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. Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 22;14(1):24936. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-75570-3. GC-MS analysis, molecular docking, and pharmacokinetic studies on Dalbergia sissoo barks extracts for compounds with anti-diabetic potential. Vijh D(1), Gupta P(2). Author information: (1)Agriculture Plant Biotechnology Laboratory (ARL-316), University School of Biotechnology, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Dwarka, Delhi, 110078, India. (2)Agriculture Plant Biotechnology Laboratory (ARL-316), University School of Biotechnology, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Dwarka, Delhi, 110078, India. promila@ipu.ac.in. Diabetes is a metabolic condition defined by abnormal blood sugar levels. Targeting starch-hydrolyzing enzymes and Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 (DPP-4) expressed on the surface of numerous cells is one of the key strategies to lower the risk of Type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. bark (DSB) extracts have been reported to have anti-diabetic properties. This study intended to scientifically validate use of alcoholic and hydro-alcoholic extracts of DSB for T2DM by conducting preliminary phytochemical investigations, characterising potential phytochemicals using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis followed by comprehensive in-silico analysis. A qualitative phytochemical evaluation indicated the presence of alkaloids, phenolics, glycosides, conjugated acids and flavonoids. Ethanolic extracts showed highest total phenolic content (TPC) (127.072 ± 14.08031 μg GAE/g dry extract) and total flavonoid content (106.911 ± 5.84516 μg QE /g dry extract). Further FT-IR spectroscopy also revealed typical band values associated with phenol, alcohol, alkene, alkane and conjugated acid functional groups. The GC-MS analysis identified 139 compounds, 18 of which had anti-diabetic potential. In-silico ADMET analysis of potential compounds revealed 15 compounds that followed Lipinski's rule and demonstrated drug-like properties, as well as good oral bioavailability. Molecular docking was utilised to analyse their potential to interact with three targets: α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and DPP-4, which are crucial in managing diabetes-related problems. Molecular Docking analysis and membrane permeability test utilising the PerMM platform revealed that compounds in the extracts, such as Soyasapogenol B and Corydine, had better interactions and permeability across the plasma membrane than standard drugs in use. Molecular dynamics simulations also showed that selected compounds remained stable upon interaction with α-amylase. Overall, using the in-silico approaches it was predicted that DSB extracts contain potential phytochemicals with diverse anti-diabetic properties. It further needs to be investigated for possible development as formulation or drug of choice for treating T2DM. © 2024. The Author(s). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-75570-3 PMCID: PMC11496555 PMID: 39438536 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no competing interests. 2. Nat Prod Res. 2024 Apr 8:1-18. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2024.2335669. Online ahead of print. Natural alkaloids from Dicranostigma leptopodum (Maxim.) Fedde and their G5. NHAc-PBA dendrimer-alkaloid complexes for targeting chemotherapy in breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Tian Y(1), Wang Z(2), Xu X(2), Guo Y(2), Ma Y(3), Lu Y(1), Shen M(2), Geng Y(1), Tomás H(4), Rodrigues J(4), Sheng R(4). Author information: (1)Henan Railway Food Safety Management Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou Railway Vocational and Technical College, Zhengzhou, China. (2)State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, China. (3)Henan Natural Products Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Henan Academy of Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan, China. (4)CQM-Centro de Química da Madeira, Universidade da Madeira, Funchal, Portugal. Herein, we isolated five natural alkaloids, iso-corydine (iso-CORY), corydine (CORY), sanguinarine (SAN), chelerythrine (CHE) and magnoflorine (MAG), from traditional medicinal herb Dicranostigma leptopodum (Maxim.) Fedde (whole herb) and elucidated their structures. Then we synthesised G5. NHAc-PBA as targeting dendrimer platform to encapsulate the alkaloids into G5. NHAc-PBA-alkaloid complexes, which demonstrated alkaloid-dependent positive zeta potential and hydrodynamic particle size. G5. NHAc-PBA-alkaloid complexes demonstrated obvious breast cancer MCF-7 cell targeting effect. Among the G5. NHAc-PBA-alkaloid complexes, G5.NHAc-PBA-CHE (IC50=13.66 μM) demonstrated the highest MCF-7 cell inhibition capability and G5.NHAc-PBA-MAG (IC50=24.63 μM) had equivalent inhibitory effects on cell proliferation that comparable to the level of free MAG (IC50=23.74 μM), which made them the potential breast cancer targeting formulation for chemotherapeutic application. This work successfully demonstrated a pharmaceutical research model of 'natural bioactive product isolation-drug formulation preparation-breast cancer cell targeting inhibition'. DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2024.2335669 PMID: 38586940 3. ACS Omega. 2024 Feb 22;9(9):10860-10874. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09788. eCollection 2024 Mar 5. Analysis of Chemical Constituents of Miao Ethnomedicine Heiguteng Zhuifeng Huoluo Capsule (HZFC) and the Discovery of Active Substances in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Mu KL(1), Li L(1), Chen Y(1), Zhang MJ(1), He TL(1), Li KM(1), Liu YC(1), Liu G(1). Author information: (1)Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang 550025, Guizhou, China. In this study, the chemical substances of Heiguteng Zhuifeng Huoluo Capsule (HZFC) and its potential active ingredients for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were characterized and analyzed by medicinal chemistry combined with bioinformatics methods. Also, the potential active ingredients of HZFC against RA were verified by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophage activation model. The results showed that 79 chemical constituents were successfully identified, mainly including phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, and alkaloids. Among them, 13 active components were closely related to the nine core targets (FASN, ALOX5, EGFR, MMP1, CYP2D6, CNR1, AR, MAOA, and FKBP5) of HZFC in the treatment of RA. Molecular docking further proved that 13 active components had strong docking activity with 9 core targets. In the verification experiment of the LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophage model, the verified components (magnoflorine, N-feruloyltyramine, canadine, rutin, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, and pseudocolumbamine) all showed a clear inhibitory effect on the secretion of inflammatory factors in model cells. The above research results suggest that 13 components such as stepharanine, rutin, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, corydine methyl ether, canadine, 8-oxoepiberberine, disinomenine, deosinomenine glucoside, tuduranine, magnoflorine, isosinomenine, pseudocolumbamine, and N-feruloyltyramine may be the main active substances of HZFC in the treatment of RA. © 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09788 PMCID: PMC10918809 PMID: 38463300 Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no competing financial interest. 4. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jun 27;24(13):10699. doi: 10.3390/ijms241310699. N-Methyl Costaricine and Costaricine, Two Potent Butyrylcholinesterase Inhibitors from Alseodaphne pendulifolia Gamb. Husna Hasnan MH(1), Sivasothy Y(2), Khaw KY(2), Nafiah MA(3), Hazni H(4), Litaudon M(5), Wan Ruzali WA(1), Liew SY(1)(4), Awang K(4)(6). Author information: (1)Chemistry Division, Centre for Foundation Studies in Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia. (2)School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia. (3)Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjung Malim 35900, Malaysia. (4)Centre for Natural Products Research and Drug Discovery (CENAR), Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia. (5)Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, CNRS, UPR 2301, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France. (6)Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia. Studies have been conducted over the last decade to identify secondary metabolites from plants, in particular those from the class of alkaloids, for the development of new anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD) drugs. The genus Alseodaphne, comprising a wide range of alkaloids, is a promising source for the discovery of new cholinesterase inhibitors, the first-line treatment for AD. With regard to this, a phytochemical investigation of the dichloromethane extract of the bark of A. pendulifolia Gamb. was conducted. Repeated column chromatography and preparative thin-layer chromatography led to the isolation of a new bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid, N-methyl costaricine (1), together with costaricine (2), hernagine (3), N-methyl hernagine (4), corydine (5), and oxohernagine (6). Their structures were elucidated by the 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques and LCMS-IT-TOF analysis. Compounds 1 and 2 were more-potent BChE inhibitors than galantamine with IC50 values of 3.51 ± 0.80 µM and 2.90 ± 0.56 µM, respectively. The Lineweaver-Burk plots of compounds 1 and 2 indicated they were mixed-mode inhibitors. Compounds 1 and 2 have the potential to be employed as lead compounds for the development of new drugs or medicinal supplements to treat AD. DOI: 10.3390/ijms241310699 PMCID: PMC10341795 PMID: 37445877 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest. 5. Molecules. 2022 Sep 29;27(19):6429. doi: 10.3390/molecules27196429. Interactions of Isoquinoline Alkaloids with Transition Metals Iron and Copper. Parvin MS(1), Chlebek J(1), Hošťálková A(1), Catapano MC(2), Lomozová Z(1), Macáková K(1), Mladěnka P(3). Author information: (1)Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové, Charles University, Heyrovského 1203, 500 05 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. (2)SwissBioquant, Kagenstrasse 18, 4153 Reinach, Switzerland. (3)Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové, Charles University, Heyrovského 1203, 500 05 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. Data on alkaloid interactions with the physiologically important transition metals, iron and copper, are mostly lacking in the literature. However, these interactions can have important consequences in the treatment of both Alzheimer's disease and cancer. As isoquinoline alkaloids include galanthamine, an approved drug for Alzheimer's disease, as well as some potentially useful compounds with cytostatic potential, 28 members from this category of alkaloids were selected for a complex screening of interactions with iron and copper at four pathophysiologically relevant pH and in non-buffered conditions (dimethyl sulfoxide) by spectrophotometric methods in vitro. With the exception of the salts, all the alkaloids were able to chelate ferrous and ferric ions in non-buffered conditions, but only five of them (galanthine, glaucine, corydine, corydaline and tetrahydropalmatine) evoked some significant chelation at pH 7.5 and only the first two were also active at pH 6.8. By contrast, none of the tested alkaloids chelated cuprous or cupric ions. All the alkaloids, with the exception of the protopines, significantly reduced the ferric and cupric ions, with stronger effects on the latter. These effects were mostly dependent on the number of free aromatic hydroxyls, but not other hydroxyl groups. The most potent reductant was boldine. As most of the alkaloids chelated and reduced the ferric ions, additional experimental studies are needed to elucidate the biological relevance of these results, as chelation is expected to block reactive oxygen species formation, while reduction could have the opposite effect. DOI: 10.3390/molecules27196429 PMCID: PMC9572997 PMID: 36234964 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.