Determination of cathinone and cathine in Khat plant material by LC-MS/MS: Fresh vs. dried leaves. 2021

Elisabeth Pendl, and Udo Pauritsch, and Manfred Kollroser, and Martin G Schmid
Dept. of Pharm. Chemistry, University of Graz, Schubertstrasse 1, 8010, Graz, Austria.

The consumption of Khat leaves represents an ancient kind of drug abuse mainly observed in Eastern Africa and the Arab Peninsula among adult men. For this purpose, the leaves are directly collected from the shrub "Catha edulis" prior to extensive chewing process. Seizures in Europe are rare, since the leaves have to undergo quick transportation: After a short period of time, the harvested leaves decompose and suffer in decrease of concentration of the active ingredient cathinone, which makes long term transportation difficult. As an alternative, plant material can be dried to increase life period. In the past years, an increasing number of seizures were made by Austrian police, however, the content of cathinone and cathine in dry material is widely unknown. In this work, a seizure of fresh Khat leaves was compared with two seizures of dried material in terms of concentration of cathinone and cathine using LC-MS/MS analysis. For fresh leaves, a purity grade was found to be 0.115-0.158% for cathinone and 0.172-0.192% for cathine, respectively. In contrast, subsequent storage of dried Khat leaves over months led to a dramatic loss of cathinone: Analysis of two seizures revealed that concentration of cathinone dropped to 0.021-0.023%. These findings are intended to serve as a guideline for Justice authorities to estimate the content of the controlled ingredients of Khat leaves in future.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D010665 Phenylpropanolamine A sympathomimetic that acts mainly by causing release of NOREPINEPHRINE but also has direct agonist activity at some adrenergic receptors. It is most commonly used as a nasal vasoconstrictor and an appetite depressant. Norephedrine,Dexatrim,Phenylpropanolamine Hydrochloride,Prolamine,Propagest,Triaminic DM,Hydrochloride, Phenylpropanolamine
D002853 Chromatography, Liquid Chromatographic techniques in which the mobile phase is a liquid. Liquid Chromatography
D003890 Desiccation Removal of moisture from a substance (chemical, food, tissue, etc.). Dessication
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000470 Alkaloids Organic nitrogenous bases. Many alkaloids of medical importance occur in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and some have been synthesized. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed) Alkaloid,Plant Alkaloid,Plant Alkaloids,Alkaloid, Plant,Alkaloids, Plant
D053719 Tandem Mass Spectrometry A mass spectrometry technique using two (MS/MS) or more mass analyzers. With two in tandem, the precursor ions are mass-selected by a first mass analyzer, and focused into a collision region where they are then fragmented into product ions which are then characterized by a second mass analyzer. A variety of techniques are used to separate the compounds, ionize them, and introduce them to the first mass analyzer. For example, for in GC-MS/MS, GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY is involved in separating relatively small compounds by GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY prior to injecting them into an ionization chamber for the mass selection. Mass Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry,Mass Spectrometry Mass Spectrometry,Mass Spectrometry, Tandem
D018515 Plant Leaves Expanded structures, usually green, of vascular plants, characteristically consisting of a bladelike expansion attached to a stem, and functioning as the principal organ of photosynthesis and transpiration. (American Heritage Dictionary, 2d ed) Plant Leaf,Leaf, Plant,Leave, Plant,Leaves, Plant,Plant Leave
D019966 Substance-Related Disorders Disorders related to substance use or abuse. Chemical Dependence,Drug Abuse,Drug Addiction,Drug Dependence,Drug Habituation,Drug Use Disorder,Drug Use Disorders,Organic Mental Disorders, Substance-Induced,Substance Abuse,Substance Dependence,Substance Related Disorder,Substance Use,Substance Use Disorder,Substance Use Disorders,Prescription Drug Abuse,Substance Addiction,Abuse, Drug,Abuse, Prescription Drug,Abuse, Substance,Addiction, Drug,Addiction, Substance,Chemical Dependences,Dependence, Chemical,Dependence, Drug,Dependence, Substance,Dependences, Chemical,Disorder, Drug Use,Disorder, Substance Related,Disorder, Substance Use,Disorders, Substance Related,Drug Abuse, Prescription,Habituation, Drug,Organic Mental Disorders, Substance Induced,Related Disorder, Substance,Related Disorders, Substance,Substance Abuses,Substance Uses,Use, Substance
D029754 Catha A plant genus of the family CELASTRACEAE. The leafy stems of khat are chewed by some individuals for stimulating effect. Members contain ((+)-norpseudoephedrine), cathionine, cathedulin, cathinine & cathidine. Khat,Catha edulis,Mairungi,Miraa,Qat Plant,Catha eduli,Cathas,Khats,Mairungus,Miraas,Plant, Qat,Plants, Qat,Qat Plants,edulis, Catha

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