A dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method for the determination of ayahuasca alkaloids (N,N-dimethyltryptamine and β-carbolines) in human hair.
Talanta January 27, 2026 Fabiana Pereira Santos, Beatriz Aparecida Passos Bismara Paranhos, Thaisa Meira Sandini et al.
A greener analytical method using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and LC-MS/MS was developed to measure N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and three β-carbolines (harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine) in human hair. The method was sensitive, with limits of quantification from 3 to 8 pg/mg, and linear up to 1000 pg/mg. Recovery was low (36-58%), but selectivity showed no interference. Applied to six real samples, DMT concentrations ranged from 21.5 to 204.4 pg/mg, while β-carbolines were generally higher, with harmine reaching over 1000 pg/mg. The method uses less organic solvent than conventional hair extraction, advancing green analytical toxicology for psychoactive alkaloids.