The Identification of Cathinone in Khat (Catha edulis): A Time Study

Abstract

Previous studies on the khat plant (Catha edulis) illustrated the importance of using freshly harvested young shoots and leaves such that cathinone, the principal active component and Schedule I controlled drug contained within the plant, could be suitably isolated and identified. Upon drying and storage of the cut plant material, cathinone readily converts to the reduced product, cathine, which necessitates rapid extraction and chemical analysis for cathinone identification. This study demonstrates that by air drying the young khat shoots at ambient temperature, cathinone may be detected in khat samples that have been harvested for more than 10 days. Refrigeration for two weeks and freezing for one month of the khat samples also yield identifiable levels of cathinone. Cathinone and cathine are both specifically determined and differentiated by vapor phase infrared detection, which is the method of choice in relation to mass spectrometry.

Cathinone preservation in khat evidence via drying

“…Refrigeration or freezing has become a common protocol for scientific studies and forensic analyses [16,18]. Refrigeration slows both the conversion to cathine, as well as decomposition of the plant, and may allow cathinone to be detected for several weeks [22]. However, the conversion is not completely halted at freezing temperatures.…”

“…However, the conversion is not completely halted at freezing temperatures. A time study of freshly harvested material found that a refrigerated sample degraded to comparable amounts of cathinone and cathine after 14 days at À2 8C when initially no cathine was detected [22]. The cathinone content was also not maintained in samples stored frozen at À11 8C, which continued to show an increase in cathine levels up to 48 days of storage.…”

“…This solution was concentrated by solvent evaporation on a steam bath to a reduced volume of less than 1 mL. The electron-ionization mass spectra and vapor-phase infrared spectra collected for the samples were compared to that acquired for the standards, as well as the literature [22], and provided a conclusive identification of the khatamine alkaloids.…”

Khat (Catha edulis)-induced apoptosis is inhibited by antagonists of caspase-1 and -8 in human leukaemia cells

“…Leaves were stored at À201C for a maximum period of 5 days. The procedure for extraction of khat was a modification of the methanolic extraction protocol as previously described by Lee (1995), excluding alkaloid purification, so as to minimise acid or basic residues in the extract. The khat shoots (batches of 40 g) were swiftly chopped into small (5 mm) pieces and dissolved in 20 ml methanol.…”

KANDUNGAN FITOKIMIA DAN SENYAWA KATINON PADA DAUN KHAT MERAH (Catha edulis)

“…Pendinginan memperlambat dekomposisi katinon, sehingga katinon masih dapat teridentifikasi selama beberapa minggu. Lee (1995) menyatakan bahwa katinona masih dapat terdeteksi dari daun Khat segar setelah 10 hari (kering udara), 2 minggu (-2 o C) dan 48 hari (-11 o C). Kandungan senyawa katinon selain dipengaruhi oleh usia ataupun suhu penyimpanan juga dipengaruhi oleh kondisi tumbuh tanaman tersebut.…”