Simultaneous determination of thirteen plant alkaloids in a human specimen by SPE and HPLC

A new screening method for the simultaneous determination of thirteen plant alkaloids (aconitine, anabasine, atropine, brucine, colchicine, cotinine, cytisine, harmine, ibogaine, nicotine, scopolamine, strychnine, yohimbine) in a human specimen was developed based on solid-phase extraction and reversed-phase liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection. The validated method enables selective identification as well as accurate and sensitive quantification. The analysis of forensic and clinical samples emphasizes the applicability for intoxications and drug abuse, as well as for compliance control.