A HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF PLASMA ARTEMISININ USING A GLASSY-CARBON ELECTRODE FOR REDUCTIVE ELECTROCHEMICAL DETECTION

A high-performance liquid chromatography assay equipped with a glassy carbon electrode for electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) was develope d at reductive mode for the analysis of artemisinin, the antimalarial drug from Artemisia annua (Asteraceae) in human plasma. This method wa s selective, sensitive, and produced satisfactory recovery, precision, and accuracy. Analysis of plasma samples from 8 male volunteers given 10 mg kg(-1) of artemisinin orally as an aqueous suspension showed a mean peak plasma concentration (C-max) of 580.89 ng ml(-1) +/- 88.64 S D at 2.5 h +/- 0.5 SD after dosing, and the mean area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC(0-infinity)) was 2227.57 ng h ml(-1) +/ - 677.22 SD. In addition, the elimination rate constant (K-e), elimina tion half-life (t(1/2)), and apparent volume of distribution (V-d) wer e calculated to be 0.2971 h(-1) +/- 0.0644 SD, 2.42 h +/- 0.46 SD, and 16.26 l kg(-1) +/- 3.44 SD, respectively.