QUANTITATIVE-ANALYSIS OF NORDITERPENOID ALKALOIDS IN LARKSPUR (DELPHINIUM SPP) BY FOURIER-TRANSFORM INFRARED-SPECTROSCOPY

A Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic method for measurin g norditerpenoid alkaloids in larkspurs was developed, Alkaloids were isolated from dry plant material using a simplified extraction procedu re and quantitated using FT-IR. Calibration of the method was made fro m selected larkspur samples with known alkaloid levels determined by h igh pressure liquid chromatography and gravimetric methods. Thirty-nin e samples from three different larkspur species (Delphinium barbeyi, D . glaucescens, and D. occidentale) were analysed to demonstrate the ab ility of the FT-IR method to measure toxic and total alkaloid concentr ations in these plants. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.