Citrus essential oils inhalation by mice: Behavioral testing, GCMS plasma analysis, corticosterone, and melatonin levels evaluation.

The use of orange essential oils (EOs) as a complementary treatment is very common in Brazilian popular culture. The levels of melatonin (MEL) and corticosterone (CORT) hormones were investigated simultaneously, by the Luminex™ immunoassay system in mice plasma, after Citrus aurantium and Citrus sinensis EOs inhalation for 30 min. The plasma was analyzed by headspace through gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for investigation of the EO components. Mice were submitted to behavioral testing to research anxiolytic-like, sedative, and antidepressant-like effects. The inhalation of atmosphere obtained from vaporization of 10% solution of this Citrus EO separately did not affect MEL or CORT plasma levels; that is, the MEL and CORT levels did not present variation in function of the EO in the schedule used. On the other hand, the imipramine positive control used altered the level of MEL as expected. The EO constituents were detected in plasma at different ratios that is present in inhaled EO. Behavioral tests showed that the inhalation of 10% C. sinensis EO presents an anxiolytic-like and sedative effect. Thus, C. sinensis EO can be a valuable tool for treatment of the anxiety disturbs, apparently without interference with MEL and CORT physiological levels.

Reliability of point-of-collection testing devices for drugs of abuse in oral fluid: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Point-of-collection testing (POCT) devices for drugs of abuse are used to screen for the presence of psychoactive substances (PAS) in different types of settings and environments. However, these quick and advantageous tools also present disadvantages, including low-reliability measures in comparison to chromatographic assays. Therefore, this article presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating the reliability of measurements of PAS detection in oral fluid using POCT devices. The reliability measures for detection of the five most important drug classes - cocaine, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, cannabinoids and opioids, are reported. The article also presents a subgroup analysis considering the reliability estimates for the different POCT devices that were evaluated by the studies contemplated in the review. A discussion considering the strengths and limitations of POCT techniques was performed in order to guide policymakers, traffic agents and other professionals who also conduct such tests. The use of POCT devices often involves legal and moral aspects of the subjects tested, which demands critical evaluation of these devices before they are implemented in different settings.

Near infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics for growth stage classification of cannabis cultivated in a greenhouse from seized seeds.

Cannabis sativa L. (cannabis, Cannabaceae), popularly called marijuana, is one of the oldest plants known to man and it is the illicit drug most used worldwide. It also has been the subject of increasing discussions from the scientific and political points of view due to its medicinal properties. In recent years in Brazil, the form of cannabis drug trafficking has been changing and the Brazilian Federal Police has exponentially increased the number of seizures of cannabis seeds sent by the mail. This new form of trafficking encouraged the study of cannabis seeds seized germinated in a greenhouse through NIR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics. The plants were cultivated in a homemade greenhouse under controlled conditions. In three different growth periods (5.5weeks, 7.5weeks and 10weeks), they were harvested, dried, ground and directly analyzed. The iPCA was used to select the best NIR spectral range (4000-4375cm-1) in order to develop unsupervised and supervised methods. The PCA and HCA showed a good separation between the three groups of cannabis samples at different growth stages. The PLS-DA and SVM-DA classified the samples with good results in terms of sensitivity and specificity. The sensitivity and specificity for SVM-DA classification were equal to unity. This separation may be due to the correlation of cannabinoids and volatile compounds concentration during the growth of the cannabis plant. Therefore, the growth stage of cannabis can be predicted by NIR spectroscopy and chemometric tools in the early stages of indoor cannabis cultivation.

Multianalytical Method Validation for Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Solvents of Abuse in Oral Fluid by HS-GC/MS.

The use of oral fluid as a biological matrix to monitor the use of drugs of abuse is a global trend because it presents several advantages and good correlation to the blood level. Thus, the present work aimed to develop and validate an analytical method for quantification and detection of solvents used as inhalants of abuse in oral fluid (OF), using Quantisal™ as collector device by headspace and gas chromatography coupled with a mass detector (HS-GC/MS). Chromatographic separation was performed with a ZB-BAC1 column and the total time of analysis was 11.8 min. The method showed good linearity (correlation coefficient higher than 0.99 for all solvents). The limits of detection ranged from 0.05 to 5 mg/L, while the lower limits of quantification ranged from 2.5 to 12.5 mg/L. Accuracy, precision, matrix effect, and residual effect presented satisfactory results, meeting the criteria accepted for the validation of bioanalytical methods. The method showed good selectivity considering that, for solvents coeluting at the same retention time, resolution was performed by the mass detector. The method developed proved to be adequate when applied in OF samples from users of drugs and may be used to monitor the abuse of inhalants in routine forensic analyses.

Seized cannabis seeds cultivated in greenhouse: A chemical study by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and chemometric analysis.

Cannabis sativa L. is cultivated in most regions of the world. In 2013, the Brazilian Federal Police (BFP) reported 220 tons of marijuana seized and about 800,000 cannabis plants eradicated. Efforts to eradicate cannabis production may have contributed to the development of a new form of international drug trafficking in Brazil: the sending of cannabis seeds in small amounts to urban centers by logistics postal. This new and increasing panorama of cannabis trafficking in Brazil, encouraged the chemical study of cannabis seeds cultivated in greenhouses by gas-chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) associated with exploratory and discriminant analysis. Fifty cannabis seeds of different varieties and brands, seized by the BFP were cultivated under predefined conditions for a period of 4.5 weeks, 5.5 weeks, 7.5 weeks, 10 weeks and 12 weeks. Aerial parts were analyzed and cannabigerol, cannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabichromene Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other terpenoids were detected. The chromatographic chemical profiles of the samples were significantly different, probably due to different variety, light exposition and age. THC content increased with the age of the plant, however, for other cannabinoids, this correlation was not observed. The chromatograms were plotted in a matrix with 50 rows (samples) and 3886 columns (abundance in a retention time) and submitted to PCA, HCA and PLS-DA after pretreatment (normalization, first derivative and autoscale). The PCA and HCA showed age separation between samples however it was not possible to verify the separation by varieties and brands. The PLS-DA classification provides a satisfactory prediction of plant age.

Determination of ß-caryophyllene skin permeation/retention from crude copaiba oil (Copaifera multijuga Hayne) and respective oil-based nanoemulsion using a novel HS-GC/MS method.

Copaiba oil is largely used in the Amazonian region for the treatment of inflammation, and recent studies demonstrated that one of the major components of the oil, ß-caryophyllene (CAR), is a potent anti-inflammatory. The nanoemulsification of this oleoresin, which has unctuous character, converts it in a more acceptable hydrophilic formulation and may improve CAR penetration through the skin due to the small droplet size and the high contact surface afforded by the nanoemulsions. This paper describes the validation of a novel, sensitive, practical and solvent free method that uses gas chromatography in headspace mode coupled with mass spectrometry to evaluate the skin permeation/retention of CAR from the crude copaiba oil and its nanoemulsion. Our results show that the bioanalytic method was fully validated, demonstrating linearity (r(2)>0.99), specificity (no peaks co-eluting with CAR retention time), precision (RSD<15%) and accuracy (recovery>90%) within the accepted parameters and that the copaiba oil nanoemulsion presented a better skin penetration compared to the crude oil, with CAR achieving the most profound layer of the skin, the dermis.