Gas chromatography of digitoxigenin and digoxigenin

Cardiac glycosides from Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana) seeds

Thevetia cardiac glycosides can lead to intoxication, thus they are important indicators for forensic and pharmacologic surveys. Six thevetia cardiac glycosides, including two with unknown structures, were isolated from the seeds of the Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K. Shum., Apocynaceae). LC-ESI⁺-MS(/MS) analysis under high-resolution conditions used as a qualitative survey of the primary glycosides did not lead to fragmentation of the aglycones. Acid hydrolysis of the polar and non-volatile thevetia glycosides under severe conditions yielded the aglycones of the thevetia glycosides and made them amenable to GC-MS analysis. Comparison of mass spectral fragmentation patterns of the aglycones, as well as high-resolution mass spectrometric and NMR data of four of the primary thevetia glycosides including the two unknowns, revealed the structures of the complete set of six thevetia glycosides. The identified compounds are termed thevetin C and acetylthevetin C and differ by an 18,20-oxido-20,22-dihydro functionality from thevetin B and acetylthevetin B, respectively. The absence of an unsaturated lactone ring renders the glycosides cardio-inactive. The procedures developed in this study and the sets of analytical data obtained will be useful for screening and structure assessment of other, particularly polar, cardiac glycosides.

High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of digoxin formulations

A rapid, selective, and simple high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay for digoxin formulations is described. The method utilizes a conventional octadecyl bonded phase column with detection at 220 nm. The analytical procedure has been applied for the quantitation of digoxin in tablets, elixir, and injectable formulations with a resulting relative standard deviation of 1.45, 1.70, and 1.80%, respectively. The method is sufficiently sensitive to monitor content uniformity of individual tablets. Potential impurities or degradation products are resolved from the digoxin peak in a total chromatographic time of less than 15 min.

Sensitive radioimmunoassay for digoxin in plasma and urine

A reproducible and sensitive radioimmunoassay for digoxin in either serum, plasma or urine is described. Using 0.5 ml of serum or plasma, the assay sensitivity is 0.05 ng of digoxin/ml. The antiserum and tracer solutions employed are available in a kit sold in the United States. All other reagents were prepared in the laboratory. The assay allows measurement of digoxin in plasma or serum for 96 hours after single 0.5 mg doses of digoxin; this is necessary in human bioavailability studies to accurately estimate the total area under the digoxin concentration, time curve from zero to infinite time. In contrast, with the kit assay, employing 0.2 ml of plasma or serum, it has been reported that the 12 hr serum digoxin levels, after single 0.5 mg doses, are, in most subjects, below the sensitivity limit (about 0.5 ng/ml) of the assay.