Simultaneous Quantification of Schisandrin, Deoxyschisandrin and Schisandrin B in Rat Bile, Urine, and Feces and Application to Excretion Study

An accurate, precise and sensitive method for simultaneous quantification of schisandrin, deoxyschisandrin and schisandrin B in rat bile, urine, and feces using HPLC-ESI-MS was developed. The results showed that the calibration curves for schisandrin, deoxyschisandrin and schisandrin B were linear in bile over the range of 0.372-18.6, 0.0122-0.608 and 0.0278-1.39 mu g/mL and in urine and feces both from 0.0465-2.79, 0.0015-0.0912 and 0.0035-0.209 mu g/mL. The precision and accuracy was verified to be sensitive and accurate and the extraction recoveries were also acceptable. The validated method was successfully applied to excretion study of schisandrin, deoxyschisandrin and schisandrin B in rats after oral administration of Schisandra chinensis extract. The results indicated that the majority of the three lignans were metabolized and only the minority were excreted in native forms (unmetabolized) via bile, urine and feces.