Use of Coconut Charcoal and Menthone-Thiosemicarbazone Polymer as Solid Phase Materials for the Determination of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, Harmine, Harmaline, Harmalol, and Tetrahydroharmine in Ayahuasca Beverage by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

An extraction method based on solid-phase extraction was developed to determine the major alkaloid components, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, harmine, harmaline, harmalol, and tetrahydroharmine, in ayahuasca using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Coconut charcoal and menthone-thiosemicarbazone polymer were tested as new adsorbent materials. Experiments carried out at levels of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 250 μg mL-1 resulted in recoveries in the ranges 45.3-115.7% for menthone-thiosemicarbazone and 40.6-116.2% for coconut charcoal. The detection and quantification limits ranged from 0.003 to 0.016 μg mL-1 and from 0.009 to 0.043 μg mL-1 , respectively. The method developed was linear over the tested range (0.05-1.0 μg mL-1), with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9969 to 0.9998. The technique was applied for analysis of the compounds in an ayahuasca sample collected from a religious group located in the city of Fortaleza, obtaining concentrations in the range from 0.3 to 19.3 mg mL-1 .

Interpol review of controlled substances 2016–2019

“…Ayahuasca: 2016 drug policy of the EU member countries in relation to ayahuasca consumption [ 550 ]; DART-HRMS for determination of the individual components within Ayahuasca [ 551 ]; 2017 SPE and LC-UV-DAD determination of Tryptamines and beta-Carbolines in Ayahuasca [ 552 ]; 2019 development of an extraction method based on solid-phase extraction for determination of the major alkaloid components, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, harmine, harmaline, harmalol, and tetrahydroharmine, in ayahuasca using ultra-performance LC-MS/MS [ 553 ].…”

Electrochemical Determination of N,n-Dimethyltryptamine in Water Based on Tetraruthenated Porphyrins and Ionic Liquid Modified Electrodes

“…DMT is a shortacting psychotropic agent when administered parenterally and is not active orally due to its rapid degradation by monoamine oxidase enzyme type A (MAO-A). On the contrary, the DMT present in ayahuasca is active orally only because the alkaloids contained in that mixture reversibly inhibit the activity of MAO-A [1].…”

“…Tryptamine, N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and β-carboline derivatives are simple indole alkaloids that are commonly present in biota [1]. DMT is a shortacting psychotropic agent when administered parenterally and is not active orally due to its rapid degradation by monoamine oxidase enzyme type A (MAO-A).…”

“…Therefore, in this context, it is important to have a DMT detection and quantification method. Over the last decade, several instrumental methods to detect and quantify have been reported, including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) [5,6], gas or liquid chromatography coupled with mass detectors [7][8][9][10][11] and other devices [12,13]. There is no doubt that instrumental methods are extremely sensitive and useful for laboratory measurements.…”

“…However, these methods require pretreating the sample, processes that are very time consuming and require qualified and experienced staff in order to be performed properly. This makes these methods highly inconvenient for detection in the field [5,13].…”