Determination of Mescaline in Hallucinogenic Cactaceae by Ion-Interaction HPLC.
Analytical Letters October 1, 1996 M. C. Gennaro, E. Gioannini, D. Giacosa et al. 12 citations
An ion-interaction high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed to measure mescaline in seven cactus species: Gymnocactus beguinii, Echinocactus polycephalus, Coriphanta radians, Coriphanta scolymoides, Coriphanta palmeri, Lophophora williamsii, and Trichocereus pachanoi. The method uses a C18 reversed-phase column and a mobile phase of 5.0 mM octylamine o-phosphate aqueous solution, with detection at 230 nm. It is sensitive, with a detection limit of 35 μg/L, and free from matrix interference. Sample pretreatment involved grinding fresh cactus and extracting the jelly pulp with either a methanolic-ammonial solution or an aqueous phosphate buffer at pH 4.0. Average mescaline content was 2.55 mg/g in Lophophora williamsii and 3.10 mg/g in Trichocereus pachanoi.