Separation and determination of strychnine and brucine in Strychnos nux-vomica L. and its preparation by capillary zone electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoresis method was developed for the separation an d determination of strychnine and brucine in Strychnos nux-vomica L. and it s preparation. The factors that could affect the separation were studied, s uch as the types and concentrations of electrolytes, pH, ionic strength and organic modifier. The optimum running buffer was 20 mmol/L of ammonium ace tate containing 0.2 mol/L of glacial acetic acid (pH 3.64). The applied vol tage was 25 kV and the wavelength of the UV detector was set at 214 nm. The established method with dopamine hydrochloride as internal standard was li near in the range of 5-100 mug/mL for both strychnine and brucine. The reco very was 102.96% for strychnine and 98.56% for brucine. The extracts of Str ychnos nux-vomica and its preparation could be directly injected for analys is. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.