I couldn't find anything about this , but Im wonder if its necessary to remobve the waxy outer skin before drying the cactus? I mean when its dry would it be easier to just scrape the green dry flesh off from the wax? Thanks!

The wax is usually taken off after the splines are removed. It kind of peels off. Are you making powdered capsules?

I did some searching off the net and got this from Nanook

To get pedro to dry effectively it must be chopped finely, or peeled and sliced. The skin prevents drying of the parts of the cacti where the greatest amount of alkaloid is located. It must be finely chopped (skin on) or the skin must be removed and it can be sliced horizontally or vertically.

Dry in the sun, in a drier, in an oven... Mescaline is chemically very similar to caffiene and it is stable at temps of 250*F (like in a low oven or a pressure cooker). Any hotter really and you lose it. Gone.

Once dried the cactus should be placed over desiccant for 24-48 hours, packaged and sealed.

If you are extracting... Why dry it? Add water to wet processed cacti, cook, and press out juice... Boil down to syrup, and extract that.


Hope it helps and good luck

Im drying for storage guys poaaibly capsules....It is really nearly impossible to peel that crap off...I was hoping it might be easier once it dries...and thanks

Why don't you let it sprout some roots, and then it can continue growing while you store it?

if you need to remove the waxy outer layer its best done fresh. it wont come off easily when dried.
never removed it before myself...
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This is what I was thinking...

Although the highest concentration of alkaloids is found in the green flesh under the skin, there are still high alkaloid content in the skins.

IME, the only the skin that comes off are the strips that come off when removing the spines.

For drying, a dehydrator makes fine use of the star shaped slices.

Powder and sift out plant matter, encapsulate