TESTING PHARMACEUTICAL RELEASE OF ACTIVE SUBSTANCES FROM MEDICINAL PRODUCTS CONTAINING ST. JOHN'S WORT.

The aim of this study was to determine the content of hypericins and flavonoids in tablets and capsules containing the extract or powdered herb of St. John's wort, in herbs for infusion and herbal infusions and to release of these compounds from tablets and capsules. HPLC method was used to determine the assay of hypericins and flavonoids in all tested products. The hypericins content was between 0.35 mg and 1.44 mg per tablet or capsule. The release of hypericins from these products in the phosphate buffer of pH 6.8 is between 30 and 60% of the determined content. The degree of hypericins release from herbs into infusions was 15% on average, which corresponds to 0.64 mg of hypericins per infusion of 4 g of herbs. The flavonoids content was between 8.79 and 36.3 mg per tablet or capsule. The release of flavonoids in the phosphate buffer of pH 6.8 is between 63 and 85% of the determined content. The degree of flavonoids release was 76% on average, which corresponds to 77.0 mg per infusion of 4 g of herbs. The test results confirmed that infusions from the St. John's wort constitute are a rich source of flavonoids. At the same time, the universally accepted opinion that aqueous infusions contain only trace amounts of hypericins was not confirmed. Infusions from Herba hyperici may also be a source of hypericins in amounts comparable with the minimum dose recommended for the treatment of mild to moderate depressive episodes.

IDENTIFICATION CHALLENGES IN EXAMINATION OF COMMERCIAL PLANT MATERIAL OF PSYCHOTRIA VIRIDIS.

Psychoria viridis (chacruna) is a hallucinogenic plant with psychoactive properties associated with the presence of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). This species is primarily known as an ingredient of the beverage Ayahuasca, but dry leaves are also smoked by recreational users. The plant is controlled in Poland and France and its proper identification poses many challenges due to the fact that genus Psychotria is relatively large and there are other species that are easily confused with chacruna. The aim of the present work was to develop an effective authentication procedure for the dried and shredded leaves of P. viridis, to be used in comparison of chemical and botanical characteristics of its commercial products. Dried leaves of P. viridis originating from Brazil, Peru and Hawaii were purchased from Internet providers. For DMT identification, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods have been elaborated, validated and applied. In order to clarify the existing differences among samples, chemometric methods have been used. Botanical features and the gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS) chromatograms have been analyzed using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Our studies revealed significant variety among plant material marketed as P. viridis. Grouping of samples based on their micromorphology features and GC-MS results did not correspond well with the presence of DMT. Based on our results an indisputable identification of dried specimens as P. viridis is very problematic. It is necessary to postulate changes in legislation regarding regulation of P. viridis and replace it with DMT as controlled substance.