Harmala Alkaloids Identify Ayahausca Intoxication in a Urine Drug Screen
Jeffrey D Pope, Kay Weng Choy, Olaf H Drummer, Hans G Schneider
Journal of Analytical Toxicology November 30, 2018 DOI: 10.1093/jat/bky105 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | A patient suspected to have consumed ayahuasca |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Harmine Harmaline Peganum harmala Urine Pharmacology Designer drug Hallucinogen Alkaloid Chromatography Traditional medicine |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key findings | Including harmala alkaloids in a non-targeted drug screen library may enable detection of ayahuasca use by identifying harmaline and tetrahydroharmaline in urine. |
Abstract
Background: Ayahausca is an ethnobotanical drink of South America and the compound dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is primarily responsible for the hallucinogenic effects. DMT has a short half-life and its detection in urinary drug screens is challenging. We investigate a simple alternate approach to detect ayahuasca consumption by relying on other constituents of the drink, the β-carboline harmala alkaloids.
Methods: Three commercially sourced harmala alkaloids were characterized and added to a non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry urine drug screening method. All analyses were performed on a Waters Xevo G2-XS LC-QTof, in positive electrospray ionization mode. The mass detector was operated in MSE mode and data processed with UNIFI™ software. A urine specimen from a patient suspected to have consumed ayahuasca was analyzed by a non-targeted drug screen.
Results: The harmala alkaloids: harmine, harmaline and tetrohydroharmaline (THH) were characterized and their detection data added to the toxicology screening library. Harmaline and THH were detected in the patient's urine specimen.
Conclusion: The inclusion of the harmala alkaloids into the drug screen method library may enable the detection of ayahuasca use in patients that undergo non-targeted drug screen.