Sceletium Chemotypes - Characterisation of a 'Superior Quality' Sceletium product Many different Sceletium tortuosum products are available with seemingly largely different subjective effects which may result from varying alkaloid profiles from many factors including chemotypic variation and processing/fermentation processes. Mesembrenol, mesembrine and mesembrenone can be used as a marker for different Sceletium products and five main chemotypes have been described [1]. The yield of alkaloids in S. tortuosum is highly variable, ranging from 0.05 to 2.30% by dry weight The Five Sceletium Chemotypes as described by Shikanga et al. 2012. A study [2] suggests that high-mesembrine Sceletium acts primarily as a monoamine releasing agent, rather than as selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor. One commercial extract Zembrin® also has a different, somewhat studied profile In general, ⦁ An extract with high mesembrenone and mesembrenol content was a potent blocker in 5-HT transporter-binding assays and had powerful inhibitory effects on PDE4 ⦁ Mesembrine and mesembrenol were observed to be active against the 5-HT transporter, although the activity of mesembrine was higher than that of mesembrenol ⦁ Phosphodiesterase 4A activity potency: mesembrenone>mesembrine> mesembrenol Two samples were selected by an experienced Kanna sampler to be "good" and subjected to TLC (0.2mm, glass backed, acetone elution, I 2 visualisation) to give the following. 1 "Good Kanna" samples Sceletium #1 "Gam Bam" and #2 "Leaf" under UV A major constituent of remarkable note at Rf ~0.7 and a minor at 0.38 was seen in both "good kanna" samples. In contrast to earlier TLCs of a commercial 5:1 extract which gave constituents Rf ~ 0.3 and 0.52. Commercial Sceletium samples have also sometimes given a constituent Rf ~0.8 but this new finding of such a strong major constituent at Rf ~ 0.7 is new and intriguing. The presence of a constituent Rf ~0.3 has been a consistent finding with known mesembrine containing plants All in all, there seems to be remarkable diversity between kanna samples in chemotypic variation and it seems unwise to select a single S. tortuosum product as a typical exemplar of the plant's phytochemistry when there seems to be a wide diversity in constituents. References Emmanuel Amukohe Shikanga, Alvaro M. Viljoen, Sandra Combrinck, Andrew Marston, Nigel Gericke, The chemotypic variation of Sceletium tortuosum alkaloids and commercial product formulations, Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, Volume 44, 2012, Pages 364-373, ISSN 0305-1978, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bse.2012.06.025 Coetzee, D. D., López, V., & Smith, C. (2016). High-mesembrine Sceletium extract (Trimesemine™) is a monoamine releasing agent, rather than only a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 177, 111–116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2015.11.034 2