An Efficient Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometric Approach to Detection and Quantification of the Mescaline Content of Commonly Abused Cacti from the Echinopsis Genus

• NCJ Number: 253919
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Dated: 2019
• Author(s): Cameron M. Longo; Rabi A. Musah
• Date Published: January 2020
• Length: 6 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2015-DN-BX-K057; 2017-R2-CX-0020
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Award: Development of Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometric and Multivariate Statistical Analysis Methods for Rapid High Throughput Analysis and Identification of Psychotropic Plant Species; Chemometric Processing of DART-HRMS-derived Dark Matter for the Identification of New Psychoactive Substances

Annotation

This article reports on a DART-HRMS approach for the rapid detection of mescaline in whole plant material and a validated method for the quantification of mescaline in cactus tissue, using mescaline-d9 as the internal standard.

Abstract

Unregulated cacti from the genus Echinopsis are used recreationally as mescaline-containing alternatives to the outlawed peyote. Echinopsis-derived plant materials appear in a variety of nondescript forms, which requires rapid assessment of whether they are mescaline-containing materials or simply innocuous plant-derived food products. In the current project, calibration curves exhibited R2 values of greater than or equal to 0.995, and the method exhibited a LLOQ and a linear range of 1 ppm and 1 degrees C100 ppm, respectively. Application of the method to commercially available Echinopsis spp. yielded results consistent with previous studies performed by GC- and LC- MS, with mescaline levels of <2 percent dry weight in all cases. Project researchers conclude that DART-HRMS is a suitable technique for the rapid screening of mescaline and its subsequent quantification within complex plant derived matrices. (publisher abstract modified)