Rapid analysis of ergovaline in ovine plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection

A rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of the mycotoxin ergovaline in ovine plasma is described here. Ergotamine was used as an internal standard. A simple extraction procedure with diethyloxide was carried out, before chromatography on a C8 column, with the excitation and emission wavelengths fixed at 250 and 420 nm respectively, on a fluorimetric detector. The method, which was found to be linear between 3.5 and 15 ng/ml, had good specificity, precision and accuracy. The limit of quantification and the limit of detection were 3.5 and 1.2 ng/ml, respectively. A preliminary application of the described assay to a plasma kinetic study, after intravenous administration of a single dose of ergovaline (17 micrograms/kg body mass) to four sheep, showed a very rapid decrease of the plasma ergovaline levels. The terminal half-life and the total clearance of the mycotoxin were found to be 23.6 min and 0.020 l/min kg-1 body mass, respectively.