Rapid determination of the neurotoxin lolitrem B in perennial ryegrass by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

A rapid, sensitive and quantitative method, based on high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, is described for the determination of the neurotoxin lolitrem B in perennial ryegrass, in the ppm to sub-ppm range. The method, which requires a minimal clean-up step prior to chromatographic analysis, is suitable for the routine analysis of large numbers of ryegrass samples, and is currently being used in New Zealand to study the livestock disorder ryegrass staggers. The method is suitable for determining lolitrem B in the whole plant, the seed, and dissected plant components.