title: Dragon's Blood incense: misbranded as a drug of abuse?
abstract: An unknown red substance was being sold and used with other drugs of abuse in Virginia (often being used in conjunction with marihuana). The red substance was identified as Dragon's Blood incense from Daemonorops draco. In bioassays, Dragon's Blood incense exhibited a low, but measurable cytotoxicity in in vitro cell lines. Dragon's Blood incense or Volatilized Dragon's Blood had no adverse effect on mouse motor performance based on the inclined screen and rotorod tests. delta(9)-Tetrahydrocannibinol (THC) produced a dose-related decline in mouse performance on the rotorod test. The combination of Dragon's Blood incense or Volatilized Dragon's Blood with delta(9)-THC did not contribute further to the impairment of the mice on the rotorod. This data suggests that the abuse potential for Dragon's Blood incense alone or in combination with marihuana is minimal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0540, USA.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ford
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Steiner
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thiericke
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Soine
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000737:chemistry*; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000737:chemistry*; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*; D012116:Resins, Plant / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000737:chemistry*; D014768:Virginia
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D012116:Resins, Plant; D013759:Dronabinol