Application of activated glassy carbon electrode for the detection of nuciferine in lotus leaves

The electrochemical behavior of nuciferine has been studied for the first time. Nuciferine is irreversibly oxidized at high potentials, resulting in the formation of orthoquinone. The amount of the obtained orthoquinone is pH-dependent, and it demonstrates quasi-reversible electrochemical behavior at less positive potential. The concentration of nuciferine was successfully determined by using the redox character of the electrochemically obtained orthoquinone. A linear range between 8.7 × 10−9 and 5.6 × 10−7 mol/L and a detection limit of 5.0 × 10−9 mol/L were obtained. The method has also been used to quantify nuciferine concentration in lotus leaves that obtained from the Slim West Lake, and the average result was 0.29% (w/w).