Black market products of a pharmaceutical nature and nutritional
supplements have received substantial and increasing attention because
of potential performance enhancement in elite and non-professional
sports. In addition, improved general health is claimed for
non-competing individuals. The risks and foreseeable dangers of the
uncontrolled use of highly potent and non-approved pharmaceutical
compounds in healthy individuals are of considerable concern. In the
present case report, the emerging drug candidate GHRP-2 with verified
growth-hormone-releasing properties was identified and quantified in
tablets offered as an over-the-counter nutritional supplement. GHRP-2 powder,GHRP 2 powder
The
impact of this orally active peptide on the hGH/IGF-axis has been
established for several years and its illicit use in elite sports has
been assumed. As a releasing factor for hGH, GHRP-2 belongs to the list
of substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Unfortunately, to date there is no routinely performed assay for the
determination of these peptides potentially occurring in biological
fluids of competing athletes, but the present data will facilitate the
implementation by providing principle analytical information on liquid
chromatographic and mass spectrometric behaviour.
Qualitative
identification of the target analyte after extraction from the tablet
matrix was performed by high resolution/high accuracy mass spectrometry
after liquid chromatographic separation under consideration of the
accurate masses and the ratios of the protonated molecules and their
fragment ions derived from their collisionally induced dissociation.
Quantitative results were obtained by means of liquid chromatography
coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer and linear regression
using an external calibration curve (with GHRP-2 reference compound)
adjusted via internal standard (Hexarelin). Hereby, the content of
GHRP-2 was determined with approximately 50 µg per tablet.
