Internet-purchased ibogaine toxicity confirmed with serum, urine, and product content levels.

UNLABELLED: Ibogaine, a psychotropic indole alkaloid, is gaining popularity among medical subcultures for its purported anti addictive properties. Its use has been associated with altered mental status, ataxia, gastrointestinal distress, ventricular arrhythmias, and sudden and unexplained deaths.Its pharmacokinetics in toxic states is not well understood. Case report:A 33-year-old man overdosed on ibogaine in an attempt to quit his use of heroin. He developed altered state of consciousness, tremor, ataxia,nausea, vomiting, and transient QT interval prolongation, which all remitted as he cleared the substance. Ibogaine was confirmed in his urine and serum with a peak serum concentration of 377 ng/mL. Nonlinear elimination kinetics and a formula match to its active metabolite noriobgaine were observed as well. CONCLUSION: This case presents the unique description of serial serum concentrations as well as urine and product-confirmed ibogaine toxicity with transient toxin-related QT interval prolongation.

A qualitative/quantitative approach for the detection of 37 tryptamine-derived designer drugs, 5 ß-carbolines, ibogaine, and yohimbine in human urine and plasma using standard urine screening and multi-analyte approaches.

The first synthetic tryptamines have entered the designer drug market in the late 1990s and were distributed as psychedelic recreational drugs. In the meantime, several analogs have been brought onto the market indicating a growing interest in this drug class. So far, only scarce analytical data were available on the detectability of tryptamines in human biosamples. Therefore, the aim of the presented study was the development and full validation of a method for their detection in human urine and plasma and their quantification in human plasma. The liquid chromatography-linear ion trap mass spectrometry method presented covered 37 tryptamines as well as five ß-carbolines, ibogaine, and yohimbine. Compounds were analyzed after protein precipitation of urine or fast liquid-liquid extraction of plasma using an LXQ linear ion trap coupled to an Accela ultra ultra high-performance liquid chromatography system. Data mining was performed via information-dependent acquisition or targeted product ion scan mode with positive electrospray ionization. The assay was selective for all tested substances with limits of detection in urine between 10 and 100 ng/mL and in plasma between 1 and 100 ng/mL. A validated quantification in plasma according to international recommendation could be demonstrated for 33 out of 44 analytes.

Identification and quantitation of ibogaine and an o-demethylated metabolite in brain and biological fluids using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

This report describes a sensitive method for quantitating ibogaine and a single major metabolite in biological fluids and brain tissue. We identified the metabolite as 12-hydroxy-ibogamine (12-OH-ibogamine or noribogaine) by full-scan, electron-impact gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Ibogaine, 12-OH-ibogamine, and o-(methyl)-ibogaine-d3 (ibogaine-d3) internal standard were isolated by solvent extraction under basic conditions. The resulting organic extract was evaporated to dryness, and the residue was derivatized at room temperature with ethyl iodide in the presence of trimethyl anilinium hydroxide in dimethyl sulfoxide. The reaction was terminated by acidification and washed with organic solvents to remove impurities. The aqueous phase was then alkalinized and reextracted. The organic extract was concentrated and analyzed by GC-MS. Quantitation was based upon the ratios of the molecular ions at m/z 310 for ibogaine, m/z 313 for ibogaine-d3, and m/z 324 for 12-OH-ibogamine ethyl ether. The limit of detection was 5 ng/mL for both ibogaine and derivatized 12-OH-ibogamine, and limits of quantitation were between 5 and 10 ng/mL for all matrices tested. Calibration curves were linear in the range of 3-1000 ng/mL or ng/g for both analytes.