The effect of phenylpentenyl-khatamines on the release of radioactivity from rat striatal tissue prelabelled with [3H]dopamine.
The CNS-stimulating properties of leaves of the khat shrub (Catha edulis, Celastraceae) are presumed to be due mainly to (-)-cathinone, a phenylpropylamine alkaloid that has been shown to have an amphetamine-like releasing effect at physiological catecholamine storage sites. Recently, several phenylpentenylamine alkaloids have been identified in khat leaves, and these have been evaluated, in-vitro, in the present study for their ability to induce release of radioactivity from [3H]dopamine-prelabelled rat striatal tissue. It was found that the phenylpentenylamines have a weak releasing effect, and are therefore considered unlikely to play an important role in the stimulating properties of khat leaves.
D000470:Alkaloids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000588:Amines / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D029754:Catha; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D010665:Phenylpropanolamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D014316:Tritium
D000470:Alkaloids; D000588:Amines; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014316:Tritium; C005331:norpseudoephedrine; D010665:Phenylpropanolamine; C023665:cathinone; D004298:Dopamine