Introduction: Datura metel a (jimsonweed) is a plant belonging to the Solanacea family; and contains tropane alkaloids (belladonna alkaloids), such as atropineb (dl-hyoscyamine) and hyoscine (dl-scopolamine), in its seeds and every part of the plant. Its seeds and leaves have long been being used as a folk medicine in Japan. Seishu Hanaoka, a Japanese surgeon, first used this plant for general anaesthesia in 1804. Many other species of solanaceous plants, such as Atropa, Scopolia and Duboisia, contain tropane alkaloids, and are distributed worldwide; many of them have been being used as folk medicines and also sometimes causing poisoning cases. The. | Tropane a lkaloids by Akira Namera Introduction Datura metela jimsonweed is a plant belonging to the Solanacea family and contains tropane alkaloids belladonna alkaloids such as atropineb dl-hyoscyamine and hyoscine dl-scopo-lamine in its seeds and every part of the plant. Its seeds and leaves have long been being used as a folk medicine in Japan. Seishu Hanaoka a Japanese surgeon first used this plant for general anaesthesia in 1804. Many other species of solanaceous plants such as Atropa Scopolia and Duboisia contain tropane alkaloids and are distributed worldwide many of them have been being used as folk medicines and also sometimes causing poisoning cases. The seeds of Datura metel are being sold in gardening stores people are growing this plant in their own gardens. There were poisoning cases in which Datura metel was eaten by mistaking it for Jew s mallow its root eaten for that of burdock and its seeds eaten for sesame 1 . More enlightenment is required for recognition of Datura and Atropa plants as being poisonous. GC MS analysis Reagent and their preparation A 1-mg aliquot of l-hyoscyamine Sigma St. Louis MO USA is dissolved in 1 mL acetonitrile. A 1-mg aliquot of l-scopolamine Sigma is dissolved in 1 mL acetonitrile. A 1-mg aliquot of atropine-d3 Sigma is dissolved in 10 mL acetonitrile mg mL to serve as an internal standard IS . A 990-pL volume of N O-bis trimethylsilyl trifluoroacetamide BSTFA Pierce Rockford IL USA and other manufacturers is mixed with 10 pL of trimethylchlorosilane TMCS Pierce and other manufacturers 99 1 v v and used as a derivatization reagent. A amount of sodium tetraborate Na2B4O7 10 H2O is dissolved in distilled water to prepare 1 000 mL solution M pH . Extrelut NT-20c granule for repacking Merck Darmstadt Germany is washed with 3 volumes of diethyl ether and dried under a stream of air in a draft until the disappearance of the ether smell. Moreover the granule is dried by warming at 40 C for 1 h. A
