Determination of molluscicidal sesquiterpene lactones from Ambrosia maritima (Compositae).

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of sesquiterpene lactones in the molluscicidal plant Ambrosia maritima (Compositae). The four major constituent lactones were measured at 220 nm, using naphthalene as internal standard, and a comparison of different extraction procedures was carried out, with a view to investigating variations in sesquiterpene lactone content.