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. Biomed Chromatogr. 2024 Oct;38(10):e5985. doi: 10.1002/bmc.5985. Epub 2024 Aug 13. Based on UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS and bioinformatics strategies, the potential allergens and mechanisms of allergic reactions caused by Danshen injection were explored. Lei W(1), Zhiqi H(1), You P(2), Peiling T(1), Yanze G(2), Qiru L(1), Mingjie T(1), Tao L(2). Author information: (1)School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China. (2)School of Food and Biological Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China. The aim is to investigate the potential allergens and mechanisms underlying allergic-like reactions induced by Danshen injection (DSI). Utilizing ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS), metabolomics, and bioinformatics, we identified the key allergens, targets, and metabolic pathways involved in DSI-induced allergic-like reactions, validating binding efficiency through molecular docking and molecular dynamics. A total of 45 compounds were identified within DSI, with 24 compounds exhibiting strong binding activity to the MrgprX2 activation site. DSI was found to cause changes in 89 endogenous metabolites, including arachidonic acid, prostaglandins, and leukotrienes, primarily affecting pathways such as phenylalanine metabolism and arachidonic acid metabolism. The key allergens identified were Cryptotanshinone, Miltipolone, Neocryptotanshinone, Salvianolic acid B, and Isosalvianolic acid C, which primarily trigger allergic-like reactions by regulating upstream signaling targets such as ALOX5, PTGS1, PPARD, and LTB4R. Validation confirmed the high binding affinity and stability between key allergens and targets. These findings indicate that the allergic components in DSI primarily induce allergic-like reactions by modulating the aforementioned signaling targets, activating the AA metabolic pathway, promoting mast cell degranulation, and releasing downstream endogenous inflammatory mediators, subsequently eliciting allergic-like reactions. © 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. DOI: 10.1002/bmc.5985 PMID: 39138643 [Indexed for MEDLINE] 2. Int Immunopharmacol. 2019 Jun;71:22-31. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2019.03.013. Epub 2019 Mar 12. Isosalvianolic acid C-induced pseudo-allergic reactions via the mast cell specific receptor MRGPRX2. Lin Y(1), Wang J(2), Hou Y(2), Fu J(2), Wei D(2), Jia Q(2), Lv Y(1), Wang C(2), Han S(2), He L(3). Author information: (1)School of Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 76# Yanta West Road, Xi'an 710061, China.; National-provincial Joint Engineering Research Center for National Vascular Medicine Screening & Analysis, Xi'an 710061, China; School of Pharmacy and Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA. (2)School of Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 76# Yanta West Road, Xi'an 710061, China.; National-provincial Joint Engineering Research Center for National Vascular Medicine Screening & Analysis, Xi'an 710061, China. (3)School of Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 76# Yanta West Road, Xi'an 710061, China.; National-provincial Joint Engineering Research Center for National Vascular Medicine Screening & Analysis, Xi'an 710061, China. Electronic address: helc@mail.xjtu.edu.cn. Pseudo-allergic reactions occurred in patients administered drugs for the first time, seriously threaten man's survival. Due to the frequent reports of pseudo-allergic reactions to Danshen injection, in our previous study, isosalvianolic acid C in Danshen injection was found to trigger off mast cell degranulation. However, the direct involvement and the mechanisms underlying pseudo-allergic reactions have not been elucidated. In this study, the pseudo-allergic reactions induced by isosalvianolic acid C were confirmed by an ear swelling assay, a hindpaw swelling and extravasation assay in vivo and mast cell degranulation assays in vitro. We also evaluated whether the pseudo-allergic effect is related to MRGPRX2, Isosalvianolic acid C induced Ca2+ mobilization was verified as MRGPRX2-related by Ca2+ imaging using mouse peritoneal mast cells (both wild-type and MrgprB2 knockout mice), MRGPRX2-expressing HEK293 and MrgprB2-expressing HEK293 cells. MRGPRX2-related pseudo-allergic reactions induced by Isosalvianolic acid C were further confirmed by MrgprB2 knockout mice and MRGPRX2 knockdown mast cells both exhibited reduced isosalvianolic acid C-induced pseudo-allergic effects. Furthermore, both the frontal analysis and molecular docking assays showed that isosalvianolic acid C has a considerable affinity with MRGPRX2. Based on the above experiments, the western blot analyses were conducted, the results indicated that isosalvianolic acid C induced Ca2+ mobilization and degranulation via the activation of PLC-γ and IP3R, and releasing chemokines via the activation of PLC-γ, PKC and P38. This study should alarm many clinicians that medicines containing isosalvianolic acid C might induce pseudo-allergic reactions, and it may provide guidance on safe dosage of these medicines in the process of production and use. Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2019.03.013 PMID: 30875538 [Indexed for MEDLINE] 3. J Sep Sci. 2018 Jun;41(11):2488-2497. doi: 10.1002/jssc.201701275. Epub 2018 Apr 6. Simultaneous identification of three pseudoallergic components in Danshen injection by using high-expression Mas-related G protein coupled receptor X2 cell membrane chromatography coupled online to HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Lin Y(1), Wang C(1), Hou Y(1), Sun W(1), Che D(1), Yang L(1), Zhang T(1), Sun M(1), He H(1), He L(1). Author information: (1)School of Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China. Adverse drug reactions of Danshen injection mainly manifested as pseudoallergic reactions. In the present study, salvianolic acid A and a pair of geometric isomers (isosalvianolic acid C and salvianolic acid C) were identified as pseudoallergic components in Danshen injection by a high-expression Mas-related G protein coupled receptor X2 cell membrane chromatography coupled online with high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Their pseudoallergic activities were evaluated by in vitro assay, which were consistent with the retention times on the cell membrane chromatography column. Salvianolic acid C, the most outstanding compound, was further found to induce pseudoallergic reaction through Mas-related G protein coupled receptor X2. All the results above indicated that the system developed in this study is an effective method for simultaneously analyzing pseudoallergic components, even those with similar structures and the microcomponents in complex samples (salvianolic acid C in Danshen injection). © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. DOI: 10.1002/jssc.201701275 PMID: 29493092 [Indexed for MEDLINE] 4. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2012 Feb 5;59:184-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2011.10.007. Epub 2011 Oct 15. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the major constituents in Chinese medicinal preparation Guan-Xin-Ning injection by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS(n). Ruan M(1), Li Y, Li X, Luo J, Kong L. Author information: (1)Department of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tong Jia Xiang, Nanjing 210009, People's Republic of China. Guan-Xin-Ning (GXN) injection, a traditional Chinese medicinal preparation consisting of Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza and Rhizoma Ligusticum chuanxiong, has been used to treat coronary heart disease and angina pectoris in China for decades. In this paper, a HPLC/DAD/ESI-MS(n) method was successfully developed for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the active components in GXN injection for the first time. 28 compounds were identified by comparison of their retention times and MS spectra (HPLC/DAD/ESI-MS(n)) with those elucidated standards or recorded literature. 19 of them (danshensu, furoic acid, 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, protocatechuic aldehyde, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid, vanillin, 1,3-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 4-hydroxycinnamic acid, ferulic acid, senkyunolide I, senkyunolide H, isosalvianolic acid A, rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid B, salvianolic acid A and isosalvianolic acid C) were simultaneously determined by HPLC-DAD quantitatively. The analytical method was validated and successfully applied for simultaneous determination of major components in GXN injections from seven different production batches, indicating that the proposed approach was applicable for the routine analysis and quality control of GXN injection. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2011.10.007 PMID: 22071444 [Indexed for MEDLINE] 5. J Nat Med. 2011 Jan;65(1):37-42. doi: 10.1007/s11418-010-0453-2. Epub 2010 Sep 11. Constituents with α-glucosidase and advanced glycation end-product formation inhibitory activities from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. Ma HY(1), Gao HY, Sun L, Huang J, Xu XM, Wu LJ. Author information: (1)Pharmacy Department, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, No. 4, Chongshan Eastern Road, Yuhong District, Shenyang 110032, China. cmu4h-mhy@126.com The 75% ethanol extract from roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. (Dan shen) afforded two new compounds, 3-hydroxy-2-(2'-formyloxy-1'-methylethyl)-8-methyl-1,4-phenanthrenedione (1), (8'R)-isosalvianolic acid C methyl ester (2), and 14 known compounds. Their structures were established on the basis of spectral analysis. The ability of the compounds to inhibit α-glucosidase activity and formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) was evaluated. All compounds displayed various degrees of inhibitory effects against α-glucosidase; moreover, compounds 2, 6, 11, 14, and 16 exhibited much more potent inhibition against AGEs than the positive control (aminoguanidine, AG, IC(50) 0.11 μM). This is the first time that compounds from this plant have been reported to have inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase. DOI: 10.1007/s11418-010-0453-2 PMID: 20835851 [Indexed for MEDLINE]