Volume 72, Issue 3, 1 May 2015, Pages 517-525
a
National Medicines Institute, Chełmska 30/34, Warszawa, Poland
b Department of Pharmacognosy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, United States
b Department of Pharmacognosy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, United States
Abstract
Drug market changes
dynamically causing many analytical challenges for police experts. Among
illicit substances there are synthetic designer products but also herbal
material. Plant material is usually in finecut or powdered form, thus
difficult to identify. For such fragmented material classic taxonomical
identification methods using anatomical and morphological features of
the plant cannot be employed. The aim of the study was to develop an
identification method of the powdered material with employment of
multidimensional data analysis techniques. Principal Component Analysis
(PCA) was chosen as a method of data exploration. The study was
conducted on four plants controlled in Poland:
Salvia divinorum, Mitragyna speciosa, Psychotria viridis and Calea
zacatechichi. The compatibility of grouping features of selected species
was compared in two variants: chemical and elemental composition. In a
first variant, GC-MS chromatograms of extracts were analyzed and in the
second, elements composition with the AAS and the ICP-MS techniques. The
GC-MS method, based on the qualitative interpretation of results,
allows for clear differentiation of samples with regard to their species
affiliation. Even the plants belonging to the same family Rubiaceae, P.
viridis and M. speciosa formed homogeneous and clearly separated
clusters. Additionally, the cluster analysis was performed, as a method
confirming sample grouping. © 2015, Polish Pharmaceutical Society. All
rights reserved.
Author keywords
Chemometrics; Elements; Gas chromatography; Identification; Narcotic plants
Indexed keywords
EMTREE drug terms: calcium; lanthanide; mitragynine; salvinorin A
EMTREE medical terms: Article; Calea zacatechichi;
chemometrics; cluster analysis; controlled study; data analysis; mass
fragmentography; Mitragyna; Mitragyna speciosa; nonhuman;
phytochemistry; plant identification; Poland; principal component analysis; psychoactive plant; Psychotria; Psychotria viridis; Rubiaceae; Salvia divinorum
Chemicals and CAS Registry Numbers: calcium, 7440-70-2, 14092-94-5; mitragynine, 4098-40-2
ISSN: 00016837
CODEN: APPHASource Type: Journal
Original language: English
Document Type: Article
Publisher: Polish Pharmaceutical Society
