Desmethoxyyangonin
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Desmethoxyyangonin or 5,6-dehydrokavain is one of the six main
kavalactone Kavalactones are a class of lactone compounds found in kava roots and Alpinia zerumbet (Shell ginger). Kavalactones are under research for potential to have various psychotropic drug, psychotropic effects, including anxiolytic and sedative/hypnotic ...
s found in the ''
Piper methysticum Kava or kava kava ('' Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ''ʻawa'' (Hawaiʻi) ...
'' (kava) plant.


Pharmacology

Desmethoxyyangonin is a reversible
inhibitor Inhibitor or inhibition may refer to: In biology * Enzyme inhibitor, a substance that binds to an enzyme and decreases the enzyme's activity * Reuptake inhibitor, a substance that increases neurotransmission by blocking the reuptake of a neurotra ...
of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B). Kava is able to increase
dopamine Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. Dopamine constitutes about 80% o ...
levels in the
nucleus accumbens The nucleus accumbens (NAc or NAcc; also known as the accumbens nucleus, or formerly as the ''nucleus accumbens septi'', Latin for "nucleus adjacent to the septum") is a region in the basal forebrain rostral to the preoptic area of the hyp ...
and desmethoxyyangonin likely contributes to this effect. This, along with several other catecholamines, may be responsible for the purported attention-promoting effects of kava. Unlike the other major kavalactones, desmethoxyyangonin does not appear to act as a GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulator. Desmethoxyyangonin has marked activity on the induction of CYP3A23.


See also

*
Kavain Kavain is the main kavalactone found mostly in the roots of the kava plant. Pharmacology Kavain has anticonvulsive properties, attenuating vascular smooth muscle contraction through interactions with voltage-dependent and channels. How this ...


References

{{Dopaminergics Monoamine oxidase inhibitors Kavalactones Alkene derivatives Ethers Nootropics