Development of a sensitive LC-MS/MS method for the determination of bilobalide in rat plasma with special consideration of ex vivo bilobalide stability: application to a preclinical pharmacokinetic study.

•The ex vivo stability of bilobalide was investigated for the first time.•Effective strategies to stabilize bilobalide in rat blood and plasma were developed.•An LC–MS/MS method for determining bilobalide in rat plasma was fully validated.•An LOQ of 5.0ng/mL was achieved with consumption of only 20μL of plasma.