Yakugaku zasshi : Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
August 1, 2009
Ruri Kikura-Hanajiri, Takuro Maruyama, Akinori Miyashita et al.
15 citations
Products sold as Voacanga africana, a tree whose bark and seeds contain psychoactive alkaloids, fall into two chemical types: ibogaine-type (0.05–0.6% ibogaine plus voacamine, voacamidine, and voacangine) and tabersonine-type (0.6–1.6% tabersonine). DNA analysis of the chloroplast trnL-F region showed most products came from V. africana or closely related plants, with four distinct genotypes. The study developed a simultaneous LC/MS method to quantify these alkaloids and used DNA barcoding to verify botanical origins, providing tools to monitor the distribution of this non-controlled psychotropic plant.
Yakugaku zasshi : Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
January 1, 2008
Takuro Maruyama, Hiroyuki Kamakura, Ruri Kikura-Hanajiri et al.
14 citations
Before Salvia divinorum was regulated under Japan's Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, commercial Salvia cultivars sold in Japan were tested for the hallucinogen salvinorin A. Ultra performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry showed that none of the cultivars contained salvinorin A, whereas S. divinorum leaves and its processed product "concentrated salvia" contained 0.19% to 0.58% of the compound. A DNA-based authentication method using amplification refractory mutation system clearly distinguished S. divinorum from the cultivars. The authors conclude that this authentication method is simple and accurate, making it useful for practical regulation.
Yakugaku zasshi : Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
January 1, 2022
Rie Tanaka, Maiko Kawamura, Sakumi Mizutani et al.
3 citations
Three new derivatives of the dissociative drug methoxetamine (MXE) were identified in illegal products in Japan: methoxpropamine (MXPr), methoxisopropamine (MXiPr), and deoxymethoxetamine (DMXE). MXE itself, an analog of the anesthetic ketamine, is already controlled as a narcotic in Japan, and its overdoses have caused health problems. All arylcyclohexylamines, including these new substances, act as antagonists of the NMDA receptor. The findings highlight the ongoing emergence of novel psychoactive substances designed to evade legal controls.