High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of hippuric acid in human blood plasma.

A method has been developed for the isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of hippuric acid in human blood plasma. After the addition of an internal standard (3-methoxysalicylic acid), plasma samples (1 ml) were made alkaline and extracted stepwise with methylene chloride and ethyl acetate. The detection limit was 50 pmol of hippuric acid per ml of plasma. The concentrations of hippuric acid in plasma from house painters (n = 8), with long-term exposure to solvent vapours from alkyd paints, were in the range 1-21 nmol/mol (median 11 nmol/ml). These values were statistically significantly higher than those for controls (n = 9): 2-8 nmol/ml (median 3 nmol/ml).