A New High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Method for the Quantitation of Strychnine in Urine and Tissue Extracts

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Abstract
A high performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the quantitation of strychnine in urine of children with nonketotic hyperglycinemia and other developmental disorders treated with the alkaloid. Mobile and stationary phases were polar, i.e., methanol-H2O-330 g/kg ammonia (volumes, 85 ml + 14.2 ml + 0.8 ml) and LiChrosorb Si-60, 7 .mu.m. Brucine was the internal standard. Extraction was performed by the Extrelut technique. At strychnine nitrate concentrations in urine of 21, 126 and 760 .mu.g/l, recovery was 92.1 .+-. 8.7, 98.1 .+-. 2.7 and 102.5 .+-. 2.7%. A child with nonketotic hyperglycinemia under continued strychnine treatment excreted 1-13.6% of the daily dose unmetabolized in urine. The method was also suitable for the estimation of unreacted strychnine in tissue extracts. The fast disappearance in vitro of strychnine from a guinea pig liver preparation was confirmed.