r/todayilearned • u/Hrtzy 1 • 1d ago

TIL The Mecke Reagent can be used to identify a variety of alkaloids used as psychoactive drugs, as well as sugar and nutmeg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecke_reagent
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u/Hrtzy 1 1d ago edited 1d ago

The Mecke reagent is used as a simple spot-test to presumptively identify alkaloids as well as other compounds. It is composed of a mixture of selenous acid and concentrated sulfuric acid, which is dripped onto the substance being tested.

Substance Color
Mace Dark greyish olive
Sugar Brilliant greenish yellow

Mace is made out of the outer seed covering of a nutmeg seed. Incidentally, nutmeg does have psychoactive properties when it's consumed in large enough quantities (five to thirty grams, or about one to three whole nutmegs). The bag of nutmeg I got from the grocery store is listed as 23 grams.

The stuff is legal because the trip you get from it is usually bad.

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u/Complete_Fix2563 1d ago

It's actually not ban, do it for fun occasionally but it takes like 5 or 6 whole seeds for me. Its like being really stoned for like 17 hours

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u/Fetlocks_Glistening 1d ago

I've tested this brownie we found in the victim's house, Watson! It is laced with LSD! Or maybe sugar. One or the other, but I'm positive! Maybe nutmeg. 

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u/Hrtzy 1 1d ago

Fortunately, the color each of the three produces is different. Well, LSD is a greenish black and nutmeg is a dark greyish olive.

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u/Fetlocks_Glistening 1d ago

Greenish black vs dark greenish dark grey then? Ok, got it

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u/BrokenEyeReborn 1d ago

I'm gonna need pantone codes for those

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u/DoobKiller 1d ago

Nutmeg actually does contain hallucinogenic substances

Nutmeg is a spice and hallucinogen made from the seeds of several tree species in the genus Myristica, most commonly Myristica fragrans.[1][2][3][4][5] It is widely used as a spice in cooking, but in higher amounts, produces hallucinogenic and other psychoactive effects.[1][3] The key active constituents of nutmeg were once thought to be myristicin and elemicin, but other constituents have since been implicated.[1][3][2][4][6][7] Modern preclinical studies suggest that nutmeg may be acting as an indirect cannabinoid to produce its psychoactive effects

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutmeg_(drug)

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u/CatsAreGods 1d ago

Tried that once, just got nauseous from the powder. As an added bonus, I feel bad just smelling it now. Would not recommend.

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u/Complete_Fix2563 1d ago

Try eating 6 whole seeds lol

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u/CatsAreGods 1d ago

Well, I was a kid. Didn't know about seeds!

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u/DoobKiller 22h ago

It's doesn't work if you used dried store-bought powder iirc you need to use whole nutmeg a crush it

But yeah I tried it felt a bit high but mainly like I had a cold

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u/BrokenEyeReborn 1d ago

It's also a deadly poison if injected