Ephedrine extraction from plants

[Microogata]

Thank you very much for this information. I was wondering where I could get my hands on this Ephedra (or Ma-Huang) plant ?
Do you think that Alibaba is a good source to buy it from (since it comes from China) ? https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=ma-huang

 

[cesc]

Hi. I ve bough close to 1kg on Xina, perhaps could I help u

 

[Reepicheep]

What is xina? You have a link?

 

[raw]

Frozen and friction (rubbing bottom with a glass rod)? Thank you . I didnt try this. After this process, the crystallization should form stable even at room temperature after being pulled out of the fridge?

 

[G.Patton]

Yes, look at Melting point on the top of this post.

 

[lililibetfan]

interesting information

 

[raw]

About ephedra plants... Where can I found it ? Does anyone have experience that grows in a country in Europe? For example, in the south? In Croatia ?

 

[HerrHaber]

I really hope Ephedra dystachia is not on your mind because it is on the brink of extinction and it is a crime against nature to collect from it's habitat for the manufacture of stuff where its diastereoisomeric purity is irrelevant (such as meth where pseudoephedrine is fine)... not even if you would say you want to make aminorex derivatives where the chirality is a thing please let nature be and try to source it directly or dive into enantioselective synthesis it is a hot area of chemistry lately.

 

[PewPew411]

I've tried this multiple ways mentioned here and other places and only gotten a sludge that tests negative with a Chen-Kao reaction.

 

[G.Patton]

Have you done them with an absolutely similar conditions? Are you sure that your raw plants are contain ephedrine? Probably you've got just weed grass.

 

[PewPew411]

Quality of ephedra is unknown I've got some 10:1 and regular plant material from china
I followed this exactly but at 50% volume with the extract and when gassing out it just turned dark with no precipitate

https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/Vespiary/talk/files/4762-writeupd9b9.PDF?topic=2723.0

Alcohol extractions and other experiments with the plant matter have lead no where. I'm going to try the writeup on the straight plant matter next and see how I go
I might run a ghetto soxhlet extractor using a pressure equalizing addition funnel with condenser to pump chloroform through the plant matter

 

[nobody66]

Hello, I'm a newbie and I'm still trying to learn chemistry. My English is not good, I use Google Translate, please understand。
Regarding your "Second (simplified) extraction way to Ephedrine free base", I have some questions to ask。
Question 1。 How many grams of ephedra powder should be used in 1st step and 2nd step?
Question 2。1st step: "b) After 15 minutes filter the mush through a #15 gold filter with a coffee filter inside the gold filter (you can use a laboratory glass funnel or another filter sieve) then set the mush aside.". Does "the mush" still work after that? Can I discard "the mush" from this step after I'm done with it? What should I do with "the mush"?
Question 3。2nd step: "a) Same as before, placed it in a four quart Pyrex pot. To the pot add 750 mL Naphtha, shake it vigorously 5-10 min and let it soak for three days.""placed it in a four quart Pyrex pot". What does "it" primarily refer to? Is it the white powder after the first step? Or the paste from step b in step one? Or the new ephedra powder?
Sorry, because my English is not good, so some questions may be difficult for you to understand. Looking forward to your reply, thanks!

 

[G.Patton]

Hello, sorry for a long reply.
Answer 1: In the end of the post you can read this:
A2: please, read post carefully. Yes, you have to use this mush at 2a stem and other.
A3: It means the much

 

[nobody66]

Thanks for your reply! I have now completed the first step, in the near future I will make a post to talk about "Second (simplified) extraction way to Ephedrine free base", let's get a better experience together and make progress together

 

[nujrc]

Pure ethanol is nearly impossible to get in my country. Is it possible to use methanol or isopropanol instead (in 2nd step)?

Maybe ethanol from disinfectants will be good enough (70% ethanol, 30% water)?

 

[G.Patton]

You can try IPA. 70% EtOH is also suitable. In addition, you can dry your EtOH.

 

[broken_sharded]

Can you make D-Methamphetamine with L-ephedrine?

 

[googie]

CN103833559A - Extraction process of ephedrine - Google Patents

The invention relates to an extraction process of ephedrine, and belongs to the technical field of extraction of effective components in traditional Chinese medicines. The process provided by the invention comprises the following steps: pretreatment of ephedra; alkalization; extraction with...

patents.google.com

Ephedra's Role As a Precursor in the Clandestine Manufacture of Methamphetamine - [www.rhodium.ws]

Perhaps this might help.

 

[googie]

I found this patent extraction with xylene and oxalic acid.

CN103833559A - Extraction process of ephedrine - Google Patents

The invention relates to an extraction process of ephedrine, and belongs to the technical field of extraction of effective components in traditional Chinese medicines. The process provided by the invention comprises the following steps: pretreatment of ephedra; alkalization; extraction with...

patents.google.com

 

[googie]

And another interesting one

News: September 2020 – China/Afghanistan: Use of ephedra plants for methamphetamine manufacture

Portal of the UNODC ICE Programme

www.unodc.org

Clues..

 

[HerrHaber]

Idk about the abundancy of the alkaloid in the plant and I'm afraid you will find the dificulty of purificstion

 

[googie]

For a small amount a hobbyist chemist so you think this could be a fun experiment?