Mescaline, the psychoactive compound in peyote cactus, has been used for centuries in religious ceremonies. The US military investigated whether mescaline use posed a problem for personnel readiness. Twenty thousand seventeen urine specimens, already negative for other drugs, were screened for mescaline using a biochip array immunoassay. A sensitive gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for quantification, with a linear range of 1 to 250 mcg/L and high accuracy. Of 526 presumptive-positive and 198 negative specimens tested, none confirmed positive at the quantification limit of 1 mcg/L. Results suggest insufficient mescaline use in the military to warrant routine screening, though stability may have affected prevalence.
Psilocin, the active metabolite of psilocybin, binds to serotonin receptors and induces hallucinogenic effects. In urine, most psilocin is excreted as psilocin-O-glucuronide, which must be converted back to free psilocin for testing. This conversion is challenging due to psilocin's chemical instability. The study compared enzymatic hydrolysis using one conventional β-glucuronidase from E. coli and three recombinant enzymes (IMCSZyme, Kura Biotech-BGTurbo, and Kura Biotech-B-One) on human urine samples. Recombinant enzymes performed far better than the conventional one. Kura Biotech-BGTurbo hydrolyzed fastest at 25-50°C, while IMCSZyme worked consistently across 25-80°C. The results offer practical guidelines for forensic labs to improve psilocin testing.