Problems of Forensic Sciences 2013 Vol. 93 (XCIII) 450-464
DETECTION AND QUANTITATION OF COCAINE AND METABOLITES IN URINE AND HAIR AFTER CONSUMPTION OF COCA TEA
Teresa GRAY1, Larry BRACE2, Steve SHAH2, Thomas TOLHURST1, Matthew JUHASCIK1, Adam NEGRUSZ1
1Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA
2Department of Pathology, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA
Streszczenie
Coca tea is available in individual tea bags from South American countries and is commonly used to combat altitude sickness and fatigue. It contains small amounts of cocaine and its metabolites, benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methyl ester, and as a result, drinkers may test positive for cocaine in urine and hair drug tests. Urine and hair collected from three volunteers who drank one cup of coca tea, and three who drank two cups of coca tea, were analyzed for cocaine and its metabolites. Preliminary screening results showed that for at least twelve hours post-consumption urine remained positive for cocaine-related compounds when 300 ng/ml screening threshold was used. One individual that consumed one cup of tea screened positive for 12 h, one for 24 h, and one for 36 h. The urine samples of all three individuals drinking two cups were positive throughout the entire study period of 36 h. GC/MS quantitation revealed that in a group of subjects drinking one cup of coca tea, one had benzoylecgonine concentration above 150 ng/ml confirmatory threshold for 12 h, one for 24 h, and one for 36 h. All subjects drinking two cups had benzylecgonine concentrations above the threshold for 36 h. The highest benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methyl ester concentrations of 3035 ng/ml and 7760 ng/ml, respectively, in a single subject who had 2 cups of coca tea were detected at 8-hour time point. Cocaine and norcocaine concentrations in urine were low. Only one out of six individuals had cocaine detected in hair. The samples containing cocaine were collected fourteen and twenty-eight days post-consumption.
Słowa kluczowe
Cocaine, Urine testing; Hair testing; Coca tea; GC/MS.