High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of 4-methylimidazole in sheep plasma and in ammoniated tall fescue hay

A method for 4-methylimidazole (4MI) extraction and quantitation in body fluids and forage samples was developed. The procedures involve ion-pair extraction of the compound with the quantitation done by ion-pair liquid chromatography. The results indicate that this high-performance liquid chromatographic method is sensitive, reproducible and more rapid than others that have been previously used. The mean recovery of 4MI from plasma and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) hay samples were above 95 and 85%, respectively. The versatility of the procedure makes it suitable for the determination of 4MI in body fluids and in forage samples.