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. Phytochem Lett. 2021 Oct;45:110-116. doi: 10.1016/j.phytol.2021.07.018. Epub 2021 Aug 18. Isolation and elucidation of two isoflavonoids from an American Indian plant, Amorpha canescens Pursh, using Magnetic Microbead Affinity Selection Screening (MagMASS) for estrogen receptor alpha ligands. Burton TCJ(1), Lankin DC(2), Nikolic D(2)(3), Guo B(2), Ju J(4), Dietz BM(2)(3), Che CT(2), Soejarto DD(2)(5), van Breemen RB(3)(6). Author information: (1)Division of Academic Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 W Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL, 60608, USA. (2)Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S. Wood Street, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA. (3)UIC/NIH Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S. Wood Street, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA. (4)Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210028, China. (5)Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois, 60605, USA. (6)Linus Pauling Institute, College of Pharmacy, Oregon State University, 305 Linus Pauling Science Center, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA. A new isoflavonoid, xanthocerin J, along with previously described xanthocerin A, were isolated from a methanol extract of aerial parts of a traditional American Indian herb, Amorpha canescens Pursh (Asteraceae). The structures of these compounds were characterized using mass spectrometry and NMR based on an isolation protocol using magnetic microbead affinity selection screening (MagMASS) for ligands to the estrogen receptor alpha (ERα). These compounds bound to ERα from an active fraction that exhibited dose-dependent antiestrogenic activity in the in vitro Ishikawa assay. However, these compounds did not exhibit antiestrogenic activity in the cell-based Ishikawa assay. Xanthocerin A and J may exhibit synergistic or additive activity with other compounds found in A. canescens which needs further exploration. This work highlights the potential of A. canescens as a prospect for the future discovery of compounds for women's health related to estrogen pathways. DOI: 10.1016/j.phytol.2021.07.018 PMCID: PMC9032482 PMID: 35465454 Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known personal relationships or competing financial interest that could influence the work reported in this paper. 2. Food Chem. 2015 Mar 1;170:110-7. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.08.075. Epub 2014 Aug 23. Changes of major tea polyphenols and production of four new B-ring fission metabolites of catechins from post-fermented Jing-Wei Fu brick tea. Zhu YF(1), Chen JJ(1), Ji XM(2), Hu X(2), Ling TJ(1), Zhang ZZ(1), Bao GH(3), Wan XC(4). Author information: (1)Key Laboratory of Tea Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Anhui Agricultural University, 130 West Changjiang Road, Hefei City, Anhui Province 230036, China. (2)Shaanxi Zhong Fu Tea Research Institute, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province 712044, China. (3)Key Laboratory of Tea Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Anhui Agricultural University, 130 West Changjiang Road, Hefei City, Anhui Province 230036, China. Electronic address: baoguanhu@ahau.edu.cn. (4)Key Laboratory of Tea Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Anhui Agricultural University, 130 West Changjiang Road, Hefei City, Anhui Province 230036, China. Electronic address: xcwan@ahau.edu.cn. HPLC analysis of samples from four major fermentation procedures of Jing-Wei Fu brick tea showed that the level of major tea catechins epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and epicatechin gallate (ECG) dropped increasingly to about 1/3 in the final product. Phytochemical study of the final product led to the discovery of four new B-ring fission metabolites of catechins (BRFCs) Fuzhuanin C-F (1-4) together with three known BRFCs (5-7), six known catechins (8-13), five simple phenols (14-18), seven flavones and flavone glycosides (19-25), two alkaloids (26, 27), three triterpenoids (28-30) and one steroid (31). The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including 1D and 2D NMR, LC-HR-ESI-MS, IR, and CD spectra. Five compounds (16-18, 28, 29) were reported for the first time in tea. Possible pathways for the degradation of major tea catechins and the generation of BRFCs were also provided. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.08.075 PMID: 25306324 [Indexed for MEDLINE]