Worldwide, there are plants known as psychoactive plants that naturally contain psychedelic active components. They have a high concentration of neuroprotective substances that can interact with the nervous system to produce psychedelic effects. Despite these plants' hazardous potential, recreational use of them is on the rise because of their psychoactive properties. Early neuroscience studies relied heavily on psychoactive plants and plant natural products (NPs), and both recreational and hazardous NPs have contributed significantly to the understanding of almost all neurotransmitter systems. Worldwide, there are many plants that contain psychoactive properties, and people have been using them for ages. Psychoactive plant compounds may significantly alter how people perceive the world.
1. Nature. 2024 Nov;635(8037):142-150. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08028-1. Epub 2024 Oct 9. A modular circuit coordinates the diversification of courtship strategies. Coleman RT(1)(2), Morantte I(1)(2), Koreman GT(1)(2), Cheng ML(1)(2), Ding Y(3), Ruta V(4)(5). Author information: (1)Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA. (2)Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY, USA. (3)Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. (4)Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA. ruta@rockefeller.edu. (5)Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY, USA. ruta@rockefeller.edu. Update of bioRxiv. 2023 Sep 17:2023.09.16.558080. doi: 10.1101/2023.09.16.558080. Mate recognition systems evolve rapidly to reinforce the reproductive boundaries between species, but the underlying neural mechanisms remain enigmatic. Here we leveraged the rapid coevolution of female pheromone production and male pheromone perception in Drosophila1,2 to gain insight into how the architecture of mate recognition circuits facilitates their diversification. While in some Drosophila species females produce unique pheromones that act to arouse their conspecific males, the pheromones of most species are sexually monomorphic such that females possess no distinguishing chemosensory signatures that males can use for mate recognition3. We show that Drosophila yakuba males evolved the ability to use a sexually monomorphic pheromone, 7-tricosene, as an excitatory cue to promote courtship. By comparing key nodes in the pheromone circuits across multiple Drosophila species, we reveal that this sensory innovation arises from coordinated peripheral and central circuit adaptations: a distinct subpopulation of sensory neurons has acquired sensitivity to 7-tricosene and, in turn, selectively signals to a distinct subset of P1 neurons in the central brain to trigger courtship. Such a modular circuit organization, in which different sensory inputs can independently couple to parallel courtship control nodes, may facilitate the evolution of mate recognition systems by allowing novel sensory modalities to become linked to male arousal. Together, our findings suggest how peripheral and central circuit adaptations can be flexibly coordinated to underlie the rapid evolution of mate recognition strategies across species. © 2024. The Author(s). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08028-1 PMID: 39385031 [Indexed for MEDLINE] 2. Data Brief. 2024 Sep 3;57:110871. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2024.110871. eCollection 2024 Dec. Quantitive variation of male and female-specific compounds in 99 drosophilid flies. Khallaf MA(1)(2), Diaz-Morales M(1)(3), Hansson BS(1), Knaden M(1). Author information: (1)Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany. (2)Department of Zoology and Entomology, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. (3)Lankester Botanical Garden, University of Costa Rica, Cartago, Costa Rica. Variation in sex pheromones is regarded as one of the causes of reproductive isolation and speciation. We recently identified 51 male- and female-specific compounds - many of which function as sex pheromones - in 99 drosophilid species [1]. Here, we report that despite many of these compounds being shared between species, their quantities differ significantly. For example, although 34 drosophilid species share the male-specific compound cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA), which plays a critical role in regulating various social and sexual behaviors, the amount of cVA can differ by up to 600-fold between different species. Additionally, we found 7-tricosene, the cuticular hydrocarbon pheromone, present in 35 Drosophila species. Our findings indicate that 7-tricosene is equally present in both sexes of 14 species, more abundant in males of 14 species, and more abundant in females of 7 species. We provide raw data on the concentration of potential pheromone components in the 99 drosophilids, which can provide important insights for further research on the behavior and evolution of these species. Quantitative variations highlight species-specific patterns, suggesting an additional mechanism for reproductive isolation built on specific combinations of compounds at set concentrations. © 2024 The Author(s). DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2024.110871 PMCID: PMC11418004 PMID: 39314893 3. Elife. 2024 Sep 10;13:RP96013. doi: 10.7554/eLife.96013. Male cuticular pheromones stimulate removal of the mating plug and promote re-mating through pC1 neurons in Drosophila females. Yun M(1), Kim DH(1), Ha TS(2), Lee KM(1), Park E(1), Knaden M(3)(4), Hansson BS(3)(4), Kim YJ(1). Author information: (1)School of Life Sciences, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju, Republic of Korea. (2)Department of Biomedical Science, College of Natural Science, Daegu University, Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea. (3)Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany. (4)Next Generation Insect Chemical Ecology, Max Planck Centre, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany. Update of doi: 10.1101/2023.11.28.568981. doi: 10.7554/eLife.96013.1. doi: 10.7554/eLife.96013.2. In birds and insects, the female uptakes sperm for a specific duration post-copulation known as the ejaculate holding period (EHP) before expelling unused sperm and the mating plug through sperm ejection. In this study, we found that Drosophila melanogaster females shortens the EHP when incubated with males or mated females shortly after the first mating. This phenomenon, which we termed male-induced EHP shortening (MIES), requires Or47b+ olfactory and ppk23+ gustatory neurons, activated by 2-methyltetracosane and 7-tricosene, respectively. These odorants raise cAMP levels in pC1 neurons, responsible for processing male courtship cues and regulating female mating receptivity. Elevated cAMP levels in pC1 neurons reduce EHP and reinstate their responsiveness to male courtship cues, promoting re-mating with faster sperm ejection. This study established MIES as a genetically tractable model of sexual plasticity with a conserved neural mechanism. © 2024, Yun et al. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.96013 PMCID: PMC11386958 PMID: 39255004 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: MY, DK, TH, KL, EP, MK, BH, YK No competing interests declared 4. J Chem Ecol. 2024 Oct;50(9-10):536-548. doi: 10.1007/s10886-024-01540-8. Epub 2024 Aug 26. Population Density Affects Drosophila Male Pheromones in Laboratory-Acclimated and Natural Lines. Ferveur JF(1), Cortot J(2), Moussian B(3), Everaerts C(2). Author information: (1)Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, UMR6265 CNRS, UMR1324 INRA, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6, Bd Gabriel, Dijon, 21000, France. jean-francois.ferveur@u-bourgogne.fr. (2)Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, UMR6265 CNRS, UMR1324 INRA, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6, Bd Gabriel, Dijon, 21000, France. (3)Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, Animal Genetics, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. In large groups of vertebrates and invertebrates, aggregation can affect biological characters such as gene expression, physiological, immunological and behavioral responses. The insect cuticle is covered with hydrocarbons (cuticular hydrocarbons; CHCs) which reduce dehydration and increase protection against xenobiotics. Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans flies also use some of their CHCs as contact pheromones. In these two sibling species, males also produce the volatile pheromone 11-cis-Vaccenyl acetate (cVa). To investigate the effect of insect density on the production of CHCs and cVa we compared the level of these male pheromones in groups of different sizes. These compounds were measured in six lines acclimated for many generations in our laboratory - four wild-type and one CHC mutant D. melanogaster lines plus one D. simulans line. Increasing the group size substantially changed pheromone amounts only in the four D. melanogaster wild-type lines. To evaluate the role of laboratory acclimation in this effect, we measured density-dependent pheromonal production in 21 lines caught in nature after 1, 12 and 25 generations in the laboratory. These lines showed varied effects which rarely persisted across generations. Although increasing group size often affected pheromone production in laboratory-established and freshly-caught D. melanogaster lines, this effect was not linear, suggesting complex determinants. © 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. DOI: 10.1007/s10886-024-01540-8 PMID: 39186176 [Indexed for MEDLINE] 5. Heliyon. 2024 May 9;10(10):e30839. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30839. eCollection 2024 May 30. Bio-functional properties and phytochemical composition of selected Apis mellifera honey from Africa. Ndungu NN(1), Kegode TM(1), Kurgat JK(1), Baleba SBS(1), Cheseto X(1), Turner S(2), Tasse Taboue GC(3), Kasina JM(4), Subramanian S(1), Nganso BT(1). Author information: (1)International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Nairobi, Kenya. (2)Malaika Honey Company, Kampala, Uganda. (3)Institute of Agricultural Research for Development, Bangangté, Cameroon. (4)Apiculture and Beneficial Insects Research Institute, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization, P.O. Box 32-30403, Marigat, Kenya. Globally, the demand for natural remedies such as honey to manage ailments has increased. Yet, the health benefits and chemical composition of African honeys are not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to characterise the bio-functional properties and the phytochemical composition of 18 Apis mellifera honeys from Kenya, Uganda, and Cameroon in comparison to the popular and commercially available Manuka 5+ honey from New Zealand. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay (DPPH-RSA) was used to determine the antioxidant property, whilst the agar well diffusion and broth dilution (Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)) assays were used to determine antimicrobial property. Further, colorimetric methods were used for phytochemical analysis. Our results showed that honeys collected from Rift Valley region of Kenya (e.g. Poi, Salabani and Mbechot) and Western region of Cameron (e.g. Bangoulap) had the highest antioxidant (DPPH RSA of 41.52-43.81%) and antimicrobial (MIC (3.125-6.25% w/v) and MBC (6.25-12.5% w/v)) activities. Additionally, the total flavonoid (770-970 mg QE/100 g), phenol (944.79-1047.53 mg GAE/100 g), terpenoid (239.78-320.89 mg LE/100 g) and alkaloid (119.40-266.57 mg CE/100 g) contents reached the highest levels in these bioactive African honeys, which significantly and positively correlated with their bio-functional properties. The functional and phytochemical composition of these bioactive African honeys were similar to or higher than those of the Manuka 5+ honey. Furthermore, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of African honeys revealed 10 most prominent volatile organic compounds that contribute to their geographical distinction: triacontane, heptacosane, (Z)-9-tricosene, tetracosane, 6-propyl-2,3-dihydropyran-2,4-dione, octacosane, 1,2,4-trimethylcyclohexane, 1,3-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl) benzene, 2-methylheptane and phytol. Overall, our findings suggest that some of the tested African honeys are natural sources of antimicrobial and antioxidant therapies that can be exploited upon further research and commercialized as high value honey. © 2024 The Authors. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30839 PMCID: PMC11109849 PMID: 38778936 Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.