Hi guys
I love this forum i hope someone can help me
so im doing a stb extraction and i have done this style in the past. my ratio for MHRB:H2O:NaOH is 1:20:1

i have added the naphtha at 1/2ml:1g of bark ive done one pull with very little results. but results none the less. so after leaving a very small amount of naphtha in the MHRB solution and re shaking the jars I add more naphtha back into the MHRB solution.
after rolling the solution a couple times each day i began separating the naphtha again but i noticed that a TON of crystals were at the top layer of the MHRB solution but not in the naphtha. I tried my various methods to siphon the naphtha and the crystals i couldn't get the crystals without also getting bark solution. (also tried adding non iodize salt for more polar MHRB solution and still nothing)

How can i free my crystal from this layer ontop of the bark solution into the naphtha? Ive even tried removing the naphtha heating it and putting it back to dissolve the crystal layer.

any thoughts?

If the crystals appear to be sitting on top of the aqueous layer, but they do not dissolve in the nonpolar solvent, they are probably not DMT. My money would bet that they are lye crystals precipitating out of the aqueous layer.

If more pulls don't pick up the DMT, you may just have bunk bark. Also, it might be worth trying to reduce your naphtha pulls before freeze-precipitating.

Lye does not precipitate from solution under these circumstances. Maybe salt if it's not DMT. Fish out a crystal with a spoon or similar suitable implement and try melting it with a flame. DMT melts and vaporises with its characteristic odour - or if the flame is too close it will ignite. Salt (NaCl) will just stay the same.
That's what I've been thinking:

If the crystals aren't dissolving in warm naphtha, they're definitely not DMT.

OK thanks for the replies guys,
See i thought it may not be DMT when i poured 170F naphtha on the crystal layer on top. i even stirred it and they didnt melt. I know my bark is good i am pulling. so i dont think its the bark also i am pulling dmt from the naphtha (which is in the freezer right now) so there is dmt in this bark forsure.
SO for better pulls use less naphtha (for example i am using 1/2gal mason jars which is like 2000ml water 100gram of bark and ~150grams of NaOH [cant over basify] i had been using like 50ml of naphtha)
should i reduce my naphtha even more? like 25ml? 15ml? also i know when heating naphtha and adding it, it will pick up more dmt and impurities should i heat my naphtha before adding it back to my bark solution? if so what degree gives good results? and should i just continue rolling solution with naphtha or should i shake up the jars some to really get it moving. also i have heard that if you shake jars with naphtha they dont separate layers as well.
All your advice and tips is greatly appreciated gentlemen
thank you
Peace and Love

(edit: ok so i tried fishing out some of the crystal with a spoon and i held a flame under the spoon and the crystals melted! so not salt, it smelled like DMT a little and you see i have more than one jar of the MHRB solutions i only put salt in one of them just to see so the others cant be salt crystals. does NaoH burn like DMT? these crystals look like monoclinic dmt crystals if they are there has got to be a way to get em!)

nnn-yan, please edit your last post to remove the supplier/buying discussion. Then read The Attitude Page

Alkaloid levels can vary tremendously, as there are a lot of variables that go into biosynthesis of the alkaloids in question. It doesn't matter where the bark came from, some trees just have a lower alkaloid content than others of the same species. No two trees are the same. "Bunk bark" doesn't necessarily mean that it is completely devoid of DMT, it could also mean that it has a lower alkaloid content than average.


My thinking was that the OP had used an excessive amount of lye and it had become supersaturated when he mixed the solution. If that were the case, lye could precipitate as the solution cooled, but it doesn't sound like that's the case.

I editited my post about the bark. thanks sorry i didnt know that wasnt ok to say.
so im doing a little expirement as we speak on this "crystal layer" i seperated it as much as i could and mixed in 170F naphtha and stirred and siphoned. so i then evap and put in the freezer last nite so if its DMT it will produces crystal.
my other thought was that maybe its another alkaloid like NMT or 2-Methyl-1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-Beta-Carboline (cited from https://wiki.dmt-nexus.me/Mimosa_hostilis .under alkaloid content)
because it said there is a 3% of other alkaloids could those crystal be either of those if its not DMT? should i consider doing a xylene pull?
I mean that would explain why its not dissolving in naphtha as easy. and why the pull isnt coming all the way out of the MHRB solution right?
anyone got any expirence with pulling NMT (jungle Spice)?

Try using more naptha. Alot of advice says use less, however I find best results when using more. Thats if you dont have a naptha supply issue. and Layer your pulls, by this I mean, Do a pull, pour it into your evap dish and place in freezer, perform second pull, pour that into same evap dish and put back in freezer perform 3rd, then air evap down, then freeze precip over night, drain and air dry.

Your problem may lie in the fact that your doing small pulls with small amount of bark ,one at a time leading to low yield combine your pulls.

should i be reusing the naphtha if i wanted to do that?

**UPDATE**
so the small experiment i had with the crystal layer adding hot naphtha siphon evap and freeze did result in yielding DMT! YAY!!. so i think the plan for my extraction on obtaining those stubborn crystals will be adding hot naptha 170F-190F to my MHRB solution. then rolling around. sit for a nite. roll again in the morning. sit for a nite. then heating the entire MHRB jar and siphoning while hot bathing. hopefully the heat will increase the solubility. fingers crossed ill keep you guys updated.

side not: still thinking about doing a xylene extraction for NMT. anyone got advice or tips for NMT?

I found one of these in the leftover solvent layer a week after pulling once. Twas a joyus occasion

(I should mention it was a bit murky at the bottom so I left more on there than I normally would)

nnn-yan: IIRC, Mimosa hostilis root bark typically contains only traces of NMT, if any at all. The "Jungle Spice" from MHRB is a mixture of other alkaloids, but typically only a negligible amount of NMT when it is present. Acacia confusa (another popular plant for extracting) contains high levels of NMT.

If I were you, I would keep doing naphtha pulls and reducing them until you are not longer yielding any DMT, then do a xylene pull to pick up any DMT that remains. There is usually a fair amount in the solution that naphtha just doesn't quite pick up, but it is good to get as much as possible with naphtha first because it will yield a cleaner/more pure final product.

THANKS!