An extraction method based on solid-phase extraction was developed to determine the major alkaloid components, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, harmine, harmaline, harmalol, and tetrahydroharmine, in ayahuasca using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Coconut charcoal and menthone-thiosemicarbazone polymer were tested as new adsorbent materials. Experiments carried out at levels of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 250 µg mL-1 resulted in recoveries in the ranges 45.3-115.7% for menthone-thiosemicarbazone and 40.6-116.2% for coconut charcoal. The detection and quantification limits ranged from 0.003 to 0.016 µg mL-1 and from 0.009 to 0.043 µg mL-1, respectively. The method developed was linear over the tested range (0.05-1.0 µg mL-1), with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9969 to 0.9998. The technique was applied for analysis of the compounds in an ayahuasca sample collected from a religious group located in the city of Fortaleza, obtaining concentrations in the range from 0.3 to 19.3 mg mL-1.
Keywords:
alkaloid; ayahuasca beverage; coconut charcoal; menthone-thiosemicarbazone; solid phase extraction
