Simultaneous determination of five active alkaloids from Compound Kushen Injection in rat plasma by LC–MS/MS and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study in normal and NSCLC nude rats

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as the most common histological type of lung cancer with high mortality rates, has been widely treated by Compound Kushen Injection (CKI) in China. Among various active components with many pharmacologic properties, matrine, oxymatrine, sophoridine, oxysophocarpine and N-methylcytisine, are the main bioactive alkaloids of CKI. Therefore, a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was...