Hi all,

As a consequence of the growing popularity of ibogaine and iboga extracts, an increasing number of vendors are offering iboga root bark, iboga extracts and ibogaineHCL on the internet. The origin of the materials, conditions of chemical processing, as well as the purity of the product and potential contaminants are often unknown. Taking iboga materials of unknown purity and composition, or materials that contain contaminants can imply additional risks in the use of iboga(ine).


As a risk reduction initiative, ICEERS (International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service - www.iceers.org) has started a collaboration with the Catalan biomedical research institution IMIM (Institut Hospital del Mar d’Investigacions Mèdiques) and harm reduction initiative Energy Control of the NGO ABD (Asociación Bienestar y desarrollo), in which we will collect samples of iboga materials and analyze them with a process called High Performance Liquid Cromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-MS) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to obtain data about alkaloid content, purity and eventual contaminants.

We would like to ask ibogaine treatment providers and people who have purchased an iboga product to send a small sample (25mg-100mg) to us for analysis.

More info: http://news.iceers.org/2.../iboga-analysis-project/

Welcome

Glad you guys decided to make an account and share the research initiative with us.

I wholeheartedly suggest any users that can contribute with this to do so.

Thank you!

We have been collecting for a few months now, and hope still more people will collaborate by sending their sample, so we can get a better understanding of the alkaloid content, potential contaminants and purity of what is available on the market. Iboga is a very potent tool in the treatment of addiction, but has important safety issues that should be taken into account. Aside of the analysis project, our new website http://www.iceers.org is a useful source of information, with a science based, risk-reduction approach. Check it out if you are interested in Ayahuasca or Iboga!

Welcome to the forum, ICEERS Foundation.

Glad to have you here with us!

welcome to the nexus!

Amazing project, it's awesome to see such collaborations in order to protect a plant.

You should also post this over at Eboka.

Welcome to the Nexus

Im glad we can collaborate on this project! One question though, you mentioned the analysis part but how is the source issue dealt with here? I mean, in the sense that in the Iboga treatment ´industry´, one of the major problems that seems to be around is that the source of iboga is often unsustainable, being poached in gabon, illegally shipped out of the country, etc. Are there any plans to try to promote more sustainable sources of iboga rootbark or iboga TA/ ibogaine HCl ?

Welcome to the Nexus

It will be great having you collaborate with us. I'm looking forward to seeing what projects pop up between the Nexus and ICEERS.

hostilis

Hi,

We are aware of the issue of illegal export from Gabon, so a lot of iboga that is said to come from Cameroon actually comes from Gabon and is illegally exported. In the past we have been in touch with people in Gabon that are addressing this issue, in collaboration with the government there, and we have tried to bridge information on this matter to the Western Iboga community and our network. We were informed that the Gabonese government would address this issue, but we haven't heard any concrete update on that.

Meanwhile, there is one IbogaineHCL brand on the market (only sold to official centers and research programs) called Remogen Brand, made by Phytostan, Canada, which is made with Voacanga Africana. This is a fast growing plant that contains Voacangine, which is later turned into Ibogaine, as both molecules are closely related.

The fact is that the source of the botanical material is hard to trace, but the group in Gabon has been digging into that from what I understood. What is needed is a fair trade label, where a part of the profits go back to the Bwiti communities in Gabon, where there is a quality control, but a lot of work needs to be done in order to get that done.

Regarding the analysis, if someone has bought Iboga, Iboga extracts (TA, PTA, etc.) or IbogaineHCL, it would be great if you could send a small sample for analysis. Please make sure to pack it correctly, and to write the full address as shown here: http://news.iceers.org/2.../iboga-analysis-project/
Also provide us with the requested details about the sample.

Our deadline of the sample collection was set to the end of February, but as there are still some samples on the way, and we haven't received the number of samples we had hoped for, we have extended it until the end of March.

Thank you!

Hi and welcome to the Nexus! You guys have done and are doing some amazing work

One question regarding this:


Have you analyzed any of this material yet (or have they posted analysis of their product)? I had heard that the conversion is fairly straightforward once the Voacangine is isolated from the other V. africana alkaloids (and assuming you have a better understanding of chemistry than I), but I have heard conflicting reports on the procedures for the initial isolation and subsequent conversion. Any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks for joining the Nexus, I look forward to seeing you all around.

Well, actually we are not chemists, we don't produce or distribute Ibogaine or iboga extracts. We collaborate with the other two institutions for the analysis project in which they take care of the technical part.

Here is some info that might interest you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W-GUEHDgFw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUxEhFhd4CM

From Bob Sisko's presentation in Vancouver at the GITA conference in October, I understood that you need a kilo of botanical material of Voacanga Africana to produce 1gr of Ibogaine of 99,5% purity. Of course, that is an extremely high purity.


Best Wishes!

Ahhhh, great. I didn't think you were distributing it, just wondered if the purity of a V. africana product had been verified. From Sisko's presentation, it sounds like it has. That's wonderful news!

It seems like a lot of plant material, but as you and endlessness were discussing earlier, with the situation in Gabon, any alternatives to that level of destruction seem pretty necessary.

Thanks for the info. Keep up the good work!

The whole Iboga alkaloid family is a world to explore... NIDA just approved preclinical trials with 18 Methoxy-Coronaridine for $6M, which is an analogue invented at Stanley Glick's laboratory... Many of the alkaloids present in the Tabernanthe Iboga, Tabernaemontana, etc. are to be studied for toxicological data, effects, therapeutic applications, etc.

Hi all,

So far we have collected 18 samples, but are still hoping to receive some more samples from people that have purchased Iboga root bark, Extract (Total Alkaloids, Precursor Total Alkaloids, etc.), or IbogaineHCL from the main online vendors. If you have such materials, sending us a small sample would help work towards a better understanding of the composition of the currently available iboga materials and reduce risks associated with their use.

For more info: http://news.iceers.org/2.../iboga-analysis-project/

Thank you all so much!

The ICEERS Foundation