Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Tryptamines in the Poison of Incilius alvarius (Amphibia: Bufonidae).
Hannes M Schwelm, Nicole Zimmermann, Tobias Scholl, Johannes Penner, Amy Autret, Volker Auwärter, Merja A. Neukamm
Journal of Analytical Toxicology May 20, 2022 DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkab038 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Poison samples from Incilius alvarius (Colorado River toad) collected in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona |
| Topics | 5-MeO-DMT |
| Keywords | Tryptamines Indoleamines Psychoactive compounds Hallucinogens 5-MEO-Tryptamine Hydroxylated Meo-DMT Forms Toad venom analysis Bufotoxin analysis Natural product analysis Biological sample analysis Colorado river toad Arizona toads Poison Extraction Chemical profile Chemical profiling Chemical characterization Compound identification Quantitative analysis Metabolomics Identify Measure Quantify Tryptamine compounds Forensic science Forensic toxicology Forensic chemistry Legal applications Forensic applications Data |
| Citations | 13 |
| Key findings | 5-MeO-DMT is the predominant tryptamine in Incilius alvarius poison at 410,000 μg/g, and 5-MeO-tryptamine along with two hydroxylated MeO-DMT isomers were detected for the first time in this poison. |
Abstract
Rising numbers of psychoactive tryptamine derivatives have become available on the drug market over the last decade, making these naturally occurring or synthetically manufactured compounds highly relevant for forensic analyses. One of these compounds is 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), a constituent of the dried poison of Incilius alvarius (Colorado River toad), which has a history of ritual and/or recreational use. Still, comprehensive and validated qualitative as well as quantitative analytical data on the psychoactive components of this poison are scarce. In this study, samples of the poison of Incilius alvarius were collected from live toads in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona (USA), and analyzed with a set of complementary methods. Acetone/water (70/30, v/v) proved to be the solvent of choice for the extraction of tryptamine derivatives. Trace compounds were enriched, and overload with 5-MeO-DMT was prevented by chromatographic separation of 5-MeO-DMT prior to qualitative analyses. The method for quantification was validated. Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was suitable to identify 5-MeO-DMT as the main tryptamine in samples of the poison. The combined evaluation of analytical data gained from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight high-resolution MS (HPLC-qToF-HRMS) and HPLC-MS-MS confirmed the presence of 5-MeO-DMT, 5-MeO-N-methyltryptamine, 5-MeO-tryptamine, 5-MeO-tryptophol, 2-(5-methoxy-1H-indol-3-yl)-acetic-acid (5-MIAA), 5-HO-N-methyltryptamine, bufotenin, DMT and tryptophan. For the first time, 5-MeO-tryptamine and two positional isomers of hydroxylated MeO-DMT were detected in the poison of Incilius alvarius. The tryptamine present in the highest concentrations was 5-MeO-DMT (mean ± SD: 410,000 ± 30,000 μg/g). Mean concentrations of 5-MeO-tryptamine (490 ± 260 μg/g), 5-HO-N-methyltryptamine (270 ± 120 μg/g), bufotenin (2,800 ± 1,900 μg/g) and DMT (250 ± 80 μg/g) showed a relatively high variability between individual samples. The comprehensive analytical reference data of Incilius alvarius poison presented here might prove useful for forensic chemists.