(–)-2-Methoxyethyl-18-methoxycoronaridinate (ME-18-MC) is a second generation synthetic derivative of

ibogaine Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive substance found in plants in the family Apocynaceae such as '' Tabernanthe iboga'', '' Voacanga africana'', and '' Tabernaemontana undulata''. It is a psychedelic with dissociative properties. Pre ...

developed by the research team led by the pharmacologist Stanley D. Glick from the

Albany Medical College Albany Medical College (AMC) is a private medical school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1839 by Alden March and James H. Armsby and is one of the oldest medical schools in the nation. The college is part of the Albany Medical Center, whi ...

and the chemist Martin E. Kuehne from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

. In animal studies it has shown similar efficacy to the related compound 18-methoxycoronaridine (18-MC) at reducing self-administration of

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...

and methamphetamine but with higher potency by weight, showing anti-addictive effects at the equivalent of half the minimum effective dose of 18-MC. Similarly to 18-MC itself, ME-18-MC acts primarily as a selective α₃β₄ nicotinic acetylcholine antagonist, although it has a slightly stronger effect than 18-MC as an

NMDA antagonist NMDA receptor antagonists are a class of drugs that work to antagonize, or inhibit the action of, the ''N''-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor ( NMDAR). They are commonly used as anesthetics for animals and humans; the state of anesthesia they induce ...

, and its effects on

opioid receptor Opioid receptors are a group of inhibitory G protein-coupled receptors with opioids as ligands. The endogenous opioids are dynorphins, enkephalins, endorphins, endomorphins and nociceptin. The opioid receptors are ~40% identical to somatostatin ...

s are weaker than those of 18-MC at all except the

kappa opioid receptor Kappa (uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; el, κάππα, ''káppa'') is the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value ...

, at which it has slightly higher affinity than 18-MC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Methoxyethyl-18-Methoxycoronaridinate, 2- Drug rehabilitation Iboga Nicotinic antagonists

See also

References