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Erythravine
Erythravine is a tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid found in the plant '' Erythrina mulungu'' and other species of the genus '' Erythrina.'' Biological activity Some laboratory research has investigated the biological activity of erythravine, but the relevance to effects in humans is unknown. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor It has been shown to be a potent nicotinic receptor antagonist in animal models with an IC50 of 6µM at the α7 site and 13 nM for the α4β2 receptor. Anxiolytic It appears to have anxiolytic effects in animal models of anxiety. Further studies suggest that the anxiolytic effects are only reproducible with the whole extract of Erythrina Mulungu but not with the pure alkaloids. Anticonvulsant Erythravine inhibited seizures evoked by bicuculline, pentylenetetrazole, and kainic acid as well as increasing the latency of seizures induced by NMDA. Treatment with erythravine prevented death in all the animals tested with the four convulsant A convulsa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erythrina
''Erythrina'' is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, with the larger species growing up to in height. The generic name is derived from the Greek word , meaning "red", referring to the flower color of certain species. Names Particularly in horticulture, the name coral tree is used as a collective term for these plants. Flame tree is another vernacular name, but may refer to a number of unrelated plants as well. Many species of ''Erythrina'' have bright red flowers, and this may be the origin of the common name. However, the growth of the branches can resemble the shape of sea coral rather than the color of '' Corallium rubrum'' specifically, and this is an alternative source for the name. Other popular names, usually local and particular to distinct species, liken the flowers' red hues to those of a male chicken's wattles, and/or the flower shape to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bark Isolates
Bark isolates are chemicals which have been extracted from bark. Prominent medical examples are salicylic acid (active metabolite of aspirin) and paclitaxel (Taxol). The pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ... of bark isolates is an ongoing topic of medical research. See also Notes {{Reflist Trees Pharmaceutical isolates ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetrahydroisoquinoline
Tetrahydroisoquinoline (TIQ or THIQ) is an organic compound with the chemical formula C9H11N. Classified as a secondary amine, it is derived from isoquinoline by hydrogenation. It is a colorless viscous liquid that is miscible with most organic solvents. The tetrahydroisoquinoline skeleton is encountered in a number of bioactive compounds and drugs. Reactions As a secondary amine, tetrahydroisoquinoline has weakly basic properties and forms salts with strong acids. It can be dehydrogenated to give isoquinoline and hydrogenated to decahydroisoquinoline. Like other secondary amines, tetrahydroisoquinoline can be oxidized to the corresponding nitrone using hydrogen peroxide, catalyzed by selenium dioxide. Toxicology Tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives may be formed in the body as metabolites of some drugs, and this was once thought to be involved in the development of alcoholism. This theory has now been discredited and is no longer generally accepted by the scientific communi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pentylenetetrazol
Pentylenetetrazol, also known as pentylenetetrazole, leptazol, metrazol, pentetrazol (INN), pentamethylenetetrazol, Corazol, Cardiazol, Deumacard, or PTZ, is a drug formerly used as a circulatory and respiratory stimulant. High doses cause convulsions, as discovered by Hungarian-American neurologist and psychiatrist Ladislas J. Meduna in 1934. It has been used in convulsive therapy, and was found to be effective—primarily for depression—but side effects such as uncontrolled seizures were difficult to avoid. In 1939, pentylenetetrazol was replaced by electroconvulsive therapy, which is easier to administer, as the preferred method for inducing seizures in England's mental hospitals. In the US, its approval by the Food and Drug Administration was revoked in 1982. It is used in Italy as a cardio-respiratory stimulant in combination with codeine in a cough suppressant drug. Mechanism The mechanism of pentylenetetrazol is not well understood, and it may have multiple mechanisms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anxiolytics
An anxiolytic (; also antipanic or antianxiety agent) is a medication or other intervention that reduces anxiety. This effect is in contrast to anxiogenic agents which increase anxiety. Anxiolytic medications are used for the treatment of anxiety disorders and their related psychological and physical symptoms. Nature of anxiety Anxiety is a naturally-occurring emotion and an innate response of the body to the environmental stimuli. Mild to moderate anxiety would increase level of performance. However, when anxiety levels exceed the tolerability of a person, anxiety disorders may occur. People with anxiety disorders can exhibit fear responses such as defensive behaviors, high levels of alertness and negative emotions, without external stimuli which induce anxiety within an individual. Those with anxiety disorders are also often found to have concurrent psychological disorders, most commonly depression. Anxiety disorders are divided into 6 types in clinical recognition. They are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicotinic Antagonists
A nicotinic antagonist is a type of anticholinergic drug that inhibits the action of acetylcholine (ACh) at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. These compounds are mainly used for peripheral muscle paralysis in surgery, the classical agent of this type being tubocurarine,P. Taylor (1990). In ''Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 8th Ed.'', (A. G. Gilman et al., Eds.), pp. 166-186, New York: Pergamon Press. but some centrally acting compounds such as bupropion, mecamylamine, and 18-methoxycoronaridine block nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain and have been proposed for treating nicotine addiction. *Note: Succinylcholine is a nicotinic agonist. See neuromuscular blocking agents page for details on the mechanism of action. See also * Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor * Nicotinic agonist * Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, or mAChRs, are acetylcholine receptors that form G protein-coupled rece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anticonvulsants
Anticonvulsants (also known as antiepileptic drugs or recently as antiseizure drugs) are a diverse group of pharmacological agents used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Anticonvulsants are also increasingly being used in the treatment of bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, since many seem to act as mood stabilizers, and for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Anticonvulsants suppress the excessive rapid firing of neurons during seizures. Anticonvulsants also prevent the spread of the seizure within the brain. Conventional antiepileptic drugs may block sodium channels or enhance γ-aminobutyric acid ( GABA) function. Several antiepileptic drugs have multiple or uncertain mechanisms of action. Next to the voltage-gated sodium channels and components of the GABA system, their targets include GABAA receptors, the GAT-1 GABA transporter, and GABA transaminase. Additional targets include voltage-gated calcium channels, SV2A, and α2δ. By blocking sodium or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norsalsolinol Ethers
Norsalsolinol is a chemical compound that is produced naturally in the body through metabolism of dopamine. It has been shown to be a selective dopaminergic neurotoxin, and has been suggested as a possible cause of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease and the brain damage associated with alcoholism, although evidence for a causal relationship is unclear. (R)-Salsolinol which has been shown to be a product of ethanol metabolism, stereospecifically induces behavioral sensitization and leads to excessive alcohol intake in rats See also * 6-Hydroxydopamine * MPTP MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) is a prodrug to the neurotoxin MPP+, which causes permanent symptoms of Parkinson's disease by destroying dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain. It has been used to study d ... * Rotenone References Tetrahydroisoquinolines Catechols {{nervous-system-drug-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convulsant
A convulsant is a drug which induces convulsions and/or epileptic seizures, the opposite of an anticonvulsant. These drugs generally act as stimulants at low doses, but are not used for this purpose due to the risk of convulsions and consequent excitotoxicity. Most convulsants are antagonists (or inverse agonists) at either the GABAA or glycine receptors, or ionotropic glutamate receptor agonists. Many other drugs may cause convulsions as a side effect at high doses (e.g. bupropion, tramadol, pethidine, dextropropoxyphene, clomipramine) but only drugs whose primary action is to cause convulsions are known as convulsants. Nerve agents such as sarin, which were developed as chemical weapons, produce convulsions as a major part of their toxidrome, but also produce a number of other effects in the body and are usually classified separately. Dieldrin which was developed as an insecticide blocks chloride influx into the neurons causing hyperexcitability of the CNS and convulsions. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N-Methyl-D-aspartic Acid
''N''-methyl--aspartic acid or ''N''-methyl--aspartate (NMDA) is an amino acid derivative that acts as a specific agonist at the NMDA receptor mimicking the action of glutamate, the neurotransmitter which normally acts at that receptor. Unlike glutamate, NMDA only binds to and regulates the NMDA receptor and has no effect on other glutamate receptors (such as those for AMPA and kainate). NMDA receptors are particularly important when they become overactive during, for example, withdrawal from alcohol as this causes symptoms such as agitation and, sometimes, epileptiform seizures. Biological function In 1962, J.C. Watkins reported synthesizing NMDA, an isomer of the previously know''N''-Methyl--aspartic-acid (PubChem ID 4376) NMDA is a water-soluble -alpha-amino acid — an aspartic acid derivative with an ''N''-methyl substituent and -configuration — found across Animalia from lancelets to mammals. At homeostatic levels NMDA plays an essential role as a neurotransmitter a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kainic Acid
Kainic acid, or kainate, is an acid that naturally occurs in some seaweed. Kainic acid is a potent neuroexcitatory amino acid agonist that acts by activating receptors for glutamate, the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Glutamate is produced by the cell's metabolic processes and there are four major classifications of glutamate receptors: NMDA receptors, AMPA receptors, kainate receptors, and the metabotropic glutamate receptors. Kainic acid is an agonist for kainate receptors, a type of ionotropic glutamate receptor. Kainate receptors likely control a sodium channel that produces excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) when glutamate binds. Kainic acid is commonly injected into laboratory animal models to study the effects of experimental ablation. Kainic acid is a direct agonist of the glutamic kainate receptors and large doses of concentrated solutions produce immediate neuronal death by overstimulating neurons to death. Such d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
