Modern tools to analyse museum samples of curare and psychoactive preparations used by Amazonian tribes
Sylvian Cretton, PM Allard, I Garcia-Gomez, K Anheuser, Boris Wastiau, Jean‐Luc Wolfender, Muriel Cuendet, Phlippe Christen
Planta Medica December 14, 2016 DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1596293 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Chemical analysis of museum artifacts Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 16 |
| Population | Museum-held Amazonian artifacts including curare pots, blow gun darts, arrows, quivers, and ceremonial vessels containing powders |
| Key points | Bioactive compounds were detected in most of the 16 nearly hundred-year-old Amazonian artifacts. D-tubocurarine and Strychnos alkaloids were found in curare preparations, while DMT, bufotenine, and 5-MeO-DMT were present in shamanic snuffs and unexpectedly in arrow poisons, which the authors say is relevant for curators handling potentially hazardous items. |
Abstract
Indigenous groups of the Amazonian rainforest have used a vast array of poisons and psychoactive drugs from plant origin for centuries. There is a great variety of different species used and each group has their own recipes to prepare plant mixtures [1]. Arrow poisons are made of alkaloids extracted mainly from the Menispermaceae ( Chondrodendron spp.), as well as the Loganiaceae ( Strychnos spp.). For shamanic ceremonies, Virola theiodora (Spruce ex Benth.) Warb., Banisteriopsis caapi (Spruce ex Griseb.) Morton, Psychotria viridis Ruiz & Pav. and Anadenanthera peregrina (L.) Speg. are plants commonly used and known to produce psychoactive indole alkaloids. Objects containing hunting poisons such as curare pots, blow gun darts, arrows, quivers, and ceremonial vessels enclosing powders with hallucinogenic constituents have been collected by museums like the Museum of Ethnography in Geneva for decades. To assess the chemical content of these nearly one hundred year old samples, analyses by ultra-high pressure chromatography – high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) were performed. The dereplication strategy was based on the creation of a molecular network [2], which groups molecules according to their structural similarities deduced from their MS/MS fragmentation pattern. A subsequent comparison of the experimental fragmentation spectra with an extensive in silico MS/MS database of natural products was performed [3]. The putative identification of constituents was then confirmed by injection of available standards. Bioactive compounds were detected in a majority of the 16 samples. D-tubocurarine and alkaloids encountered in the genus Strychnos were detected in curare preparations. N , N -Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and derivatives such as bufotenine and 5-MeO-DMT were present in snuffs for shamanic ceremonies but also unexpectedly in arrow poisons. These results are valuable for curators who handle ancient collector's items which may still remain hazardous.