Determination of aminoethylcysteine ketimine decarboxylated dimer in human plasma and cultured cells by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

Aminoethylcysteine ketimine decarboxylated dimer (AECK-DD) is a natural compound with antioxidant properties of a new family of sulfur-containing amino acids. It has been detected in human urine and plasma, in mammalian cerebellum and, more recently, in dietary vegetables. In the present study, a simple, highly sensitive method using a high-performance liquid chromatography system with electrochemical detection (ECD) has been developed. The method showed excellent precision and accuracy. It has been found to be about 100-fold more sensitive than gas chromatographic method and 2000-fold more sensitive in respect to the liquid chromatography method with UV detection. The method showed the required features of specificity and sensitivity to detect aminoethylcysteine ketimine decarboxylated dimer in human plasma and in cultured cells after in vitro supplementation. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.