Hey godsmacker,
I am happy to contribute what I have learnt from extracting DMT from Chacruna leaf over a number of years. This method was developed through the application of a number of teks developed by the nexus community. I have applied these teks to address the issues that I have experienced. I have not collaborated this information to date as I have currently seen very little demand for extracting from Chacruna leaf. I’m guessing this is because of the high variability in store brought materials and the majority of folks do not live in an environment where they can grow this plant to its full potential.
Given the current issues the entheogenic community has with sustainability of DMT source material it has been decided preferable that folks move toward cultivation of their own source materials. This path will reduce impacts on south American source plants and the reliance on internationally trafficking this material, which is currently being targeted for control.
Chacruna is a rainforest plant that loves high humidity environments. If you live in a tropical environment this species of plant is highly suitable to grow for the production of DMT. Plants should be grown in pots in a rich soil mixture including high grade potting mix, coco coir, course river sand and perlite. Eventually plants can be planted out in the ground once they are mature enough to thrive in a full sun location.
Plants should be harvested during the hot dry time of the year when they are stressed for water and wilted by the afternoon. Plants require water every morning and afternoon during this time of the year to remain actively growing. Relatively high humidity in the air prevents plants from dyeing even once wilted. They can survive wilted in this environment for over a week without water. Studies have found that DMT levels present within Chacruna leaf fluctuate throughout the day and night with alkaloids being highest at dawn and dusk and lowest at lunch time and midnight. This information has been taken from the following data –
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------From thirty-seven samples of P. viridis, collected in the morning on the same day from several locations throughout Brazil, the DMT concentrations were found to range from 0.00 to 17.65 milligram per gram (mg/g) of dried leaf. Most samples had a value of approximately 10mg/g DMT, and only one had undetectable amounts. It is possible that this specimen was not P. viridis, but another species of Psychotria.
Most remarkable were the results from the consecutive samples taken from the same plant at several different times throughout the day. The highest levels of DMT were found in those leaves that were collected at dawn (8.97mg/g) or before dusk (9.52 mg/g DMT). The leaves that had the least amount of DMT were those collected at midnight (5.57 mg/g), and another depression in alkaloid content appeared near 10:100 am (8.01 mg/g DMT) and subsequent values remained low throughout the hotter parts of the day. One could argue that these are simply variable values from different leaves, although special consideration was taken to include leaves at equivalent stages of development. It is also important to note that these quantitative results are in agreement with what has been observed over years of practical experience.
From Phytochemistry and Neuropharmacology of Ayahuasca, JC Callaway, 1999, in Ayahuasca by R Metzner
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Experience has also shown the leaf harvested during periods of cool temperatures and high rainfall has very little alkaloid content. An extraction which was expected to yield 3g of DMT only produced enough material for 2 cones of changa when leaf was harvested during a period of high rainfall. Plants should be prepared for extraction by stressing during the day by not watering in the morning to induce wilting, then watered 1 hour before dusk. Leaves are then harvested at dusk and laid out under a fan to dry inside in the shade. This can take a few days depending on moisture content in the leaf and air temperature and humidity.
The lextek has been found to be very effective at extracting clean DMT crystal from Chacruna Leaf. The lextek was originally developed for the extraction of Acacia bark. According to a notice on the header of the tek it has since been deemed unsuitable for the extraction of this material. The original developer to the tek promoted its application for the extraction of DMT from chacruna (Psychotria viridis) leaf material, predicting the teks second salting stage as being highly effective at removing unwanted fats and oils present in the leaf material. This has been proven correct through numerous applications of the lextek for the extraction of DMT from Chacruna leaf material. Link to the lextek -
Lextek - DMT-Nexus Wiki
Given that this plant is grown in high humidity environments the home grower may come across a couple of issues with the tek as it currently stands. A number of teks developed by the DMT Nexus community have been applied to the lextek to improve safety and its application for extracting DMT from Chacruna leaf in high humidity environments. They are as follows –
- Replace plastic extraction vessel with glass to prevent plasticiser contamination
- Sodium carbonate wash to remove lye.
Lye contamination in high humidity environments results in the final product taking on the hydroscopic nature of the lye molecule. The consequence of this is that dmt crystals will absorb moisture from the air and melt if present outside of a freezer.
The sodium carbonate wash is undertaken as follows. Add 10gs of sodium carbonate to 100mls of distilled water. Gently wash the final combined shellite pulls to draw out the lye contamination. This will result in nice crystal that will not melt
- The lextek asks that the final shellite pulls are evaporated down to half its original volume. Experience has shown that in high humidity environment the action of a fan blowing across DMT containing shellite results in NN-DMT converting to DMT oxide. It is therefore recommended that this step is removed and that the final pulls are freeze precipitated in its entirety.
Home grown Chacruna leaf having undergone suitable treatment prior to harvest has consistently yielded around 1% NN-DMT when using this method.
New advancement have recently come to light that the addition of salt to the aquas lye solution during the extraction increases dmt yields. The salt tek will be included in future extractions. I’m thinking maybe 30g of salt in the aquas lye?? Advice on this would be appreciated.
Given that this project is intended to be an open collaboration of information on extracting Chacruna leaf I am interested in what the good folk of the Nexus think of these changes to the lextek and would love to discuss any additional improvements or refinements to the changes I have made.
Thanks godsmacked for getting this collaboration going. I am very interested to see the final Chacruna extraction tek and hope it makes improvements on where I’m currently at with this project.