Drug Testing and Analysis
May 11, 2012
Alain Gaujac, Sandro Navickiene, Mark I. Collins et al.
33 citations
The consumption of ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic beverage used by indigenous communities in the Amazon, is increasing worldwide due to the expansion of syncretic religions founded in the north of Brazil in the first half of the twentieth century, such as Santo Daime and União do Vegetal . Another example is the jurema wine, a drink that originated from indigenous cultures of the northeast of...
Drug Testing and Analysis
April 19, 2012
Jordi Riba, Ethan H. Mcilhenny, Marta Valle et al.
91 citations
Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychotropic plant tea obtained from Banisteriopsis caapi , which contains β ‐carboline alkaloids, chiefly harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine. The tea usually incorporates the leaves of Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana , which are rich in N , N ‐dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a psychedelic 5‐HT 2A/1A/2C agonist. The β ‐carbolines reversibly inhibit...
Drug Testing and Analysis
February 28, 2012
Daniel Trachsel
32 citations
The so‐called psychedelic phenethylamines represent a class of drugs with a large range of psychoactive properties in humans, ranging from naturally occurring mescaline to amphetamine analogues and homologues. The interest in many of these compounds, occasionally referred to as designer‐drugs, is widely dispersed across popular culture and political and scientific communities. In recent...
Drug Testing and Analysis
2012
Steven A. Barker, Ethan H. Mcilhenny, Rick J. Strassman
143 citations
Three indole alkaloids that possess differing degrees of psychotropic/psychedelic activity have been reported as endogenous substances in humans; N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-hydroxy-DMT (bufotenine, HDMT), and 5-methoxy-DMT (MDMT). We have undertaken a critical review of 69 published studies reporting the detection or detection and quantitation of these compounds in human body fluids. In...
Drug Testing and Analysis
2012
Paulo César Ribeiro Barbosa, Suely Mizumoto, Michael P. Bogenschutz et al.
112 citations
Ayahuasca is a psychedelic brew originally used for magico-religious purposes by Amerindian populations of the western Amazon Basin. Throughout the last four decades, the use of ayahuasca spread towards major cities in all regions of Brazil and abroad. This trend has raised concerns that regular use of this N,N-dimethyltryptamine- and harmala-alkaloid-containing tea may lead to mental and...
Drug Testing and Analysis
2012
Simon D. Brandt, Ruchanok Tearavarich, Nicola M. Dempster et al.
10 citations
The absence of reference material is a commonly experienced difficulty among medical and forensic professionals tasked with identifying new psychoactive substances that are encountered for the first time. The identification of newly emerging substances lies at the heart of forensic and clinical analysis, and a proactive public health policy calls for a thorough analysis of the properties of new...
Drug Testing and Analysis
September 1, 2011
Simon D. Brandt
5 citations
The agony and the ecstasy associated with the area of illicit drugs is a matter of constant interest today. Prevalence of use, availability of reference standards, and novel detection methods provide many challenging and exciting opportunities, particularly when dealing with increasing levels of novelty and complexity within a globalized world. This special issue aims to present a snapshot of a...
Drug Testing and Analysis
July 1, 2011
Leslie A. King, Andrew T. Kicman
99 citations
This special issue of DTA is devoted to what were once known as 'designer drugs', but in recent times have been described informally as 'legal highs'. The preferred term, as adopted by the European Community in 2005[1], [2] is 'new psychoactive substances'. They are defined as 'Narcotic or psychotropic drugs that are not scheduled under the United Nations 1961 or 1971 Conventions, but which may...
Drug Testing and Analysis
April 28, 2011
Joanne C. Lin, Reem Kais Jan, Robert R. Kydd et al.
70 citations
The use of piperazine derivatives, colloquially named 'party pills', has been escalating in New Zealand and worldwide since their introduction in the 1990s. Benzylpiperazine (BZP) is often used alone, or can be combined with trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP). Taken together as an oral dose, they have been reported to produce effects similar to 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)....
Drug Testing and Analysis
February 2, 2011
Takuji Shoda, Kiyoshi Fukuhara, Yukihiro Goda et al.
8 citations
An enzyme‐assisted synthesis of psilocin glucuronide (PCG), a metabolite excreted in the urine of magic mushroom (MM) users, is described. In the presence of Aroclor 1254 pretreated rat liver microsomes, psilocin and the cofactor UDPGA were incubated for 20 h. Purification by HPLC gave PCG in 19% yield (3.6 mg). The compound structure was characterized by MS and NMR. The milligram amounts of...
Drug Testing and Analysis
December 29, 2010
Ruchanok Tearavarich, Viwat Hahnvajanawong, Nicola M. Dempster et al.
10 citations
The increased interest in N,N-dialkyl tryptamines is a reflection of their diverse range of biologically active properties. Deuterated derivatives are of interest for use as internal standards in bioanalytical or pharmacological assays. The present study reports on the synthesis of twelve novel 5-ethoxy-N,N-dialkyl-[α,α,β,β-H(4) ]-tryptamines and their [α,α,β,β-D(4) ]-counterparts following the...
Drug Testing and Analysis
July 1, 2010
Simon D. Brandt, Sharon A. Moore, Sally Freeman et al.
14 citations
The present study established an impurity profile of a synthetic route to the hallucinogenic N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The synthesis was carried out under reductive amination conditions between tryptamine and aqueous formaldehyde in the presence of acetic acid followed by reduction with sodium cyanoborohydride. Analytical characterization of this synthetic route was carried out by gas...