Toxic plants—Detection of colchicine in a fast systematic clinical toxicology screening using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

Abstract

Colchicum autumnale, which can be mistaken for Allium ursinum, contains the alkaloid colchicine potentially leading to life‐threatening up to fatal intoxications. We report two cases of acute intoxications with unexplained circumstances. Using the authors' systematic screening approaches, colchicine could be detected in blood plasma and urine samples using liquid chromatography coupled to linear ion trap mass spectrometry (LC‐ITMSn) and high‐resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐HRMS/MS). Metabolites of colchicine could be identified in urine for confirmation of screening results. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) analysis was also conducted, but colchicine could not be detected. Furthermore, colchicine concentration was estimated via LC‐HRMS/MS in plasma samples. Results of the systematic screening indicated the ingestion of colchicine from both subjects. In both cases, the parent compound was detected in blood plasma and urine using the LC‐HRMS/MS and LC‐ITMSn system. An O‐demethylation metabolite was identified in urine samples of both subjects using LC‐HRMS/MS; the N‐deacetylation product was also found in urine samples of both cases via LC‐HRMS/MS and LC‐ITMSn. The use of LC‐ITMSn resulted only in the detection of the O‐demethylation product in case 2. Plasma concentrations were estimated at 2.5 ng/ml and 4.7 ng/ml for cases 1 and 2, respectively. We demonstrated the detection of this highly toxic alkaloid in blood plasma and urine using a time‐saving and reliable clinical systematic screening. Furthermore, we identified metabolites of colchicine being rarely discussed in literature, which can be used as additional screening targets.

In Vivo and In Vitro Metabolic Fate and Urinary Detectability of Five Deschloroketamine Derivatives Studied by Means of Hyphenated Mass Spectrometry

“…2.2.6. Urine Sample Preparation Prior to GC-MS Urine samples were prepared according to a previously published procedure, with minor modifications [16,17]. Samples were divided into two aliquots of 2.5 mL, one aliquot was mixed with 0.1 mL of internal standard solution (0.1 mg/mL diazepam-d 5 in MeOH), and 1 mL of HCl (37%) was added.…”

Development, validation, and clinical application of a rapid UPLC–MS/MS method for detection of colchicine in human whole blood and urine

“…Numerous methods have been reported for the detection of colchicine in blood and urine, including immunoassays (Zvereva et al, 2018), LC (Wollersen et al, 2009), and LC–MS (Chen et al, 2007; Vollmer et al, 2022). UPLC–MS/MS has fast detection speed, high sensitivity, limited qualitative and powerful quantitative capability, and is readily available in many medical institutions compared with other instruments.…”