An investigation of the in vitro transport of Sceletium tortuosum alkaloids across porcine buccal, sublingual and intestinal membranes

Abstract

Sceletium tortuosum (L.) N.E.Br. is indigenous to South Africa and has traditionally been used for its mood enhancing properties. Recently, products containing S. tortuosum have become increasingly popular and are commonly administered as tablets, capsules, teas, decoctions or tinctures, while the dried plant material has traditionally been masticated and the resulting extracts swallowed. In this study, the in vitro transport of four major S. tortuosum alkaloids across porcine intestinal, sublingual and buccal mucosa in their pure form as well as in the form of three different crude extracts; water, methanol and an acid-base alkaloid-enriched extract, was evaluated.