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Published:
Journal of Analytical Toxicology,
ISSN 0146-4760,
Volume 30, Issue 7, September 2006,
pp.434-440
Distribution of Ibogaine and Noribogaine in a Man Following a Poisoning Involving Root bark of the Tabernanthe iboga Shrub
Violeta Kontrimaviciute[1,2], Olivier Mathieu[3], Jean-Claude Mathieu-Daudé[3],
Paulius Vainauskas[2], Thierry Casper[4], Eric Baccino[4], and Françoise M.M.
Bressolle[1],
[1]Clinical Pharmacokinetic Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, University Montpellier
I, France;
[2]Department of Analytical and toxicological Chemistry, Kaunas University of
Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kaunas, Lithuania; and
[3]Toxicology Unit and
[4]Department of Legal Medicine, Lapeyronie Hospital, Montpellier, France
In the present paper, we report for the first time the tissue
distribution of ibogaine and noribogaine, the main metabolite of ibogaine, in
a 48-year-old Caucasian male, with a history of drug abuse, found dead at his
home after a poisoning involving the ingestion of root bark from the shrub Tabernanthe
iboga. Ibogaine and noribogaine were quantified in tissues and fluids using
a fully validated liquid chromatography–electrospray mass spectrometry
method. Apart from cardiac tissue, ibogaine and noribogaine were identified
in all matrices investigated. The highest concentrations were found in spleen,
liver, brain, and lung. The tissue/subclavian blood concentration ratios averaged
1.78, 3.75, 1.16, and 4.64 for ibogaine and 0.83, 2.43, 0.90, and 2.69 for noribogaine
for spleen, liver, brain, and lung, respectively. Very low concentrations of
the two drugs were found in the prostatic tissue. Both ibogaine and noribogaine
are secreted in the bile and cross the blood-brain barrier. Four other compounds
were detected in most of the studied matrices. One of them was identified as
ibogamine. Unfortunately, we were not able to positively identify the other
three compounds because of the unavailability of reference substances. Two of
them could possibly be attributed to the following oxidation products: iboluteine
and desmethoxyiboluteine. The third compound could be ibogaline.
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