Extracting alkaloids from Trichocereus cacti Instructions for purifying alkaloids from Trichocereus cacti. This is a general method for concentrating alkaloids, with emphasis on mescaline, but which may be adapted to other plants and alkaloids. It requires that the alkaloids be relatively basic and that the base form be less soluble in water. So it would work well for DMT, but not psilocybin or caffeine for example.

The principle of alkaloid purification is to obtain from a plant only that fraction which is basic. This is achieved by a double layer extraction, relying on the principle that amines (as opposed to most of the other compounds in a plant) are soluble in acidic (the salt form) but insoluble in basic (the basic form) aqueous solution. However, the basic form is soluble in non-polar organic solvents whereas the acidic/salt form is not. Thus, by varying the pH, alkaloids can be taken from aqueous solution to organic solution or vice-versa, leaving behind other materials.

Some chemicals and equipment are important for successful extraction of alkaloids from cactus. The chemicals include methanol, dichloromethane or chloroform, sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid. The equipment includes a distillation apparatus, a separating funnel, and various beakers and containers, pH tester, and filter. Alternatives can be found for each of these.

Method:

Slice and dry the cactus. I haven't worked out the best way to do this; no matter how I do it, I am always afraid that I am destroying the alkaloids. In general, what seems to work is to slice it thinly, and run hot air over it overnight. The more water which can be removed from the cactus at this stage, the easier the process will be. [Another possibility might be to use a drying agent such as Calcium Chloride see the “Drying and Preservation” section of the Magic Mushroom Growers Guide for more info.]

Pulverise the dried cactus. I have tried using a blender, and it seems to work moderately well. The cactus is tough so you will have to be patient. The finer the grinding, the better the extraction.

Extract dried cactus with methanol. Ideally this is done hot using solvent-extraction apparatus (soxhlet). Various makeshift methods may suffice for a hot extraction, but I have generally merely soaked the stuff for up to a week, cold. Ideally this step should be done three times, and the extracts concentrated. I have done it once for a week, and then washed out the absorbed methanol with fresh methanol once or twice over an hour or two. What you should end up with, after filtering out the bulk of the cactus, is a green methanol extract. Ethanol or acetone could be substituted for methanol, but neither of these is quite as effective. It is generally desirable to use several times the weight of the dried cactus for the methanol extraction, or at least enough to cover it well in a container.

Remove the methanol to leave just an extract residue. This is best done using vacuum distillation, but can be done using atmospheric distillation, to recover the solvent. If you don't mind losing several litres of methanol, you can merely boil the stuff into the atmosphere; just avoid starting a fire. Always no matter what use boiling chips (porcelain) to promote even boiling. Methanol superboils easily, as I have found . Once most of the methanol is removed, you will be left with a hundred ml or so of watery, methanoly, green slime. If it weren't for the methanol and the bad taste, this could be consumed at this point. In general, I would say that it may be worth your while going to the next stage if you can manage it.

Add dilute hydrochloric acid. Sulfuric acid, etc. could be used instead, but I like to use HCl and NaOH, because the product is NaCl, which is of no consequence if it contaminates anything. HCl is not as oxidising as H2SO4. The HCl should be less than 1M, but not weaker than 0.1M (pH 0-1). Add a few times the reduced volume of liquid - e.g. take the stuff to 400 ml from 100 ml, etc. One good idea is to let the bulk cactus residue (post methanol) dry, and then soak it for a few hours in the acid you are going to use to add at this point. This will extract the last of the alkaloids. Unfortunately, cactus being what it is, will swell enormously, and removing the HCl is tricky. I have resorted to large quantities of HCl and a kind of press to squeeze out the acid from the bulk residue. This acid should then be filtered, and added to the methanol extract residue as above.