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Trichocereus alkaloid extraction |
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Written by (unknown)
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Monday, 12 August 2002 |
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Page 3 of 3
[This was added later to the post]
I've had a quick scan through that post, and it seems he's been pretty complete in his description. I can add the following information:
The initial extraction is very important. You only have as much alkaloid to play with as you extract at this point. Similarly, the more gunk you extract at this stage, the more you'll have to eliminate. Methanol is used because it's not too polar or non-polar, and it penetrates cell walls and membranes quite effectively. Acetone would be as effective, but it seems to pull much more gunk out along with it, and for this reason should probably be avoided. Also note that the better your mechanical mulching process is, the more effective the extraction will be. Also, note that a hot solvent extraction under reflux conditions, or using a soxhlet would be more effective, but bear in mind that some alkaloids may decompose with heat - it's probably worthwhile checking the physical characteristics of the alkaloid in question in your handy Merck index or CRC handbook.
With respect to the degree of acidity and basicity necessary for the extraction, this can only really be found by trial and error. Insufficient difference from neutrality will cause insufficient separation, extremes of pH (particularly too basic) may cause alkaloids to be degraded or other nasty things to happen. Also note that other compounds present may act as buffers - be sure to stir well, and measure the pH using indicator paper or somesuch.
The final product is a free base. Usually it's unnecessary to go further than this. Forming a salt can be tricky, and would also be wasteful. If you're ingesting the product orally, then it'll salt adequately with the HCl in your stomach. If you're concerned with oxidation by the air, well, use your better judgment (are you really going to wait that long before eating the stuff). Of course, if it's DMT and you're going to smoke it, forming the salt is a waste of time.
Hope that's helpful.
[additionally]
Once you've extracted the goodies into the solvent layer, you attempt to remove any remaining non-alkaloid gunk that may have come along with it. So you wash the extract with basified water, which forms another layer which you discard. Jez describes this in the procedure. It's not always necessary, but once you've got that far, it's usually not difficult to do (i.e. you've got the layers to separate successfully once already)
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