Fluorimetry was used to measure the amount of nicotinamide in plant
samples. The nicotinamide was extracted and purified from plant tissues
with ethyl acetate; converted to the fluorescent derivative,
N1-methylnicotinamide, by reacting with methyl iodide; and quantified
according to its fluorescent strength. The nicotinamide in the leaf
tissue of ten kinds of plants was measured, and the results showed that
the nicotinamide content for different plants varied from 0.1 to 3.0
mg/g of fresh leaf weight. In addition, the crossing value of the
fluorescent strength and the nicotinamide amount demonstrated that the
linear correlation coefficient generally reached 0.997, with a
detectable limit of 0.02 mg/L and the relative standard deviation of
less than 9%. The results suggested that this method of quantifying
nicotinamide in plants is useful and beneficial for functional
research
