Development and validation of an LC-MSMS method for the quantification of mescaline and major metabolites in human plasma.
Mescaline is a psychedelic phenethylamine found in different species of cacti. Currently, mescalines acute subjective effects and pharmacokinetics are investigated in several modern clinical studies. Therefore, we developed a bioanalytical method for the rapid quantification of mescaline and its metabolites in human plasma. Mescaline and its metabolites 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylacetic acid (TMPAA), N-acetyl mescaline (NAM), and 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxyphenethylamine (4-desmethyl mescaline) were simultaneously analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSMS). Optimal chromatographic separation was achieved with an Acquity Premier HSS T3 C