretion profile of its original metabolites are still scarce, and few methods for simultaneous determination of multiple original metabolites of naringin in biological samples have been reported so far. In this study, a rapid and sensitive method for simultaneous determination of ten flavonoid metabolites of naringin in rat urine was developed with an UHPLC-Q-Trap-MS/MS system. One-step protein precipitation method with acetonitrile was used to extract analytes. A rapid chromatographic separation within 11 min was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC(®) BEH C(18) column (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 1.7 μm) using gradient elution with a mobile phase of water and methanol, both with 0.1% formic acid (v/v). MS/MS detection was conducted in negative ion mode and multiple reactions monitoring scanning mode. The analytical method was fully validated and successfully applied to monitor the excretion profiles of naringin in rat urine. Quantitative results revealed the visible individual difference and low urinary recovery of flavonoid metabolites in the excretion of naringin, which may be helpful for further study to understand the in vivo behavior and action mechanism of naringin.