| Abstract: | Abstract A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determining reserpine in plasma has been developed. The procedure involves extraction of reserpine from buffered plasma into benzene, oxidation of reserpine to a fluorophor by treatment with vanadium pentoxide in phosphoric acid, and chromatographic separation of the reserpine fluorophor on an octadecylsilane column by ion-pairing with heptanesulfonate ions. Fluorescence monitoring of the column effluent provides high sensitivity of detection and increases the specificity of the procedure. A detection limit of approximately 100 pg of reserpine per ml of plasma was obtained following analysis of 2 ml samples. Analysis of a number of samples demonstrated the applicability of this method in confirming the presence of reserpine in equine plasma specimens collected at various horse shows and in evaluating the pharmacokinetic behavior of reserpine following intramuscular administration to horses. |
