China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Khat and the creation of tradition in the Somali diaspora
Published in Jane Fountain, Dirk J Korf, Drugs in Society, 2019
The invigorating qualities of khat derive from two alkaloids, identified as cathine and cathinone, which resemble amphetamine. However, they are highly unstable and disintegrate within 72 hours. Three days after harvest, khat is psychoactively ineffective and commercially worthless. Both cathine and cathinone are controlled substances in the UK, and their extraction is illegal.c However, the khat leaves can be imported legitimately as a vegetable. According to Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, an estimated 10,000 tons of khat pass through Heathrow airport annually, much of it destined for re-export. London, with good air links to Kenya, Yemen and Ethiopia, serves as a hub for global distribution. Given that khat is sold at £200 per kilo in the USA, compared with £10 in the UK, the incentives for export are obvious.
Synthetic Cathinones and Related Fatalities in the United Kingdom
Published in Ornella Corazza, Andres Roman-Urrestarazu, Handbook of Novel Psychoactive Substances, 2018
John M. Corkery, Christine Goodair, Hugh Claridge
Two of the principal psychoactive substances that are present in the khat plant (Cathula edulis), cathinone and cathine, are controlled internationally. This because in the early 1980s all amphetamine-like substances were placed group-wise under international control (ECCD, 1985). Cathinone was added to Schedule I of the 1971 UN Convention 1988 and cathine to Schedule III. Cathine and cathinone are controlled substances under Class C of the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 by virtue of Schedules I and III respectively of the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations Act 1986.
Catalog of Herbs
Published in James A. Duke, Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, 2018
Reported to be anorexiac, aphrodisiac, astringent, CNS-stimulant, narcotic, poison, and stimulant, khat is a folk remedy for asthma, chest ailments, cough, debility, diabetes, flu, lethargy, and stomach ailments.12 Cathine is said to open the bronchial passages, curb the appetite, and raise the blood pressure.
The rise of global research trends on cathinones during 1994-2018: lessons from a systematic bibliometric analysis
Published in Journal of Substance Use, 2022
Kang Wang, Yijie Duan, Haihong Chen, Jin Hu, Man Liang
The burst detection can identify burst keywords as indicators of emerging trends (Chen et al., 2014). Temporal shifts in burst keywords could reflect hotspot issues by indicating the prominent research topics studied by researchers in different periods, while the latest burst events can identify present and future research frontiers. The top 20 keywords with the strongest bursts were determined based on the whole “cathinone” dataset. Using the listed keywords, research trends were divided into two chronological phases (Figure 3), which cohered with the yearly distribution of the number of the published papers (Figure 1(a)). Certain keywords surged in the second phase starting from 2010, including (1) plant sources (khat, leave, catha edulis forsk), (2) cathinone analogs (cathinone, methcathinone, mephedrone, cathinone derivative), (3) pharmacokinetics and analysis (metabolism, lc-ms-ms), (4) other related drugs (d amphetamine, cathine, synthetic cannabinoid), and (5) other aspects (drug, death, novel psychoactive substance, np).
Synthetic cathinones: an evolving class of new psychoactive substances
Published in Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 2019
João L. Gonçalves, Vera L. Alves, Joselin Aguiar, Helena M. Teixeira, José S. Câmara
Khat contains numerous compounds, including alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, amino acids, flavonoids, vitamins, and minerals (Halbach 1972; Wabe 2011). Chewing khat releases these substances into the saliva, which are rapidly absorbed through the buccal mucosa and gastro-intestinal tract. Although its stimulant effect was initially attributed to cathine, extracts of fresh leaves of khat were shown to contain cathinone, which is an alkaloid 7- to 10-fold more potent than cathine (Valente et al. 2014; Dunne et al. 2015). However, cathinone is not very stable and breaks down to produce cathine and norephedrine, thus explaining the need to chew fresh khat leaves (Valente et al. 2014; Dunne et al. 2015).
Co-occurring medical and substance use disorders in patients with schizophrenia: a systematic review
Published in International Journal of Mental Health, 2019
Khat is an evergreen plant with leaves containing the amphetamine-like compounds cathinone and cathine. Many people in the Horn of Africa use that on a regular basis. In different studies, khat use was the most common type of SUD, next to nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis use (Abd. Rashid et al., 2010; Dervaux et al., 2004; Duko et al., 2015; Koskinen et al., 2009; Nesvåg et al., 2015; Veling et al., 2008; Verdoux et al., 1996). The prevalence of khat use in PWS in studies ranges up to 54% (Duko et al., 2015) (Table 1).