I mentioned in my previous thread that I would post this up, I apologize for the delay.
I've UTFSE'd and while there are some threads related to this, there are none that explore my potential route specifically.
So, the major problem with producing chilli en mas is the poor availability, and relatively high danger of acquiring certain precursors. There has been a few threads exploring the viability of Ma Huang(Ephedra Sinica) but so far cost efficiency has been bad enough to make it a non-viable route.
This study may provide an answer:
http://idosi.org/aejaes/jaes11(1)11/5.pdf
Callus Induction and Extraction of Ephedrine from Ephedra alata Decne. cultures
The problem with generating live tissue cultures from callus induction prior to this has always been the extra-ordinarily low alkaloid content produced by cultured plant cells. As far as I can tell, Ephedra Alata is the only species which has produced a usable amount of ephedrine from cultured cells.
The process would not be difficult to set up in a clandestine environment given that the individual looking to do so had some knowledge of the process. The equipment and medium are all OTC, and the process can be scaled as high as required.
The only potential problem with this method is that it requires a live plant which is already producing alkaloids(approx 3 yrs old at least) as the tissue must be prepared in a specific environment using a fairly controlled method.(sterility is paramount) Ephedra Alata is not a popular or well known species, and as a result, it may be difficult to acquire a live plant in order to start the process, however if one were able to do so, they could potentially produce fairly substantial amounts of Ephedrine.
From memory, the time required for a full cycle is roughly a month, and from that, a yield of approx 1.5* tissue mass is acquired, containing 14.06mg/g ephedrine by dry weight.
If one were to start with 1kg tissue culture, 500g produced after the first month at 14.06mg/g ephedrine content = 7g of ephedrine from the first cycle alone. If one were to initiate a new callus induction, 1.5kg * 1.5 = 2.25kg plant matter, 1.25kg produced in culture, containing 17.5g ephedrine.
It should be noted that other alkaloids will be present, mostly norephedrine and N-methylephedrine, however according to:
http://www.erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/ephedra.html
An Al/Hg rxn of these produces dexamphetamine and dimethyl amphetamine respectively. As far as bi-products go, one would think these would be almost welcome compared to other possible adulterants.
Interestingly, I havn't found any other references that the birch reduction, when performed using norephedrine, produced d-amphetamine. It seems like a much easier route than any of the current methods.
I've UTFSE'd and while there are some threads related to this, there are none that explore my potential route specifically.
So, the major problem with producing chilli en mas is the poor availability, and relatively high danger of acquiring certain precursors. There has been a few threads exploring the viability of Ma Huang(Ephedra Sinica) but so far cost efficiency has been bad enough to make it a non-viable route.
This study may provide an answer:
http://idosi.org/aejaes/jaes11(1)11/5.pdf
Callus Induction and Extraction of Ephedrine from Ephedra alata Decne. cultures
Quote
...The maximum ephedrine content was obtained from callus maintained on the same medium, it reached 14.06mg/g dry weight and exceeded the ephedrine content in the stem of both wild and cultivated intact plants.
The problem with generating live tissue cultures from callus induction prior to this has always been the extra-ordinarily low alkaloid content produced by cultured plant cells. As far as I can tell, Ephedra Alata is the only species which has produced a usable amount of ephedrine from cultured cells.
The process would not be difficult to set up in a clandestine environment given that the individual looking to do so had some knowledge of the process. The equipment and medium are all OTC, and the process can be scaled as high as required.
The only potential problem with this method is that it requires a live plant which is already producing alkaloids(approx 3 yrs old at least) as the tissue must be prepared in a specific environment using a fairly controlled method.(sterility is paramount) Ephedra Alata is not a popular or well known species, and as a result, it may be difficult to acquire a live plant in order to start the process, however if one were able to do so, they could potentially produce fairly substantial amounts of Ephedrine.
From memory, the time required for a full cycle is roughly a month, and from that, a yield of approx 1.5* tissue mass is acquired, containing 14.06mg/g ephedrine by dry weight.
If one were to start with 1kg tissue culture, 500g produced after the first month at 14.06mg/g ephedrine content = 7g of ephedrine from the first cycle alone. If one were to initiate a new callus induction, 1.5kg * 1.5 = 2.25kg plant matter, 1.25kg produced in culture, containing 17.5g ephedrine.
It should be noted that other alkaloids will be present, mostly norephedrine and N-methylephedrine, however according to:
http://www.erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/ephedra.html
An Al/Hg rxn of these produces dexamphetamine and dimethyl amphetamine respectively. As far as bi-products go, one would think these would be almost welcome compared to other possible adulterants.
Interestingly, I havn't found any other references that the birch reduction, when performed using norephedrine, produced d-amphetamine. It seems like a much easier route than any of the current methods.