Methods of Analysis Tropane Alkaloids from Plant Origin

Philippe Christen, Stefan Bieh, and Strahil Berkov 

School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, EPGL, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, 

Official Food and Veterinary Control Authority of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland e-mail stefan.bieri etat.ge.ch 

AgroBioInstitute, Sofia, Bulgaria e-mail berkov str yahoo.com 

Chromatography Hyphenation Sample preparation Separation and detection techniques Tropane alkaloids 

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Methods of Analysis Tropane Alkaloids from Plant Origin... 

Gas chromatography of cocaine of plant origin has mainly involved the analysis of the coca plant [77-79]. Identification and quantitation GC methods of minor naturally occurring tropane alkaloids in illicit cocaine samples have also been reviewed [80]. Moore et al. presented an in-depth methodology for the analysis of the coca plant by GC-FID, GC-ECD, and GC-MS for the identification of alkaloids of unknown structure [81]. Recently, Casale et al. [82] have analyzed the seeds from Erythroxylum coca for their alkaloidal content. Several tropane alkaloids were detected and characterized and it appeared that methylecgonidine (MEG) was the primary constituent and not an analytical artifact. 

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