Enzymatic transformation of dopamine to mescaline in cacti

[whiterasta]

F&B...? You seem to be the man for this but anyone with any info ,please assist. I and another are having a discussion on another board regarding biosythesis of mscaline via dopamine using enzymatic or biosynthetic formation using cell culture. Does anyone have any scraps to throw out? I have searched for a bit and drawn a blank save for the method of injecting mescal cacti with dopamine freebase to increase potency. Anyone have some thing more than this?
many thanx,
WR

 

[fastandbulbous]

Not dopamine, but L-DOPA. It's past the rate limiting step in the biosynthesis, but it seems that it has to have the third hydroxy group added before decarboxylation if utilizing this biosynthetic route. Also, you have to do it as doses divided over several weeks rather than all at once, as then the L-DOPA ends up being used for a whole range of other biosnth pathways. The mescaline biosynth seems to have first call on it, but give the cactus an excess and every enzyme wants a share!

PS. My only experience is with Trichocereus species; I don't knoe if it's applicable to other genuses of cacti that produce mescaline. Probably, but I wouldn't want to bet on it (due to the number of isoquinolines also produced by Lophophora sp. etc.)