Journal of AOAC International
January 20, 2017
Mônica C. Santos, Sandro Navickiene, Alain Gaujac
18 citations
A simple and low-cost method using solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography with UV detection was developed to quantify six alkaloids—N,N-dimethyltryptamine, tryptamine, harmine, harmaline, harmalol, and tetrahydroharmine—in ayahuasca samples. The method demonstrated good linearity and repeatability, with a detection limit of 0.12 mg/L. It was applied to 20 samples from a religious group in Fortaleza, Brazil, revealing alkaloid concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 36.7 g/L.
Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society
January 1, 2018
Sandro Navickiene, Luı́s M. N. B. F. Santos, Mônica C. Santos et al.
2 citations
A solid-phase extraction method using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed to quantify five major alkaloids—N,N-dimethyltryptamine, harmine, harmaline, harmalol, and tetrahydroharmine—in ayahuasca. Two new adsorbent materials, coconut charcoal and menthone-thiosemicarbazone polymer, were tested. Recoveries ranged from 40.6% to 116.2%, with detection limits between 0.003 and 0.016 μg mL⁻¹ and quantification limits between 0.009 and 0.043 μg mL⁻¹. The method was linear over 0.05–1.0 μg mL⁻¹ (correlation coefficients 0.9969–0.9998). Applied to an ayahuasca sample from a religious group in Fortaleza, Brazil, alkaloid concentrations ranged from 0.3 to 19.3 mg mL⁻¹.
January 30, 2024
Patrícia Hermínio Cunha Feitosa, Melquisedeque da Rocha Viana, José Figueredo‐Silva et al.
Ayahuasca, a tea made from Banisteriopsis caapi vine and Psychotria viridis leaves used in Amazonian spiritual rituals and explored as an alternative therapy, showed no evidence of genotoxic or mutagenic effects in an in vivo mouse study. Oral administration of the tea to Mus musculus was tested using the COMET assay on peripheral blood (measuring tail length and percentage of DNA) and the micronucleus test on bone marrow. Results did not indicate genotoxic effects compared to the negative control, nor mutagenic effects. The findings contribute to discussions about the beverage's safety, suggesting no harmful effects on DNA under these conditions.