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Psychotria Viridis - A Botanical Source of Dimethyltryptamine
(DMT)
Robert D. Blackledge,
M.S.*
Naval Criminal Investigative Service Regional Forensic Laboratory
3405 Welles Street, Suite 3
San Diego, CA 92136-5018
[e-mail: rblackle@ncis.navy.mil]
Charlotte M.
Taylor, Ph.D.
Missouri Botanical Garden
P.O. Box 299
St. Louis, MO 63166-0299
[e-mail: charlotte.taylor@mobot.org]
ABSTRACT:
Dimethyltryptamine was identified by GC/MS in a sample of dried leafy
material that was subsequently identified as Psychotria viridis
(Rubiaceae), a tropical shrub native to Central and South America that
has ethnobotanical use as a hallucinogen by many indigenous peoples
of tropical South America. The botanical characteristics of Psychotria
viridis are illustrated and described.
KEYWORDS:
Psychotria viridis, Dimethyltryptamine, DMT, Banisteriopsis
caapi, Ayahuasca
Introduction
The
Naval Criminal Investigative Service Regional Forensic Laboratory (NCISRFL)
in San Diego, California recently received several items that investigators
had obtained from a U.S. Marine stationed in Yuma, Arizona. Item A (see
Figure 1) consisted of a self-sealing plastic bag
containing dried whole leaves mostly still attached to stem pieces.
Analysis by macro and microscopic examination indicated that the material
clearly was not marijuana, nor were there any visible signs that anything
had been added to the leaves.
Figure 1 - A
Portion of the Sample as Received
Experimental
Approximately
1 gram of dried leaf material was placed in a glass beaker and covered
with about 3 mLs of methanol. The beaker was then heated on a hot plate
in a fume hood. When the methanol volume had been reduced to about 0.5
mL, the beaker was removed from the hot plate and 1µL of the remaining
extract was injected into a Hewlett-Packard 5890 Gas Chromatograph (Palo
Alto, CA) equipped with a 5971 Mass Selective Detector and fitted with
an HP-1 capillary column (crosslinked methyl silicone, 20 m x 0.25 mm
i.d. x 2.65 µm film thickness). The column oven temperature was
programmed from an initial temperature of 70° C (held for 2 min)
to 200° C at 10° C°min, then held at 200° C for the
final 2 minutes.
Results
The
total ion chromatogram revealed just one strong peak above the background,
as shown in Figure 2. The mass spectrum of this
peak is shown in Figure 3. A library search gave
N,N - dimethyltryptamine (DMT) as the
Figure
2 - Total Ion Chromatogram of a Methanol Extract
Figure
3 - Mass Spectrum of Dimethyltryptamine (Major Peak)
closest hit. The identification of DMT was confirmed when subsequent
injection of a DMT standard produced a matching spectrum at the same
retention time. DMT, an hallucinogen, is a Schedule I Controlled Substance.
The dried leaves and stems were in good condition for botanical evaluation,
and were matched to reference specimens of Psychotria viridis
from Peru. DMT is known to be present in Psychotria viridis (1,2).
Ethnobotanical
Use of Psychotria viridis
A
narcotic drink often called ayahuasca or caapi is made
from an infusion of the bark of the so-called "Spirit Vine",
Banisteriopsis caapi [(Spruce ex Griseb.) C.V. Morton, Malpighiaceae]
and related species of tropical rainforest lianas, by many indigenous
peoples of the Amazon River basin and northwestern South America (2,3).
Ayahuasca contains several hallucinogenic alkaloids, including
harmine and harmaline, and is widely used in traditional medical rites
and mystical and religious ceremonies as a purgative, a magic hallucinogen,
and for prophecy, diagnosis, and telepathy. Other plants are frequently
added to the infusion to alter and/or enhance the effects of the Banisteriopsis
hallucinogens. A commonly used admixture is another plant containing
DMT, which
reportedly increases the intensity and duration of the ayahuasca intoxication.
DMT is found in several plant species that grow in the same region as
Banisteriopsis, including Psychotria viridis. Schultes and Hoffmann
have detailed the botany, ethnobotany, and chemistry of ayahuasca and
its common admixtures (3), and Casale and Koles have detailed the forensic
analysis of a typical sample (4).
Botanical
Identification
Psychotria
is a large genus of shrubs and small trees found in tropical regions
around the world (including about 1400 species, with perhaps 700 in
the New World), and its taxonomy is somewhat complicated. Not surprisingly,
several other New World tropical species are morphologically similar
to Psychotria viridis, and at least some of these may also be
used as admixtures in ayahuasca (3).
Psychotria
viridis [Ruiz & Pav., Rubiaceae] can be recognized by a combination
of features found on the vegetative portions of the plant, listed below
and shown in Figure 1, although reproductive structures provide conclusive
identification [see Figure 4) for illustrations
of the reproductive characters]. Psychotria viridis grows naturally
in wet lowland tropical forests in Cuba and northern Central America
through western and central South America; it appears to be most common
in Amazonian Peru and Bolivia. Because the genus Psychotria includes
a large number of morphologically similar species, and there are other
genera of the same plant family that are similar, the presence of all
the characteristics listed below is needed to conclusively identify
Psychotria viridis. Botanical identification of shredded or powdered
material, or even leaves without stems, would be challenging.
-
Stems. In the middle and lower parts of the stem, situated
between the insertion points of the two opposite leaves there is a
horizontal scar 0.3-1 mm wide that extends between the leaves (or
leaf scars) and sometimes also connects over the tops of these scars,
and along the top side of this scar there is a dense, usually furry
line of fine trichomes (i.e., plant hairs) usually 0.5-1 mm long that
are reddish brown when dried (Figure 4A). This
combination of features is diagnostic for many species in the genus
Psychotria, though not for any individual species [i.e., these
features distinguish Psychotria L. Subg. Psychotria;
other subgenera of Psychotria lack the well developed reddish
brown trichomes inserted above the stipule scars]. On the upper stems
of Psychotria viridis these features are obscured by a stipule
(see below), which covers the trichomes; the scar
actually marks the point where this structure has fallen off.
-
Stipules.
These
are leafy structures that cover and protect the young developing leaves,
then fall off leaving scars on the stem. The stipules are produced
in pairs, and their form is distinctive for Psychotria viridis:
They are 5-25 x 4-12 mm, elliptic in outline, sharply angled at the
apex, papery to
Figure 4
- Vegetative characters of Psychotria viridis. A,
Portion of upper stem showing,
from top, a pair of well developed stipules, the bases of a pair
of leaves, a stipule scar with a
fringe of trichomes above it, the base of another leaf, and the
scar of this last leaf's pair that has
fallen off. B, Leaf, underside view with a pair of foveolae circled.
C, Enlarged view of
foveolae from leaf shown in B. D, Enlarged view of foveolae from
the forensic sample
discussed in this article. E, Enlarged view of foveolae from a different
botanical specimen of
Psychotria viridis. F, Enlarged view of a different botanical
specimen of Psychotria viridis. C,
D, E, F to 5-mm scale. A, B, C based on N. Ritter and Wood 3702
(MO), from Bolivia; E,
Gentry and Jaramillo 57585 (MO), Peru; and F, Solomon and
Urcullo 14103 (MO), Bolivia.
membranaceous in texture, ciliate (i.e., fringed) along the upper margins,
and longitudinally flanged or winged along the middle (Figure
4A). However, stipule shape and size is quite variable among different
plants, and also depends on the stipule's developmental stage and other
factors such as whether the stem that produced it is reproductive or
vegetative.
-
Leaves.
These (Figure 4B) are opposite in arrangement
(i.e., produced in pairs along the stems), generally 5-15 x 2-6 cm,
in outline generally elliptic or often widest above the middle, usually
sharply angled at base and apex, papery in texture, overall smooth
or infrequently with microscropic plant hairs on the lower surface,
have 5-10 pairs of secondary veins, and on the lower surface usually
have foveolae (see next item). The leaves are borne on petioles (i.e.,
leaf stalks) generally 1-10 mm long. When dry, the leaves of Psychotria
viridis usually are gray or reddish brown. The leaves of Psychotria
viridis are similar to a few other New World species of Psychotria.
-
Foveolae.
These
are small pockets found on the lower leaf surface near the junction
of the secondary (i.e., side) veins with the central vein. They function
as shelter for tiny invertebrates such as mites that live on the plant
leaf. These mites apparently often are symbiotic with the plant, taking
shelter in these structures and eating fungi and herbivorous invertebrates
that can damage the leaf. The foveolae (also called domatia) are distinctive
for Psychotria viridis and a few related species: They are
generally 1.5-5 mm long and 0.5-1 mm wide at the top, conical and
tapered to a closed base, open and truncate or variously ornamented
at the top, and situated along the sides of the central vein with
the opening usually near a secondary vein (Figure
4C). These foveolae vary in shape among different plants (Figure
4C, 4D, 4E, 4F), and in number on individual leaves, and may not
even be present on some leaves. Most often each leaf bears at least
one pair of foveolae, which may be close to the apex; the foveolae
are often more numerous on leaves from vegetative stems than on those
from reproductive stems.
Conclusions
How does a U.S.
Marine obtain plant material that grows in the Amazon basin? The suspect
refused to cooperate, but an Internet sales contact was the most likely
source. Psychotria viridis leaves in various forms (whole, broken,
finely powdered, shredded) reportedly exported from Peru are offered
for sale on the Internet.
References
-
Bruneton
J. Pharmacognosy Phytochemistry Medicinal Plants, 2nd. ed. Lavoisier
Publishing Inc. (c/o Springer-Verlag), Secaucus, NJ, 1999 (transl.
C.K. Hatton).
-
Duke
JA, Vásquez, R. Amazonian Ethnobotanical Dictionary. CRC Press,
Boca Raton, FL, 1994.
-
Schultes
RE, Hoffmann A. The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens, 2nd ed.
Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1980.
-
Casale
JF, Koles JE. Analysis of ayahuasca ('Santo Daime'). Microgram 1995;28(9):296.
* * * * *
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