Determination of ephedrine and related compounds in pharmaceutical preparations by ion chromatography with direct conductivity detection

An ion chromatographic method with conductivity detection for the simultaneous determination of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and norephedrine was developed. A mixture of 2.0 mmol/L HNO3 and 2% (v/v) acetonitrile was used as eluent. The three ephedrine-like compounds were separated and determined within 20 min. The linear ranges were 0.08-50 microg/mL for ephedrine, 0.08-40 microg/mL for pseudoephedrine and 0.06-40 microg/mL for norephedrine. The detection limits were 0.03 microg/mL for ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, and 0.02 microg/mL for norephedrine. The method has been applied successfully to the determination of these sympathomimetics in pharmaceutical preparations and in Ephedra herbs.