Khat and the creation of tradition in the Somali diaspora
Jane Fountain, Dirk J Korf in 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.
Catalog of Herbs
James A. Duke in Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, 2018
Per 100 g, the leaves are reported to contain 5.2 g protein, 2.7 g fiber, 1.6 g ash, 290 mg Ca, 18.5 mg Fe, 1800 μg β-carotene equivalent, 0.05 mg thiamine, 0.05 mg riboflavin, 14.8 mg niacin, and 161 mg ascorbic acid.122 Leaves contain three alkaloids, d-nor-isoephedrine, formerly called cathine (0.27%), cathinine (0.15%), and cathidine (0.32%), besides reducing sugars, tannin, and a volatile oil.1 Myricitin resins, mannitol, dulcitol, caoutchouc, up to 14% catechins, vitamins B and C are also reported from the plant. Seeds contain 50% oil.13 Krikorian and Getacun gives a historical tabulation of the compounds in khat.123 Emboden states that scopolamine is the active principle.54 Elsewhere he lists the following “euphoriants”: dexedrine (I thought that was synthetic), ephedrine, d-norpseu-doephedrine, and pervitin.54
Synthetic Cathinones and Related Fatalities in the United Kingdom
Ornella Corazza, Andres Roman-Urrestarazu in Handbook of Novel Psychoactive Substances, 2018
Khat (Catha edulis forsk) is a member of the evergreen Celastracae (moonseed or spindle- tree) family (Corkery, 2016). Its fresh leaves contain several phenylpropylamine-type alkaloids, of which the two main psychoactive constituents are the stimulants cathinone (S-(-)-α-aminopropiophenone) and cathine (S,S-(+)-norpseudoephedrine). Cathinone (α-aminopropiophenone) has been isolated in variable amounts from fresh leaves. These molecules act on two main neurochemical pathways—dopamine and noradrenalin. It has been proposed that cathinone, like amphetamine, releases serotonin into the central nervous system (CNS), inducing dopamine release from CNS dopamine terminals, increasing dopaminergic pathway activity (Kalix & Braenden, 1985). Cathinone facilitates the transmission of noradrenalin. It has been suggested that the uptake of noradrenalin is inhibited by cathinone and cathine (Drake, 1988). Cathinone possesses a stronger stimulant effect than cathine and is generally regarded as the more important constituent in khat. However, the presence of oxygen makes cathinone unstable, and it decomposes within just a few days of being picked or if it is dried (Griffiths et al., 1997). Its psychoactivity quickly declines, becoming physiologically inactive after approximately 36 hours.
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).
Related Knowledge Centers
- Amphetamine
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- Psychoactive Drug
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- Stimulant
- Ephedrine
- Norepinephrine Releasing Agent
- Dopamine Releasing Agent