Echinopsis Peruviana / San Pedro extraction with vinegar and methanol
I live somewhere where I can get (relatively easily) vinegar and pure methanol, so heres a tek if you can get vinegar and pure methanol.
Introduction: This tek uses the solubility of mescaline acetate in methanol, while simultaneously utilizing the insolubility of pectin and mucilage, in the same extraction methanol. The tek also utilizes the power of microwaves to 'burst open' cacti cells, exposing the alkaloids to an acid solution, that is purified as outlined below.
This tek relies on absolute pure methanol. Any contaminates in you methanol WILL END UP IN THE FINAL PRODUCT.
STEPS:
1/ Freeze cacti in a deep freeze (for around 2/3 days)
2/ Despine frozen cacti, with a long serrated knife by cutting small 'V' into the base of each spine.
3/ Scrub down frozen, de-spined cactus with cold water and a dish brush to lightly clean.
4/ Peel off waxy outer layer of cactus (~0.25mm thick) , by sliding a sharp knife under the waxy layer, and on top of the frozen green flesh layer, and lift up and peel off. Peel off ALL waxy layer.
5/ Cut strips (~3-4 mm thick) of still semi-frozen dark green flesh , leaving the white cactus flesh. I try to only have my strips contain the (dark) green flesh, ~3-4mm thick, and leave the white flesh on the cacti core
6/ Put green strips in a pyrex glass cooking bowl, to a level of 30%-50% of the bowl capacity. add water to just cover cacti strips. Add a cap full of white vinegar, and stir.
7/ Microwave on high till mixture starts to 'boil' . Be careful mixture doesn't overflow.
8/ Reduce microwave power, and continue to microwave, making sure the mixture doesn't overflow. I try to maintain 'boiling' , without overflow. Every 30 min, drain the hot yellow/tan colored liquid from bowl, and add more water and a cap of vinegar. Continue to extract like this 3-6 times.
9 / Combine all the thick (yellow/tan colored ) extraction liquid, put in to a *clean pot* , and boil off the water to ~85% of the initial volume (reduce liquid volume to 25% (of the initial volume))
10/ Cool the concentrated extraction to ~10C.
11/ In a clean glass container of sorts (large jar etc) , add the cold raw thick extraction liquid, to a level of 30% of the jar. Add pure methanol to ~80% level capacity of the jar. The pectin and mucilage should precipitate, forming white colored solids (this is stuff you DONT WANT in your alkaloids, the mescaline acetate and alkaloids are dissolving in the methanol). Stir vigorously / shake for 5-10min , trying to dissolve all the (acidic) alkaloids (mescaline acetate) , into the methanol. Don't worry if the pectin and mucilage break up from large white lumps, into fine white particles.
12/ Leave to settle (it could take some time) . You should get 2 layers, a white precipitate layer (of pectin and mucilage) , and a 2nd layer of clear, yellow/tan methanol (with the dissolved alkaloids). Filter the methanol containing the acidic alkaloids , from the white precipitate (pectin and mucilage / the shit you don't want) (see pics)
The methanol, containing the alkaloids, should be a yellow/tan color, and clear.
13/ Add the yellow filtered methanol containing the alkaloids & mescaline acetate, to a pot with water (water ~25% volume of the methanol) and *gently* boil. Gently boil off the methanol. DO NOT USE A GAS STOVE. Use as much air flow as possible. An optional further purification step here (when most of the methanol is gone, and its mainly alkaloids/water left) would be to add activated charcoal , continue to gently boil, then filter, then carefully reduce (remove water / the last of the methanol ) , to tar/whatever.
Reduce (boil off water) to near dry, BE VERY CAREFUL when there is not much water left. Use very very small heat at the end to avoid burning. You should get thick brown/yellow tar. Remember, methanol is VERY TOXIC, you want ALL the Methanol gone.
Dissolve the thick tar in warm water. Bottle , freeze to store , and consume at will.
NOTE: I take no liability for anything going wrong. If you do this, or anything like it, whatever happens to you, has NOTHING TO DO WITH ME.
Also note, I've copied stuff I've read here (reddit) , and stuff that has worked for me, so, this tek isn't exclusively 'mine'.
pectin and mucilage filtering pics:
