Sciencemadness Discussion Board

tryptophan extraction from dead turkeys

kclo4 - 25-12-2005 at 01:58

This is a chemical I find interesting I don't know why, and honestly I don't know hardly anything about it. I have been searching and it seems easy to extract. This chemical is the one in turkeys that makes you feel sleepy, although I don't think I would ever ingests something that was created from a dead animal, a strong acid and a strong base with a poisonous solvent :P (just kidding I eat at McDonalds all the time) but perhaps there are some uses? I did see some stuff about it around the forum so it must be easy to get somewhere ells. but I think it would be fun to extract from a turkey!

Here is the only syntheses I have found so far, does anyone have any info on this?

"REQUIRED MATERIALS
acid- .1N HCl, or muriatic acid (11% HCl) from hardware store,diluted to pH 1 with water {add acid to small amount of
water,keep adding acid till pH is 1} base- NaOH, or Lye (such as Red Devil brand) nonpolar solvent- petroleum ether or
dichloromethane, or "naptha", available OTC in several similar forms (Coleman fuel,Zippo lighter fluid) pH meter or papers (a
meter is HIGHLY recommended,as the solutions are very strongly colored,making papers difficult to read). (Can't find pH
papers? Try homebrew shops, "Science"stores {look in the yellow pages-there are like 3 in my area that sell high school
science fair type things},pool and spa stores,hydroponic stores) separatory funnel-buy,beg,borrow or steal one,it'll make things
WAY easier and more efficient.If you must substitute,there are 2 options: a) a jar and a turkey baster (or pipet and bulb,or
large syringe) b) a ziplock bag a few extra jars-with lids,very clean

EXTRACTION FROM TURKEY MATERIAL

Pulverize material thoroughly.A coffee grinder is perfect for this. Place in jar,cover with acid.This acid is pretty strong. It could
seriously damage your eyes.Gloves and glasses are recommended,as is caution. Shake jar several times a day,for one week.
Filter out the acid. A vacuum setup with pump or faucet aspirator is best.A coffee filter may work,but slowly.Straining through
a tea strainer first may help. Reserve acid in a separate jar,return turkey material to original jar. Cover with fresh acid,shake a
few times a day for 1-2 more days. Filter out acid,and combine with first extract. Optionally,extract a third time with fresh acid
for an additional day or two. The acid now contains the tryptophan in their salt form. {OPTIONAL} Defat.Since the salts in
this acid solution are not soluble in nonpolar solvents,this allows the opportunity of removing some unwanted compounds.The
separation process will be described in more detail below-if defatting is done,it is the same basic process:add nonpolar
solvent,shake well,separate and discard the NONPOLAR layer.

SEPARATION AND ISOLATION

The next step is to form the freebase alkaloid.This is done by adding a strong base:NaOH.The freebase thus formed is not
soluble in polar solvents,such as the acid water mix,but is in nonpolar ones. Slowly add NaOH to the acid solution-it can be
added dry.NaOH is very caustic-use gloves and eye protection.Add very slowly-1/8 tsp or so at a time.Gently swirl to mix and
dissolve it. If too much is added at once,it may boil and spatter,and you will probably overshoot the mark.Continue adding until
pH 11-12 is obtained.This may be difficult to determine with papers.Freebase is often visible coming out of solution.The
solution will change color as it becomes more basic-it will probably wind up brownish-green,depending on the starting
material.Allow the solution to cool to room temperature before proceding (IMPORTANT)

If using a sep funnel,add the basified solution.Or put it into a tallish jar.Whichever,only fill it about 1/3 full.Now add an equal
volume of nonpolar solvent.Note that DCM will sink,most others will float.This will become crucial shortly,so pay attention as
you add it.Stopper the container and shake it.Especially at first,vent the container occaisionally to relieve any pressure.Shake
the hell out of it.Let it sit a few minutes,then shake some more.Repeat several times over the period of a couple hours. What
you see next will depend on your choice of plant and solvent,but a likely scenario is that there are 3 layers,the middle of which
is sort of foamy.This is called an emulsion-when imiscable liquids sort of mix. The emulsion layer can cause problems-there
might be goodies tied up in it,but they will be harder to isolate. What we'd like to see is 2 well defined layers with little or no
emulsion.The first and best way to achieve this is simply wait.When you're done shaking,you may see ONLY emulsion,but it
will soon start to resolve.Waiting overnight is often required for good resolution.The pH you basified too has a big influence on
this ,but the best pH will vary with different ingredients. If you patiently waited,and it still won't resolve,there are a few
tricks.Add more nonpolar solvent,shake a bit,continue waiting.Or put a straight wire in and break up the emulsion.You can
chase down any leftover blobs that are stuck and they will usually migrate to the proper layers.The container must be
scrupiously clean.If there was,for example,an oily smudge on the side in the area that should contain the polar layer,then
nonpolar gunk may stick there where you don't want it.As a last resort add some salty water (not so salty that the salt won't all
dissolve),and agitate again.This makes the polar layer MORE polar,and may do the trick. First,though,just be patient and it will
hopefully separate just fine.

We now want to remove the nonpolar solvent,which contains the dissolved freebase.If you have a sep funnel.it's a piece of
cake,as long as you remember which layer is which.(Don't forget to remove the stopper before you start draining).You want
JUST the nonpolar layer at this stage-any emulsion should stay with the polar layer.

If you are using a jar,then regardless of which layer you want to keep,I'd advise removing the top layer,rather than trying to
reach through and draw off the layer beneath it.A syringe,pipet and bulb,or baster may be used.DO NOT SUCK WITH
YOUR MOUTH!-these solvents are poison! Test any non-glass items with a little plain solvent first to make sure they wont
melt.

Another option,again provided it is compatible with your solvent,is a large (new) ziplock bag.Fill,seal,shake,and hang it up so
that one of the non zipper corners is at the bottom.Have an extra jar ready.Pinch the corner almost at the bottom,then poke a
hole or snip off a very tiny bit.Using your fingers as a clamp,drain each layer into a separate container.

Whichever method you use,put aside the separated nonpolar layer.Add fresh solvent to the remaining polar
layer.Shake,separate,and combine the nonpolar fractions. I'd recommend keeping ALL the layers (separately) untill you're sure
everything went OK.

Before going further,I'd suggest taking a bit of the collected nonpolar solvent,say 5-10%,and letting it evaporate on a small
glass dish.This will give you an indication of how clean your product is.If you're lucky,you'll wind up with a dish of crystalls,and
you can go ahead and evaporate the rest.Often you'll get a thin layer of oil once the solvent evaporates.This may take a day or
3 to start to crystallize.If nothing is happening,or it is especially gunky,you have 2 options.(And you might consider a defatting
step next time you try with the same materials). If you are POSITIVE that your solvent will cleanly evaporate (test some in a
dish to be sure),then your product,though gunky,is probably OK. Perhaps some water or emulsion layer got carried over into
the nonpolar layer.It can still be smoked,either like hash oil,or dissolve it in alcohol or nonpolar solvent,add a little of your
favorite herb,mix well and let the solvent evaporate.

Option 2 is cleaning and purification.To do this,you wash it with whatever solvent the tryptophan wont dissolve in.A thourough
cleaning would involve (starting with the freebase dissolved in nonploar solvent): Add equal volume of salt
water,agitate,separate,discard the water layer. Add HCl/water to the nonpolar layer,agitate,separate,discard nonpolar layer
.You just converted the freebase to a salt,DMT HCl,which is water soluble.{Optionally,wash with fresh nonpolar solvent,then
discard it}.Rebasify,and extract back to nonpolar solvent like you did in the first place. This is not always necessary,but if you
want to get it really clean you can.

Whatever you wind up with,remember this: this process is fairly specific for alkaloids in general,not just tryptophan.Always assay
cautiously-start with a ridiculously small amount,especially if you don't have a good scale."


here is a link to a MSDS http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/t7527.htm
and a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan
but i am way tierd its 2:55AM and santa never came..... :(

so.... im out

lacrima97 - 13-1-2006 at 16:33

Dietary sources

Tryptophan, found as a component of dietary protein, is particularly plentiful in chocolate, oats, bananas, dried dates, milk, cottage cheese, meat, fish, turkey, chicken, and peanuts.

-wiki

Hmm, maybe you could extract it from something besides a dead turkey you found?

----------

Tryptophan in turkey is found as part of a protein

-wiki

So when the tryptophan is extracted is it extracted from a protein somehow?

[Edited on 1/14/2006 by lacrima97]

Quantum - 13-1-2006 at 18:39

[QUOTE]This is a chemical I find interesting I don't know why, and honestly I don't know hardly anything about it.[/QUOTE]

...it is very interesting but it's hard to believe you don't know why

I am confused about this "synth" you have posted. It seems to jump straight from extracting typtophan to making DMT HCl?! I wish it were that simple but I think you left out part of it - where did you find this?

0xyg3n - 7-2-2006 at 15:37

Quote:

This is a chemical I find interesting I don't know why, and honestly I don't know hardly anything about it.




Quote:

Tryptophan is classified as a "smart drug" or Nootropic. It is a precursor to serotonin and is sold as a sleep aid and mood enhancer. It was banned by the FDA in the 1990s because of contamination in the production process.

http://www.erowid.org/smarts/tryptophan/tryptophan.shtml


Quote:

L-Tryptophan and 5-HTP are amino acids sold as nutritional supplements and are used by the body as precursors for the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxy-tryptamine). Both 5-HTP and L-Tryptophan have been used by body builders as an amino-acid. Trytophan is used to help stabilize mood, as a sleep aid, and by some ecstasy and psychedelic users because they are reputed to both increase the effects of substances as well as easing the comedown and helping stabilize mood the day after.

http://www.erowid.org/smarts/tryptophan/tryptophan_basics.sh...



Quote:

5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is the intermediate metabolite of the essential amino acid L-tryptophan (LT) in the biosynthesis of serotonin. Intestinal absorption of 5-HTP does not require the presence of a transport molecule, and is not affected by the presence of other amino acids; therefore it may be taken with meals without reducing its effectiveness. Unlike LT, 5-HTP cannot be shunted into niacin or protein production. Therapeutic use of 5-HTP bypasses the conversion of LT into 5-HTP by the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase, which is the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of serotonin. 5-HTP is well absorbed from an oral dose, with about 70 percent ending up in the bloodstream. It easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and effectively increases central nervous system (CNS) synthesis of serotonin. In the CNS, serotonin levels have been implicated in the regulation of sleep, depression, anxiety, aggression, appetite, temperature, sexual behaviour, and pain sensation. Therapeutic administration of 5-HTP has been shown to be effective in treating a wide variety of conditions, including depression, fibromyalgia, binge eating associated with obesity, chronic headaches, and insomnia.

http://www.biopsychiatry.com/5-htp.htm




Quote:

The amino acid tryptophan, present in protein foods, plays a role in a number of biochemical reactions in the body. Some tryptophan becomes protein, some is converted into niacin (vitamin B3) and some enters the brain to become the neurotransmitter serotonin.

http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/depression/treatment...



Quote:

Numerous clinical trials have studied the efficacy of 5-HTP for treating depression. One compared 5-HTP to the antidepressant drug fluvoxamine and found 5-HTP to be equally effective.1 Researchers used the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and a self-assessment scale to gauge the effectiveness of the two medications. Both scales revealed a gradual reduction in depressive symptoms through time with both medications. Perhaps the most convincing evidence, however, comes from scientists who examined research from around the world on the use of 5-HTP in treating depression. One such researcher, writing in Neuropsychobiology, sums up the findings this way: "Of the 17 reviewed studies, 13 confirm that 5-HTP has true antidepressant properties.

http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/depression/treatment...


Quote:

There is some direct evidence from laboratory research showing 5-HTP functions as an antioxidant. Researchers have demonstrated that 5-HTP can scavenge Nitrc Oxide (NO), peroxide radicals, and other oxidative radicals directly.

http://www.erowid.org/smarts/tryptophan/tryptophan_info8.sht...


Quote:

SSRIs versus 5-HT-Prodrugs

Why not give serotonin directly? First, serotonin ingested orally will not cross the blood-brain barrier, and therefore won't have an effect on brain functions. Second, serotonin would turn on every synapse it reaches, whereas SSRIs only enhance a signal that is already present, but too weak to come through.

Biosynthetically serotonin is made from tryptophan, an amino acid. If depression is caused by lack of serotonin, rather than insensitivity to it, SSRIs alone will not work well, whereas supplementing with tryptophan will. In 1989, the FDA made tryptophan available by prescription only, in response to an outbreak of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome caused by impure L-tryptophan supplements sold over-the-counter. As the production error responsible for the contamination would have been easily correctable, some critics have suggested that this appears to have been done to make money for the manufacturers of SSRIs. This bureaucratic action neglecting the most important fact established regarding the biochemistry of tryptophan: that it is an essential amino acid that humans cannot live without eating, led to renewed questioning as to whether the FDA was a science based or political agency. Pharmaceutical grade L-tryptophan is currently available by prescription in the U.S. However the supplement 5-htp can be bought over the counter and is a direct precursor to serotonin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_in...


[Edited on 7-2-2006 by 0xyg3n]

extracting/synthesizing tryptophan

kingroobythefith - 26-2-2019 at 13:36

you should try other more potent sources or better yet synthesize it with purine but try to avoid making tryptamine or some of the other related compounds otherwise the cops might think you are making dmt psylocibin or psilocin also sorry about the bad spelling and grammar I am quite young for someone on this forum that being said there are many misconceptions about those compounds so do extensive research

sorry didnt read the full thing

kingroobythefith - 26-2-2019 at 13:43

were you intending to make dmt? sorry i thought you were like most others I encounter in that case just be more responsible with that than a car and sorry for not reading the full thing I didn't have time also you could use melatonin as a jumping off point for synthesis if you read this thanks it's hard to discuss chemistry with most people since they either don't care or understand at least where I live

Screenshot 2019-02-07 at 6.49.31 PM.png - 103kB

Herr Haber - 27-2-2019 at 04:39

I didnt read the whole thing either even though it was funny.

I did read the date though and wish to congratulate you on resurrecting a thread that is <b> over 13 years old. </b>