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. AAPS PharmSciTech. 2020 May 19;21(5):145. doi: 10.1208/s12249-020-01684-2. Stimulatory Effects of Soluplus® on Flufenamic Acid β-Cyclodextrin Supramolecular Complex: Physicochemical Characterization and Pre-clinical Anti-inflammatory Assessment. Alshehri S(1)(2), Imam SS(3), Altamimi MA(3), Hussain A(3), Shakeel F(3), Alshehri A(4). Author information: (1)Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. salshehri1@ksu.edu.sa. (2)College of Pharmacy, Al Marefa University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. salshehri1@ksu.edu.sa. (3)Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (4)Pharmacy, Ministry of Defense, King Abdulaziz Air Base Hospital, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The present study demonstrates the solubility and dissolution of flufenamic acid (FLF)/β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)/Soluplus® supramolecular ternary inclusion complex. The binary and ternary inclusion complexes were prepared using solvent evaporation and the microwave irradiation method. The prepared inclusion complexes were evaluated for physicochemical characterization and anti-inflammatory activity using a murine paw edema mol. The phase solubility studies demonstrated 4.59-fold and 17.54-fold enhancements in FLF solubility with β-CD alone and β-CD:Soluplus® combination compared with pure FLF, respectively. The in vitro drug release results revealed a significant improvement (P < 0.05) in the release pattern compared with pure FLF. Maximum release was found with flufenamic acid binary and ternary complexes prepared using the microwave irradiation method, i.e., 75.23 ± 3.12% and 95.36 ± 3.23% in 60 min, respectively. The physicochemical characterization results showed complex formation and conversion of the crystalline form of FLF to an amorphous form. The SEM study revealed the presence of a more agglomerated and amorphous structure of the solid particles, which confirmed the formation of complexes. The anti-inflammatory effect of the complex was higher than pure FLF. Therefore, the FLF:β-CD:Soluplus® inclusion complex may be a very valuable formulation with improved solubility, dissolution, and anti-inflammatory effect. DOI: 10.1208/s12249-020-01684-2 PMID: 32430787 [Indexed for MEDLINE] 2. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2013 May;101(5):1489-501. doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.34455. Epub 2012 Nov 7. Microstructure and biocompatibility of composite biomaterials fabricated from titanium and tricalcium phosphate by spark plasma sintering. Mondal D(1), Nguyen L, Oh IH, Lee BT. Author information: (1)Department of Biomedical Engineering and Materials, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan 330-090, Korea. Important issues in developing hydroxyapatite (HAp)- and titanium (Ti)-based composite biomaterials for orthopedic or dental devices include the dissociation of HAp during fabrication and its influences in the microstructure and biocompatibility of the final composite. During the densification by sintering of HAp/Ti composites, Ti reacts with -OH freed from HAp to form TiO2 thus dissociated HAp into Ca3(PO4)2, CaO, CaTiO3, TiP, and so forth. To inhibit this reaction, composites were fabricated with Ti and 30, 50, and 70 vol % β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) instead of HAp by spark plasma sintering at 1200°C. It has been observed that after sintering at 1200°C, Ti also reacted with TCP, but unlike HAp/Ti composites, the final TCP/Ti composites contained significant amounts of unreacted TCP and Ti phases. The initial 70 vol % TCP/Ti composite showed compressive strength of 388.5 MPa, Young's modulus of 3.23 GPa, and Vickers hardness of 361.9 HV after sintering. The in vitro cytotoxicity and proliferation of osteoblast cells on the composites surfaces showed that the addition of a higher amount of TCP with Ti was beneficial by increasing cell viability, cell-composite attachment and proliferation. Osteopontin and collagen type II protein expression from osteoblasts cultured onto the 70% TCP-Ti composite was also higher than other composites and pure Ti. In vivo study verified that within 3 months of implantation in an animal body, 70% TCP-Ti had an excellent bone-implant interface compared with a pure Ti metal implant. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.34455 PMID: 23135893 [Indexed for MEDLINE] 3. Am J Hum Genet. 1998 Aug;63(2):370-9. doi: 10.1086/301955. Molecular basis for hypertension in the "type II variant" of apparent mineralocorticoid excess. Li A(1), Tedde R, Krozowski ZS, Pala A, Li KX, Shackleton CH, Mantero F, Palermo M, Stewart PM. Author information: (1)Department of Medicine, University of Birmingham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. The syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess (AME) is a heritable form of hypertension in which cortisol acts as a potent mineralocorticoid. The type I variant results in a severe clinical and biochemical phenotype and arises because of mutations in the gene encoding the type 2 isozyme of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11beta-HSD2), an enzyme responsible for the peripheral inactivation of cortisol to cortisone. Only mild abnormalities of cortisol metabolism have been found in the type II variant of AME, suggesting that it may be a separate gene defect. In an extensive consanguineous Sardinian pedigree affected with "type II" AME, a novel homozygous point mutation (C945T) was found in the human 11beta-HSD2 gene in four affected individuals. Thirteen family members were heterozygous for the resultant R279C amino acid substitution. The LOD score of linkage of the mutation to the disease was 3.23. Expression of the 11beta-HSD2 mutant cDNA resulted in an enzyme with reduced maximum velocity, but similar substrate affinity, compared with activity of the wild-type cDNA. Affected individuals were >30 years of age and had both mineralocorticoid hypertension and evidence of impaired metabolism of cortisol to cortisone. The heterozygote state was phenotypically normal but was associated with subtle defects in cortisol metabolism. AME represents a spectrum of mineralocorticoid hypertension with severity reflecting the underlying genetic defect in the 11beta-HSD2 gene; classification into distinct subtypes is inappropriate. Hypertensive populations should be screened to identify the prevalence of milder defects in 11beta-HSD2 in patients currently labeled as having "essential" hypertension. DOI: 10.1086/301955 PMCID: PMC1377297 PMID: 9683587 [Indexed for MEDLINE] 4. Biochemistry. 1996 Mar 19;35(11):3402-17. doi: 10.1021/bi952626l. High-resolution solution structure of the EGF-like domain of heregulin-alpha. Jacobsen NE(1), Abadi N, Sliwkowski MX, Reilly D, Skelton NJ, Fairbrother WJ. Author information: (1)Department of Protein Engineering, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, California 94080, USA. The solution structure of the 63-residue heregulin-alpha (HRG-alpha) epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain, corresponding to residues 177-239 of HRG-alpha, has been determined to high resolution using data from two-dimensional and three-dimensional homo- and heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy. The structure is based on a total of 887 internuclear distance and dihedral restraints derived from data obtained using unlabeled and uniformly 15N-labeled protein samples, at pH 4.5, 20 degrees C. A total of 20 structures were calculated using a hybrid distance geometry-simulated annealing approach with the program DGII, followed by restrained molecular dynamics using the program DISCOVER. The average maximum violations are 0.12 +/- 0.01 angstroms and 1.4 +/- 0.3 degrees for distance and dihedral restraints, respectively. The backbone (N,C(alpha),C) atomic rms distribution about the mean coordinates for residues 3-23 and 31-49 is 0.29 +/- 0/07 angstroms. The N-and C-terminal residues (1-2 and 50-63) and 24-30 are disordered. Comparison of the HRG-alpha EGF-like domain structure with the previously determined structure of human EGF [Hommel et al. (1992) J. Mol. Biol. 227, 271-282] reveals a high degree of structural similarity; excluding the N-terminal region (residues 1-13), the disordered phi-loop region (residues 24-30) that contains a three-residue insertion in HRG-alpha relative to hEGF, and the disordered C-terminal region (residues 50-63), the C(alpha) alignment between the HRG-alpha and hEGF minimized mean structures has a rms difference of approximately 1 angstrom. In HRG-alpha the N-terminal residues 2-6 form a well-defined beta strand rather than being disordered as found for hEGF. This structural difference correlates with functional data which suggest that the N-terminal region of the HRG-alpha EGF-like domain is responsible for the observed receptor specificity differences between HRG-alpha and EGF. DOI: 10.1021/bi952626l PMID: 8639490 [Indexed for MEDLINE]