Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometric and Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometric Determination of Hallucinogenic Indoles Psilocin and Psilocybin in “Magic Mushroom” Samples
Journal of Forensic Sciences March 1, 2005 Tohru Kamata, Masanobu Nishikawa, Munehiro Katagi et al. 24 citations
Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) can accurately and sensitively detect psilocin and psilocybin, the hallucinogens in magic mushrooms, without derivatization. Tandem mass spectrometry provides high specificity and accuracy. Detection limits range from 1 to 25 picograms by LC-MS in selected ion monitoring mode, with intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation of 4.21–5.93% by LC-MS-MS in selected reaction monitoring mode. Analysis of four real samples showed psilocin content from 0.60 to 1.4 mg/g dry weight and psilocybin content from 0.18 to 3.8 mg/g dry weight, varying widely between samples.