NCJ Number
212648
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 50 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2005 Pages: 1402-1406
Date Published
November 2005
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study obtained coca seeds from the Chapare Valley of Bolivia and determined their alkaloid profile through analytical and instrumental methods.
Abstract
The seeds were subjected to gas and liquid chromatographic-mass spectometric analyses. This article describes the plant material; the solvents, chemicals, and materials used in the analysis; standards and precursors; and the isolation of alkaloids from the coca seeds. Eleven alkaloids were identified in the seeds, along with 2 major tropane alkaloids that remain uncharacterized. Mass spectra are presented in the article to aid forensic chemists who may encounter these compounds in illicitly produced cocaine that has been adulterated with alkaloid extracts from coca seeds. Illicit cocaine produced from coca leaf adulterated with coca seed extracts may present unusual analytical signature profiles with elevated levels of methylecgonidine, ecgonine methyl ester, and cinnamoylcocaines, as well as the two new uncharacterized tropane alkaloids. 3 figures and 15 references