A rapid quantitative method by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for the measurement of anthocyanins and their metabolic characteristics in Sprague–Dawley rats.

As a major class of phenolic compounds, anthocyanins are the functional components of blueberry. Vaccinium corymbosum 'Lanmei 1' is a novel blueberry variety and detailed study of their anthocyanins remains scarce. Therefore, a simultaneously quantitative method for five anthocyanins using ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) was established here. Good linear relationships were obtained ranging from 1 to 100 ng/mL (R2 > 0.99). In addition, the specificity, recovery, stability, and matrix effect met requirements of analytical methodology. The method successfully monitored the concentrations of five anthocyanins in plasma and studied their pharmacokinetics after oral administration of 270 mg of anthocyanin extract in Sprague–Dawley rats. Pharmacokinetic parameters for delphinidin-3-O-glucoside (D3G), malvidin-3-O-glucoside (M3G), malvidin-3-O-arabinoside (M3A), delphinidin-3-O-arabinoside (D3A), and petunidin-3-O-arabinoside (P3A) showed the similar short Tmax 0.25–0.28 h and medium speed T1/2 3.24–3.52 h. It indicated anthocyanins were quickly absorbed and taken effectively, but eliminated in blood at an appropriate rate. Contents of D3G and M3G in anthocyanin extract are approximately equivalent, while the total amount and maximum concentration of M3G were twice those of D3G in plasma. This demonstrated that there were many differences between the substance contents of anthocyanin monomers in vitro and their absorption and distribution behaviors in vivo. Multiple peaks in both concentration–time profiles and bile excretions for five anthocyanins suggested the possibility of enterohepatic circulation in rats. The present study developed and validated a rapid and sensitive bioanalytical method based on UPLC–MS/MS for quantifying major anthocyanins from a novel blueberry extract in rat plasma to further understand their absorption, distribution, and metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]