Assay of Ergot Alkaloids by Beckman Spectrophotometer

Ergotamine tartrate, kindly supplied by Dr. A. Stoll of Basel, Switzerland, and ergotoxine ethanesulfonate of Wellcome & Co., England, were used as standards in the determination of ergot alkaloids. A blue color with absorption maximum at 550mμ appeared when p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde test solution (J. P. VI or U. S. P. XIV) was added to the solution of these standards. Light absorbency (e) at 550mμ in different concentrations (γ/10cc.) was measured by the Beckman spectrophotometer and the following two equations were calculated by the method of least squares from the experimental data obtained: Ergotamine tartrate γ=1246e+0.32 (γ