Methylephedrine (MEP), a drug banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is frequently found in over-the-counter (OTC) cold medicines in Taiwan to relieve nasal congestion or a runny nose. The present study monitored the variations of MEP concentration in urine, using a simple and rapid HPLC assay method, after subjects took OTC cold medicine marketed in Taiwan. Information garnered from this study can help athletes to avert unexpected MEP-positive detection in the urine due to the administration of these cold medicines. The HPLC system consisted of an Cosmosil 5C18-MS-Ⅱ column (4.6×250 mm i.d.) using a mobile phase of 0.05M phosphate buffer (pH=3.5): acetonitrile (85: 15, v/v) with UV detection at 206 nm. From the intra-and interday tests, the coefficients of variations (CVs) were between 0.97% and 3.66% for the former and 1.95% and 5.07% for the latter Accuracy was found to be between 98.52% and 104.77%. The MEP in the four OTC cold medicines used in this study was determined to be 99.08～101.27% of the declared content. After taking a single dose of Feng-re-you cold liquid (4.95mg), Zentoru capsule (14mg) or Gwoam cold liquid (7.425mg), the maximum concentration of MEP in the urine was 3-7μg/ml within 20 hours, while that of Si-si capsules (25mg) revealed MEP-positive detection, whose maximum concentration was much higher than the cut-off value of 10μg/ml set by the IOC. Thirty hours after the administration of the Si-si capsule, the concentration of MEP in the urine was below the cut-off value. The results suggest that athletes must avoid administration of MEP-containing OTC cold medicine before competition. If it is necessary to take OTC cold medicine to relieve the symptoms of a cold, athletes should select cold medicines whose MEP content is below 14 mg. Athletes who wish to take OTC cold medicine with an MEP content of 14 mg or higher should take the medicine at least 30 hours before competing to avoid the possibility of an MEP-positive drug test. 甲基麻黃鹼為國際奧林匹克委員會(IOC)所禁用之興奮劑之一種。在台灣有許多感冒成藥添加此成份來舒解鼻塞和流鼻涕等症狀。本研究建立一簡單而快速的高效液相層析法，來檢測市售複方感冒藥與服用這些藥物後尿液中甲基麻黃鹼之含量，以避免運動員服用後，造成藥檢陽性反應。此方法之分離管柱為Cosmosil 5C18-MS-Ⅱ(250×4.6mm I.D.)，移動相溶液為0.05M的phosphate buffer (pH=3.5)及CH3CN(85:15, v/v)，流速1.0ml/min，以紫外光吸收波長206nm偵測，分離管溫度設定為37℃時，可在10分鐘內完成分析。在再現性測試上，同日變異係數介於0.97%與3.66%之間，異日變異係數介於1.95%與5.07%之間，準確度介於98.52%至104.77之間。斯斯咳嗽膠囊、全多祿感冒膠囊、國安感冒液、風熱友感冒液等四種市售複方感冒藥，經分析後發現甲基麻黃鹼含量約為商品標示含量之99.08~101.27%。收集健康男性受試者口服上述市售複方感冒藥單次劑量後之尿液，結果發現服用風熱友感冒液(4.95mg)、全多祿感冒膠囊(14m)、國安感冒液(7.425mg)後，受試者尿液中之甲基麻黃鹼在20小時內達到其最高濃度3~7μg/ml；而服用單次劑量斯斯咳嗽膠囊復，尿液則檢測出超出陽性反應閾值 10μg/ml之濃度，且在30小時時其濃度仍高於閾值。由實驗結果可知，運動員在比賽期間應避免服用含甲基麻黃鹼之感冒藥，即使真的必須服用此類藥物來解除感冒症狀，也必須選擇單次劑量含量在14mg以下，運動員若在比賽前30個小時間，服用含14mg以上甲基麻黃鹼之感冒藥，則尿液呈陽性反應之機率是相當高的。
關聯:
Annual Journal of Physical Education and Sports Science/大專體育英文學刊 4期 pp.63-75
