Determination of pharmacological levels of harmane, harmine and harmaline in mammalian brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid and plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection.
Increased blood aldehyde levels, as occur in alcohol intoxication, could lead to the formation of beta-carbolines such as harmane by condensation with indoleamines. Endogenous beta-carbolines, therefore, should occur in specific brain areas where indoleamine concentrations are high, whilst exogenous beta-carbolines should exhibit an even distribution. The author presents direct and sensitive methods for assaying the beta-carbolines harmane, harmine and harmaline in brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid and plasma at picogram sample concentrations using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection and minimal sample preparation. Using these assay methods, it was found that the distribution of beta-carbolines from a source exogenous to the brain results in a relatively even distribution within the brain tissue.
Moncrieff
J
J
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
D000470:Alkaloids / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D006246:Harmaline / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D006247:Harmine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
D000470:Alkaloids; D006247:Harmine; C005010:harman; D006246:Harmaline