Rapid Detection and Quantification of Hallucinogenic Salvinorin A in Commercial Salvia divinorum Products DART-HRMS

• NCJ Number: 306069
• Journal: Acs Omega Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: 2023 Pages: 761-770
• Author(s): Megan I. Chambers; Justine E. Giffen-Lemieux; Rabi A. Musah*
• Date Published: 2023
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2015-DN-BX-K057; 2017-R2-CX-0020; 2019-DU-BX-0026
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• 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; Research to Develop Validated Methods for THC Quantification in Complex Matrices by High-resolution DART-MS—Focus on Edibles and Plant Materials

Annotation

In this study, direct analysis in real time–high-resolution mass spectrometry (DART-HRMS) was used to rapidly screen for Salvia plant material.

Abstract

In recent years, national laboratories have identified several plant-derived materials as concerns to public health because of their psychoactive effects, potential for abuse, and the lack of federal regulation of their use. One of these is Salvia divinorum (aka Salvia), which has received focused attention due to its increasing recreational use and the ease by which it can be acquired. Traditional chromatographic approaches for the detection of the major psychoactive component of Salvia (i.e., salvinorin A) typically require time-consuming sample pretreatment prior to identifying the presence of salvinorin A in plant material unknowns. The approach used in the current project facilitated the analysis of bulk material in its native form, thereby bypassing sample pretreatment steps. In addition, a validated DART-HRMS method was developed for the quantification of salvinorin A in commercial Salvia products (e.g., raw plant materials, enhanced leaf extracts). In this regard, cholesterol was found to be a suitable internal standard. The average salvinorin A content in raw Salvia leaves was determined to be 1.54 mg/g, while the salvinorin A quantified in enhanced Salvia leaf extracts was between 13.0 and 53.2 mg/g. (Published abstract provided)