Lidocaine Extraction. ?

Question

I want to extract lidocaine from some stinging nettles or perhaps an aloe vera leaf. It would be great if someone could give me a proven extraction method. If not, it would also be helpful if someone could tell me whether lidocaine is polar or non-polar soluble. Thanks for your help!!!

Answer 1

Lidocaine (Xylocaine) is a synthetic drug and cannot be extracted from either Stinging nettles (Urtica urens) or Aloe vera.

Chemically, lidocaine is 2-(diethylamino) - N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl) acetamide.  Being a amine base, bit is relatively polar.