A simple and effective high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection method coupled with a liquid-liquid extraction pretreatment has been developed for determining the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of a novel structurally modified derivative(8-acetaminoisocorydine) of isocorydine.According to the in vivo experiments data calculations by DAS 2.0 software,a two-compartment metabolic model was suitable for describing the pharmacokinetic of 8-acetaminoisocorydine in rats.8-Acetamino-isocorydine was absorbed well after oral administration,and the absolute bioavailability was 76.5%.The half-life of 8-acetamino-isocorydine after intravenous and oral administration was 2.2 h and 2.0 h,respectively.In vivo,8-acetamino-isocorydine was highly distributed in the lungs,kidney and liver;however,relatively little entered the brain,suggesting that 8-acetaminoisocorydine could not easily pass through the blood brain barrier.Our work describes the first characterization of the pharmacokinetic parameters and tissue distribution of 8-acetamino-isocorydine.The acquired data will provide useful information for the in vivo pharmacology of 8-acetaminoisocorydine,and can be applied to new drug research. A simple and effective high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection method coupled with a liquid-liquid extraction pretreatment has been developed for determining the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of a novel structurally modified derivative (8-acetaminoisocorydine) of isocorydine. Accredited to the in vivo experiments data calculations by DAS 2.0 software, a two-compartment metabolic model was suitable for describing the pharmacokinetic of 8-acetaminoisocorydine in rats. 8-Acetamino-isocorydine was absorbed well after oral administration, and the absolute bioavailability was 76.5%. half-life of 8-acetamino-isocorydine after intravenous and oral administration was 2.2 h and 2.0 h, respectively. In vivo, 8-acetamino-isocorydine was highly distributed in the lungs, kidney and kidney; however, relatively little entered the brain, suggests that 8-acetaminoisocorydine could not easily pass through the blood brain barrier. Our work describes the first characterization of the pharmacokinetic parameters and tissue distribution of 8-acetamino-isocorydine. The acquired data will provide useful information for the in vivo pharmacology of 8-acetaminoisocorydine, and can be applied to new drug research.