SIMPLIFED COLUMN CHROMATOGRAPY
The main problem with boiling psychoactive plants with acid for long periods of time is that there is a danger of
destroying the alkaloids. Psychoactive alkaloids are not particularly stable compounds and must be handled with
care to avoid creating toxic byproducts. In addition, the crude tea used by shamans usually contains noxious ad-
mixtures. Extracts of pure alkaloids are less nauseous, more predictable and require lower doses for better effect.
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In my opinion, the best
method of extraction is
to use trichloroethylene
(TRIKE: dry cleaning
solvent) on the crushed
raw plant material.
This will extract all the
alkaloids as well as the
fatty material. TRIKE
and other dry cleaning
solvents such as methyl-
ene chloride are readily
available without caus-
ing suspicion. (The
logical reason for buy-
ing these industrial sol-
vents is that you spilled
some oil on your carpet
and you want to soak it
out. Another reason is
that you want to use it as
paint thinner.) Purchase
Industrial Grade, by the
gallon. You can find
solvent suppliers in the
Yellow Pages under
Cleaning Supplies or
Chemical Supplies. Just
phone and ask if they supply Industrial Grade trichlo-
roethylene or methylene chloride.
(JlASS STRI?
Vtti 'BLOTTER PAPER
combine all the filtered
solvent fractions and al-
low this to evaporate un-
til all that remains is a
goo about the consis-
tency of thin maple
syrup. This is a crude
mixture of alkaloids.
(The following steps are
to separate the en-
theogenic alkaloids from
the toxic/nausea- pro-
ducing alkaloids. The
most effective way of
doing this is by means
of column chromatogra-
phy. Use TRIKE or
methylene chloride as
the chromatography sol-
vent.)
STEP 2: Obtain two
strips of glass, 30" x
3"— these should be
fairly thick (between
3/16" and 1/4"). You
will be using them many
times, so get the glass merchant to smooth the edges
and corners.
STEP 1: Crush the plant material, cover with solvent
in a closable container and shake periodically over 24
hours. Filter material and set the solvent aside. Re-
peat this procedure several times with fresh solvent
until its dilute color suggests that most of the alka-
loids have been extracted. Discard the plant residue,
STEP 3: Obtain some thick white blotting paper, such
as the type used for desk pads. It comes in sheets
measuring 36" wide. Cut a strip of blotting paper 36"
X 2 1/2."
STEP 4: Lay the blotting paper on one of the strips of
P.O. Box 778, El Rito, New Mexico 87530
8
The Entheogen Review, Vernal Equinox, 1994
glass so that one end protrudes by 6." Pour the alka-
loidal syrup onto this protruding piece of blotting pa-
per about an inch from the edge of the glass. The goo
should not extend the full width of the blotting paper,
so leave about 1/2" on either side. Wait for the syrup
to soak into the blotter.
STEP 5: Lay the other strip of glass on top of the first
so that it forms a sandwich with the blotting paper in
the middle. Firmly secure the sandwich with thick
rubber bands or bulldog clips. This is the chromatog-
raphy column.
STEP 6: Prop the chromatography column securely at
about a 45 degree angle, and insert two-inches of pro-
truding blotter paper into ajar of pure solvent. Never
immerse the syrup portion and never use a mixture
of solvents or you won't get a clean separation.
STEP 7: As the solvent soaks into the blotter, it will
wash through the syrup and wick it up the column,
where it stratifies into bands of color. Every band
represents a pure compound. Depending upon its mo-
lecular weight, each alkaloid finds its own level at a
different location on the column. Use a black light to
identify any bands that are not colored. Many alka-
loids fluoresce under black (ultra-violet) light though
they may otherwise be invisible.
STEP 8: Once there is complete separation, remove
the column from the solvent jar, then remove the glass
strips. Hang up the blotting paper to dry.
STEP 9: When dried, mark the location of each band
with a pencil: band A, band B, band C, etc. This is
important because when you repeat the procedure
(with the same plant species) each band will appear in
exactly the same order on the column. You have now
separated the goo into pure alkaloids. Cut out the
bands with scissors and test them for psychoactivity.
Only try a small amount at a time, and gradually in-
crease the dosage. Remember that these are now
pure substances and you have not destroyed any-
thing by boiling, so their potency may be an order of
magnitude greater than expected.
STEP 10: After ingesting portions of the various
bands, you will know what each effect is. Suppose
band A produces only nausea: you will not use that
band in the future and will simply discard it. Suppose
band B produces a strong entheogenic effect: you will
always choose that band for your entheogenic rituals.
Suppose band C produces a slight entheogenic effect:
you may want to try some of that in combination with
band B to see if it enhances the effect.
STEP 11: If you intend to store the pure alkaloids, you
should stabilize them with tartaric acid (Cream of Tar-
tar.) Get this from the drugstore or supermarket. Pre-
pare a saturated solution in water in a spray bottle and
simply spray a little of it onto the strip of blotting pa-
per containing the alkaloid, until it is lightly soaked.
Let it dry and then store it. Don't use too much tar-
taric acid: just enough to lightly soak the paper.
Keep comprehensive notes of your experiments and
catalog the effects produced by different plants, includ-
ing which bands produced which effect and in what
order the bands came in. Share your findings with The
Entheogen Review. Hopefully we will eventually
compile a series of references for each plant species, so
that trial and error may be eliminated. - Solaris
References:
1. Paper chromatography and electrophoresis, Gunter
Zweig QD271 Z97 1967
2. Paper chromatography; a comprehensive treatise,
3rd Ed. QD271 H15 1963
3. A manual of paper chromatography and paper elec-
