An Efficient Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometric Approach to Detection and Quantification of the Mescaline Content of Commonly Abused Cacti from the Echinopsis Genus
Journal of Forensic Sciences – July 16, 2019
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
A novel DART-HRMS method enables rapid detection of mescaline in Echinopsis cacti, which are increasingly used as alternatives to peyote. This technique demonstrated impressive calibration with R² values above 0.995 and a lower limit of quantification at 1 ppm, covering a linear range up to 100 ppm. Testing on commercially available Echinopsis spp. revealed mescaline levels below 2% dry weight, confirming the method's effectiveness for quickly identifying mescaline within complex plant materials, vital for forensic toxicology and environmental chemistry applications.
Abstract
Abstract Unregulated cacti from the genus Echinopsis are used recreationally as mescaline‐containing alternatives to the outlawed peyote. Echinopsis ‐derived plant materials appear in a variety of nondescript forms, making rapid assessment of whether they are mescaline‐containing materials or simply innocuous plant‐derived food products, very challenging. Reported here is a DART ‐ HRMS approach for the rapid detection of mescaline in whole plant material and a validated method for the quantification of mescaline in cactus tissue, using mescaline‐ d 9 as the internal standard. Calibration curves exhibited R 2 values of ≥0.995, and the method exhibited a LLOQ and a linear range of 1 ppm and 1–100 ppm, respectively. Application of the method to commercially available Echinopsis spp. yielded results consistent with previous studies performed by GC ‐ and LC ‐ MS , with mescaline levels of <2% dry weight in all cases. Therefore, DART ‐ HRMS is a suitable technique for the rapid screening of mescaline and its subsequent quantification within complex plant‐derived matrices.