Worldwide, there are plants known as psychoactive plants that naturally contain psychedelic active components. They have a high concentration of neuroprotective substances that can interact with the nervous system to produce psychedelic effects. Despite these plants' hazardous potential, recreational use of them is on the rise because of their psychoactive properties. Early neuroscience studies relied heavily on psychoactive plants and plant natural products (NPs), and both recreational and hazardous NPs have contributed significantly to the understanding of almost all neurotransmitter systems. Worldwide, there are many plants that contain psychoactive properties, and people have been using them for ages. Psychoactive plant compounds may significantly alter how people perceive the world.
1. Drug Test Anal. 2019 Aug;11(8):1162-1171. doi: 10.1002/dta.2604. Epub 2019 May 15. Simultaneous quantification of ten key Kratom alkaloids in Mitragyna speciosa leaf extracts and commercial products by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Sharma A(1), Kamble SH(1), León F(2), Chear NJ(3), King TI(1), Berthold EC(1), Ramanathan S(3), McCurdy CR(2), Avery BA(1). Author information: (1)Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. (2)Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. (3)Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Minden, Penang, Malaysia. Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a psychoactive plant popular in the United States for the self-treatment of pain and opioid addiction. For standardization and quality control of raw and commercial kratom products, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of ten key alkaloids, namely: corynantheidine, corynoxine, corynoxine B, 7-hydroxymitragynine, isocorynantheidine, mitragynine, mitraphylline, paynantheine, speciociliatine, and speciogynine. Chromatographic separation of diastereomers, or alkaloids sharing same ion transitions, was achieved on an Acquity BEH C18 column with a gradient elution using a mobile phase containing acetonitrile and aqueous ammonium acetate buffer (10mM, pH 3.5). The developed method was linear over a concentration range of 1-200 ng/mL for each alkaloid. The total analysis time per sample was 22.5 minutes. The analytical method was validated for accuracy, precision, robustness, and stability. After successful validation, the method was applied for the quantification of kratom alkaloids in alkaloid-rich fractions, ethanolic extracts, lyophilized teas, and commercial products. Mitragynine (0.7%-38.7% w/w), paynantheine (0.3%-12.8% w/w), speciociliatine (0.4%-12.3% w/w), and speciogynine (0.1%-5.3% w/w) were the major alkaloids in the analyzed kratom products/extracts. Minor kratom alkaloids (corynantheidine, corynoxine, corynoxine B, 7-hydroxymitragynine, isocorynantheidine) were also quantified (0.01%-2.8% w/w) in the analyzed products; however mitraphylline was below the lower limit of quantification in all analyses. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. DOI: 10.1002/dta.2604 PMCID: PMC7927418 PMID: 30997725 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: CONFLICT OF INTEREST The authors declare no conflict of interest.