Harmala Alkaloids Identify Ayahausca Intoxication in a Urine Drug Screen
Journal of Analytical Toxicology November 30, 2018 Jeffrey D Pope, Kay Weng Choy, Olaf H Drummer et al. 9 citations
Ayahuasca, a traditional South American drink, produces hallucinogenic effects primarily through dimethyltryptamine (DMT), but DMT is short-lived and hard to detect in urine drug tests. This study tested a simpler detection method by targeting other drink components, the β-carboline harmala alkaloids. Three commercially available harmala alkaloids were characterized and added to a non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry urine drug screening method. Analyzing a urine sample from a patient suspected of ayahuasca consumption detected harmaline and tetrahydroharmaline (THH). Including harmala alkaloids in drug screen libraries may enable detection of ayahuasca use in patients undergoing non-targeted drug screening.