Medicinal plants with natural origin of psychoactive substances

Subject Areas : Ecophysiology & Phytochemistry of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

mani jabbari ¹ (Senior Expert, Department of Horticultural Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Birjand University, Iran)

Received: 2023-02-25 Accepted : 2023-06-20 Published : 2023-06-21

Keywords: Sage, Alkaloids, Toxicology, terpenoids, Mitragynine,

Abstract :

The use of new psychoactive substances is increasing and this problem has affected several countries around the world. Although traditional addictive substances such as opium, cannabis, and cocaine have been controlled by the United Nations Anti-Narcotics Conventions, many natural plants that contain psychoactive substances are still of concern. A group of new psychoactive substances are of natural origin, consisting of plants and fungi that contain a wide range of alkaloids that are responsible for producing sedative, stimulating or hallucinogenic effects. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has warned of emerging threats from new psychoactive substances, mostly derived or modified from compounds of natural origin. For example, synthetic cannabinoids and cationones are derived from cannabis and khat medicinal plants, respectively. In this article, we briefly discuss the chemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of common new psychoactive substances of natural origin found in various plants, as well as some medicinal properties/traditional uses. We hope that experts and the general public can pay more attention to the possible problems caused by new natural psychoactive substances and appropriate control measures will be taken.