China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Medicinal Plants: A Potent Antimicrobial Source and An Alternative to Combat Antibiotic Resistance
Published in Jayanta Kumar Patra, Gitishree Das, Sanjeet Kumar, Hrudayanath Thatoi, Ethnopharmacology and Biodiversity of Medicinal Plants, 2019
Shraddha Chauhan, Reecha Sahu, Lata S. B. Upadhyay
Alkaloids diverse and abundant class secondary metabolites found at 10–15% concentration in almost all plants. Alkaloids are chemical compound containing basic nitrogen atom. They are colorless crystals. Their chemical structure is enormously dynamic. They are produced by wide variety of organisms such as plants, bacteria, fungus, etc. Many alkaloids have physiological effect that renders them valuable medicine against diseases like malaria, diabetics, cancer, and cardiac dysfunction. These are also practiced in local anesthesia and as analgesic compounds. The first example of alkaloid used in medicine was morphine isolated from Papaver somniferum. Morphine blunts the pain response secondary to the ischemic tissue damage along with providing anxiolysis. Codeine another alkaloid obtained from Papaver somniferum is a mild pain reliever and an effective cough suppressant. A number of alkaloids are being used as drugs for century. Among the oldest and best known of these is quinine, derived from the bark of the tropical cinchona tree which is used as an antimalarial drug. Berberine is another common example of alkaloid effective against Plasmodia and Trypanosomes. Mostly they control microbial regulation (Cowan, 1999). Harmine, a beta-carboline alkaloid, is widely distributed in the plants. Harmine has various types of pharmacological activities such as antimicrobial, antifungal, antitumor, cytotoxic, antiplasmodial, antioxidant, antimutagenic, antigenotoxic, and anti-HIV (Patel et al., 2012).
Neurotransmitters and pharmacology
Published in Mark J. Ashley, David A. Hovda, Traumatic Brain Injury, 2017
Ronald A. Browning, Richard W. Clough
There are several GABA antagonists available for experimental use. However, because all the GABAA antagonists are convulsants, they have no clinical use at the present time. The classical GABAA antagonist is bicuculline, but picrotoxin is also an antagonist. Saclofen and phaclofen are GABAB antagonists that are being used in experimental animals to help deduce the functional importance of the GABAB receptor. There are also a group of experimental compounds that bind to the benzodiazepine binding site on the chloride channel and cause a reduction in the effectiveness of GABA. The latter compounds, of which beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (and other beta carbolines) is an example, are called inverse agonists. Clearly, the GABA antagonists and the inverse benzodiazepine agonists are proconvulsant and have no clinical use in medicine. However, it is possible that such drugs may be developed for use in the TBI patient (see the following). Of clinical importance is flumazenil (Romazicon®), a specific antagonist at the benzodiazepine binding site on the GABA receptor that is used to reverse the effects of benzodiazepines in the treatment of toxicity from overdose.58
Insomnia
Published in Ethan Russo, Handbook of Psychotropic Herbs, 2015
Great controversy has arisen due to the putative presence of beta-carboline alkaloids in some cultivars of Passiflora incarnata. These include harmane, harmaline, and others. In physiological doses, these are monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Literature has even supported the use of maypop, ingested or smoked, as an“ayahuasca analogue” that serves as the MAOI which permits oral activity of DMT (dimethyltryptamine)-containing plants (e.g., Ba-nisteriopsis caapi, Phalaris, etc.) (Ott, 1994, 1996). However, such alkaloids are trace elements in select maypop samples, while most commercial preparations are devoid of these components (ESCOP, 1996–1997). No hypertensive crises or other clinical sequelae have been reported in relation to such activity after use of Passiflora incarnata. Interestingly, most experimenters taking such alkaloids in isolation have reported mild levels of sedation, and no antidepressant or stimulatory effect (Ott, 1994).
Ayahuasca, a potentially rapid acting antidepressant: focus on safety and tolerability
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 2022
Giordano Novak Rossi, Isabella Caroline da Silva Dias, Glen Baker, José Carlos Bouso Saiz, Serdar M. Dursun, Jaime E. C. Hallak, Rafael G. Dos Santos
Concerning the presence of beta-carbolines in the brew, these substances (especially harmine) have been investigated regarding their possible therapeutic effects such as in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease due to their dopaminergic neurotransmission modulation [59–61]. From a toxicological perspective, beta-carbolines administrated individually and in B. caapi extracts have been shown to cause hyperthermia, tingling sensations, nausea, vomiting, tremors, and learning and memory deficits [59,62–64]. Furthermore, by inhibiting MAO-A function, drug–drug interactions may be more prone to happen with ayahuasca than with other psychedelics, especially concerning the metabolism of potentially toxic monoamines such as tyramine [65]. The consumption of serotoninergic agonistic drugs such as many antidepressants with ayahuasca may also result in overstimulation of this system and consequently promote serotonin syndrome, which is a serious AE and may result in death [65]. Moreover, beta-carbolines are also known to interact with and inhibit various liver enzymes, most notably CYPs 3A4 and 2D6 [66]. Given this inhibition, concomitant consumption of ayahuasca with substances that are metabolized by these enzymes should also be avoided. Finally, harmine and harmaline have been demonstrated to be capable of modulating cholinergic, GABAergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission, imbuing them, and ultimately ayahuasca, with a complex pharmacological synergy that has yet to be fully understood with regard to its relationship to the AEs and therapeutic effects induced by these substances [59,67,68].
Safety issues of psilocybin and LSD as potential rapid acting antidepressants and potential challenges
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 2022
Giordano Novak Rossi, Jaime E. C. Hallak, José Carlos Bouso Saiz, Rafael G. Dos Santos
Although preliminary and nonconfirmatory, results from recent randomized, double-blind, and controlled clinical trials have been promising (especially concerning psilocybin, which is the most studied serotoninergic hallucinogen) [10,12]. Besides psilocybin and LSD, ayahuasca (a psychedelic brew usually made from the vine Banisteriopsis caapi and the bush Psychotria viridis which contains beta-carbolines and DMT as its active components) is another substance that shows preliminary evidence as a rapid-acting antidepressant, as reported by observational studies (where there is substantial evidence pointing to its therapeutic effects) and open and placebo-controlled clinical trials [46,47]. Despite this, it is still in an earlier study phase and is likely to take more time to standardize its administration (e.g. investigate proportions, dosages, and other pharmacological variables pertinent). Mescaline has vastly been left out of recent clinical scientific investigations, probably in part due to its long-lasting effects in comparison with other serotoninergic hallucinogens.
Putative mechanism for cancer suppression by PLGA nanoparticles loaded with Peganum harmala smoke extract
Published in Journal of Microencapsulation, 2021
Hoda Shabestarian, Masoud Homayouni Tabrizi, Monireh Movahedi, Ali Neamati, Fariba Sharifnia
PHSE-PNP nanoparticles also displayed significant antioxidant activity (Figure 3) in the current research. This was due to its individual ingredients, such as limonene which is well-known as a strong antioxidant (Roberto et al.2010, Faridi et al.2013). In addition to limonene, there are other pecan smoke compounds whose antioxidant effects can inhibit free radicals. The results of a survey conducted in 2006 reported on the antioxidant effects of harmine and harmaline in pecan seed extract on low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and the ability of these alkaloids to prevent lipoprotein oxidation in the laboratory. The study also showed that harmine and harmaline, in comparison to the control substance (vitamin E), are highly capable of removing free radicals and that the effect of harmaline is three times that of harmine. In addition to beta-carbolines, these compounds contain phenolic flavonoids which have an antioxidant effect and prevent the formation of free radicals and cancer cells (Berrougui et al.2006).