Journal of analytical toxicology
September 1, 2006
Violeta Kontrimaviciūte, Olivier Mathieu, Jean-Claude Mathieu-Daudé et al.
38 citations
In a 48-year-old Caucasian male with a history of drug abuse who died after ingesting root bark from the shrub Tabernanthe iboga, ibogaine and its main metabolite noribogaine were found in all examined tissues except cardiac tissue. The highest concentrations appeared in spleen, liver, brain, and lung. Tissue-to-blood concentration ratios for ibogaine averaged 1.78 in spleen, 3.75 in liver, 1.16 in brain, and 4.64 in lung; for noribogaine, the ratios were 0.83, 2.43, 0.90, and 2.69, respectively. Both substances crossed the blood-brain barrier and were secreted in bile. Very low concentrations occurred in prostatic tissue.
Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences
November 7, 2006
Violeta Kontrimaviciūte, Hélène Breton, Olivier Mathieu et al.
27 citations
A new laboratory method using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry was developed to measure ibogaine and noribogaine in human plasma and whole blood. The method extracts the compounds from samples, separates them on a column, and detects them by their mass-to-charge ratios. It accurately quantifies ibogaine and noribogaine across a range of concentrations, with high precision and recovery. The drugs remain stable in frozen plasma for at least one year and in blood for up to two months at -20 degrees Celsius. The method was successfully applied to analyze a poisoning case involving Tabernanthe iboga root.
Journal of Liquid Chromatography & Related Technologies
March 1, 2007
Violeta Kontrimavičiūtė, Olivier Mathieu, Laurence Balas et al.
7 citations
Ibogaine and noribogaine, alkaloids from the Tabernanthe iboga shrub, break down when exposed to daylight or 254 nm UV light in methanol, forming oxidation products such as ibochine, iboluteine, and their desmethoxy analogues. A possible lactam derivative also appears under UV. Analysis of root bark from one shrub using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry detected seven alkaloids: ibochine, ibogaline, iboluteine, ibogaine, ibogamine, voacangine, and an unidentified compound at m/z 309. Ibogaine was the most abundant alkaloid, with concentrations between 1.8 and 5.93 mg/g. The peak areas of ibogaline, ibogamine, and voacangine were 11.9%, 21.5%, and 30.5% of ibogaine's, respectively.