Narcotic plants activity

Kava a narcotic drink made Grom the roots of the kava plant (Piper melhyslicum L.) in the Pacific islands. K. has a mild pain-killing and euphoric effect (see Narcotics). The active constituents have not all been elucidated, but those which have been isolated are a-pyrones, including dihydromethysticin and di-hydrokawain. 

Nuts have many uses, both industrial and domestic. For instance, the ivory nut, or tagua, is a source material for the manufacture of buttons and turnery articles. The kola nut supplies ingredients for popular cola beverages in the United States (see Carbonated beverages). StTychnos nux-vomica provides the important medicine and poison, strychnine. The areca or betel nut is chewed by the Indian and Malayan people as a narcotic a slice of the nut is placed in a leaf of the pepper plant Piper betle) together with a pinch of lime the mixture is an acrid, astringent narcotic that dyes the mouth red, blackens and destroys the teeth. The areca nut contains, among other alkaloids, arecoline, an active anthelminthic widely used in veterinary practice for the treatment of tapeworm infections. 

Last but not least the identification of THC as the main active constituent of C. sativa was preceded by an almost total ban on the plant as a narcotic drug, practically ending medicinal research. 

Extracts of the plant Piper melhysticum have been used in Polynesia, probably for thousands of years, and Piper plantagiveum is similarly used in Mexico and the Caribbean. They produce a sleepy, relaxed feeling with eventual difficulty in walking. Dihydro-methysticin seems to be the most active constituent, but even this has little effect until about 3 g is taken. There would appear to be no point in synthesizing this or the other active compounds, but those interested may consult JOC 24,1829(1959) and Prog. Chem. Org. Nat. Prod. 20,131(1962). and Pacific Sci. 22,293(1968). For the best review see Bull, on Narcotics 25 59-74(1973). Some people find kava extracts quite pleasant. There is very little human research on these compounds and probably won t be (unless they become popular psychedelics). 

For centuries opium was used for both medicinal and recreational purposes. Derived from the poppy Papaver somniferum, it contains numerous opiates, the primary one of which is morphine. The term opiate has largely been replaced by opioid, which represents all compounds with morphinelike activity and includes morphine, morphine derivatives, and peptides. Opiate is used to refer to morphinelike drugs derived from the plant and structurally similar analogues. These drugs are frequently referred to as narcotics, a Greek term for stupor, which is scientifically obsolete. Even in its early history, opium presented a problem when it was smoked or taken orally. The introduction of the hypodermic needle and syringe, however, drastically enhanced the euphoric properties of opioids and thereby altered their abuse liability. In addition, the synthesis of heroin resulted in an opioid that was more potent than morphine and ideally suited for intravenous administration. 

Psychotropic agents, in today s sense of the term, were classified by Schneider into the classes narcotic agents and excitants, analeptics . The list of allegedly useful substances, plants and extracts is extensive and colorful. Critical evaluation of the recommended active agents is hampered by the fact... 

Narcotic and hallucinogenic plants and their active constituents... 

The term opium alkaloids has been used rather loosely to cover all narcotic analgesics, whether they be synthetic compounds, partially synthetic, or extracted from plant material. To be precise, we should really only use the term for those natural compounds which have been extracted from opium—the sticky exudate obtained from the poppy (Papaver somniferum). The term alkaloid refers to a natural product which contains a nitrogen atom and is therefore basic in character. There are, in fact, several thousand alkaloids which have been extracted and identified from various plant sources and examples of some of the better known alkaloids are shown in Fig. 12.1. These compounds provide a vast library of biologically active compounds which can be used as lead compounds into many possible fields of medicinal chemistry. However, we are only interested at present in the alkaloids derived from opium. 

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