Products sold as Voacanga africana, a tree whose bark and seeds contain psychoactive alkaloids, fall into two chemical types: ibogaine-type (0.05–0.6% ibogaine plus voacamine, voacamidine, and voacangine) and tabersonine-type (0.6–1.6% tabersonine). DNA analysis of the chloroplast trnL-F region showed most products came from V. africana or closely related plants, with four distinct genotypes. The study developed a simultaneous LC/MS method to quantify these alkaloids and used DNA barcoding to verify botanical origins, providing tools to monitor the distribution of this non-controlled psychotropic plant.
Before Salvia divinorum was regulated under Japan's Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, commercial Salvia cultivars sold in Japan were tested for the hallucinogen salvinorin A. Ultra performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry showed that none of the cultivars contained salvinorin A, whereas S. divinorum leaves and its processed product "concentrated salvia" contained 0.19% to 0.58% of the compound. A DNA-based authentication method using amplification refractory mutation system clearly distinguished S. divinorum from the cultivars. The authors conclude that this authentication method is simple and accurate, making it useful for practical regulation.
Magic mushrooms sold in Japanese markets are difficult to identify by appearance alone, especially when dried and powdered. By analyzing the internal transcribed spacer region of their ribosomal RNA gene, researchers classified the samples into six genetic groups and matched them to known species using DNA databases. Chemical analysis showed that Panaeolus cyanescens contained the highest level of psilocin among the mushrooms tested, while Amanita species contained none.