Testing human hair after magic mushrooms abuse by LC-MS/MS: Pitfalls and limitations
Forensic Chemistry September 20, 2021 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1016/j.forc.2021.100364 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
A method using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed to detect psilocin, the active form of psilocybin from magic mushrooms, in human hair. The technique involves incubating cut hair in acid methanol with a deuterated internal standard, then separating compounds via reverse-phase chromatography. The method is linear from 1 to 200 pg/mg, with a detection limit of 0.4 pg/mg. Analysis of hair from a regular magic mushroom user found psilocin at 2.5, 4.4, and 5.4 pg/mg in consecutive 1-cm segments. Cold and dark conditions during preparation are essential to prevent psilocin degradation.
Study at a glance
| Design | method development and validation |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | human hair from a repetitive magic mushrooms consumer |
| Key finding | A validated LC-MS/MS method can detect psilocin in human hair at picogram levels, with concentrations increasing along hair segments from a regular user. |
Abstract
Abstract Although it has been published during the last 15 years that hallucinogens derived from new psychoactive substances are increasingly abused, the old psychedelic agents are still used. Among these vegetal compounds, magic mushrooms are frequently mentioned. The major ingredient of the Psilocybe species is psilocybin, which is rapidly converted into psilocin in the human body. Therefore, psilocin represents the key target to document magic mushrooms abuse. The aim of the present work was to develop a specific method to identify psilocin in human hair by LC-MS/MS and review potential pitfalls. The method involves incubation of 10 mg of cut hair in 1 mL of acid methanol in presence of psilocin-d10 for 2 hours at 4 °C. The chromatographic separation was performed using a reverse phase column HSS C18 with a gradient elution of 8 min. Linearity was verified from 1 to 200 pg/mg (r2 = 0.9994), after spiking blank hair with the corresponding amounts of psilocin. The limit of detection was estimated at 0.4 pg/mg. The precision was lower than 20 % and there was no interference with any extractable material present in hair. Psilocin was identified in the hair of a repetitive magic mushrooms consumer at 2.5 pg/mg (segment 0-1 cm), 4.4 pg/mg (segment 1-2 cm) and 5.4 pg/mg (segment 2-3 cm). Cold conditions during hair preparation and protection from the light were found mandatory to avoid psilocin degradation.