Determination of Mescaline in Hallucinogenic Cactaceae by Ion-Interaction HPLC.

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.

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Abstract

Abstract An ion-interaction HPLC method is developed for the determination of mescaline in some Cactaceae species, namely Gymnocactus beguinii, Echinocactus polycephalus, Coriphanta radians, Coriphanta scolymoides, Coriphanta palmeri, Lophophora williamsii and Trichocereus pachanoi. Mescaline is characterized by hallucinogenic properties and can be prescribed as a psychodrug. The method makes use of a C18-reversed-phase as the stationary phase and of a 5.0 mM aqueous solution of octylamine o-phosphate as the mobile phase, with spectrophotometric detection at 230 nm. The method is sensitive (detection limit of 35 μg/L) and matrix interference-free. The pretreatment of the sample is performed by grinding the fresh cactus and extracting the jelly pulp obtained either with a methanolic-ammonial solution or an aqueous solution buffered at pH 4.0 (phosphate buffer). The average amounts of mescaline found in Lophophora williamsii and in Trichocereus pachanoi were respectively 2.55 mg and 3.10 mg/g of fresh cactus.