Monotropa uniflora L. (“ghost pipe”), is a North American traditional medicinal plant which has recently seen an increase in consumption nation-wide. However, a single 1889 study reported the presence of grayanotoxin I in M. uniflora, generating persistent controversy regarding its safety. It is essential to revisit this claim of toxicity given its resurgence in popularity. We applied more sensitive analytical techniques to determine the possible presence of grayanotoxins in a diverse sampling of M. uniflora, using targeted mass spectrometry and MS2-based molecular networking. Across 50 M. uniflora samples, neither grayanotoxins nor structural analogs were detected, refuting the earlier analysis.
Anez et al. (Mon,) studied this question.