Quantitative determination of jatrophone in "cachaça" prepared with Jatropha elliptica.

A method for sample preparation and analysis by high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (HPLC-UV) was developed for analysis of jatrophone in "cachaça" prepared with Jatropha elliptica, administered orally, employed in Brazil for the treatment of venomous snake bites. The linearity, accuracy, precision of the procedure was evaluated. Analytical curve for jatrophone was linear in the range of 16.24-81.20 microg ml(-1). The recovery of the jatrophone in the samples analyzed was 98.99-99.89%. The percent coefficient of variation for the quantitative analysis of the "cachaça" in the analyses was under 2%.