RESULTS 
The gas chromatographic trace of the chloroform-soluble 
bases from the seeds collected in 1854 by Spruce gave a single 
peak. Its mass spectrum was identical to that of S-OH-DMT. 
The mass fragmentogram of the same extract is in agreement 
with that result (Fig. 1). The extract of mature seeds freshly 
collected in Puerto Rico, seeds ‘‘ March 1975’’, showed several 
GC peaks. Beside 5-OH-DMT they have been identified by 
GC-MS and are DMT, MTHC and 5-MeO-DMT (Table 1). The 
mass fragmentographic recording confirms in a single run the 
presence of the four alkaloids (Fig. 2). The relative amount of 
the compounds in the plant material is given in Table 2. In the 
same table are listed the results of similar analyses of various 
plant parts of Anadenanthera peregrina, originating from the 
same colony of trees in Puerto Rico. Included in the table are 
also specimens of more or less well defined botanical or 
ethnological origin. 
DISCUSSION 
The finding of 5-OH-DMT as the only alkaloid in the Spruce 
material is significant for several reasons. First: it indicates 
that, with modern analytical tools, it is possible to detect and 
identify alkaloids in plant materials more than 100 years old. 
Second: identification of the botanical specimen is strengthened 
by the results of the chemical analyses, because the same 
compound has been found in both old and the freshly collected 
seeds. One previous analysis of seeds of Anadenanthera 
peregrina originating from Puerto Rico has shown the presence 
of 5-OH-DMT as the principal alkaloid (13). A sample of A. 
peregrina seeds collected in southern Venezuela contained 
7.5% of SSOH-DMT (14, 15). Holmstedt and Lindgren (16) have 
reviewed the alkaloid composition of many specimens. 
DMT alone or together with 5-MeO-DMT has been isolated 
from Anadenanthera peregrina originating from Brazil (10). A 
similar composition was found in related species (9, 16). 
Table 2 illustrates the differences in alkaloid contents in 
various parts of Anadenanthera peregrina. The root contained 
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