sensitive method for the determination of hordenine in human serum by ESI+ UPLC-MS/MS for forensic toxicological applications

We present the determination of the alkaloid hordenine and its forensic relevance as a qualitative and quantitative marker for beer consumption. A simple, rapid and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)–tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method for the determination of hordenine in human serum samples was developed and validated. The application was tested with serum samples after enzymatic cleavage. After addition of the synthesized internal standard hordenine-D ₄, a liquid–liquid extraction with dichloromethane and diethyl ether was performed. Chromatographic separation was conducted with a Waters Acquity® UPLC system with gradient elution on an Agilent Eclipse XDB-C18 column (4.6 mm × 150 mm, 5-μm particle size). For quantification, a Waters Acquity® TQ detector (version SNC 627) with a positive electrospray ionization probe and multiple reaction monitoring mode was used. A flow rate of 0.4 ml/min was applied. The retention time for both the analyte and the internal standard was 3.67 min. Linearity was demonstrated from 0.2 to 16 ng/ml (R ² > 0.999). The lower limit of quantification was 0.3 ng/ml in serum. Matrix effects and extraction recoveries for low and high concentrations were within acceptable limits of 75–125 % and 50 %, respectively. To the best of our knowledge there is no corresponding method for the determination of hordenine by UPLC–MS/MS in serum. By our drinking studies we demonstrate that beer consumption leads to detectable hordenine concentrations in serum and observed a linear elimination of total hordenine correlating to blood alcohol concentration, which shows that hordenine can be used as a reliable qualitative and quantitative marker for beer consumption. The validated method was successfully applied to serum from actual forensic cases.