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. Fitoterapia. 2016 Mar;109:174-8. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2016.01.003. Epub 2016 Jan 11. Volvalerine A, an unprecedented N-containing sesquiterpenoid dimer derivative from Valeriana officinalis var. latifolia. Wang PC(1), Ran XH(1), Luo HR(1), Ma QY(2), Zhou J(1), Hu JM(3), Zhao YX(4). Author information: (1)State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China. (2)Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agriculture Sciences, Haikou 571101, People's Republic of China. (3)State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: hujiangmiao@mail.kib.ac.cn. (4)Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agriculture Sciences, Haikou 571101, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: zhaoyx1011@163.com. Volvalerine A (1), a novel N-containing bisesquiterpenoid derivative with a dihydroisoxazole ring, and its possible biosynthetic precursor, 1-hydroxy-1,11,11-trimethyldecahydrocyclopropane azulene-10-one (2), were isolated from the roots of Valeriana officinalis var. latifolia. Their structures and relative configurations were identified using spectroscopic data and X-ray crystallography. A plausible biosynthetic pathway for 1 is also presented. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2016.01.003 PMID: 26779941 [Indexed for MEDLINE]