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HYPERMOTILITY OF THE AMPHETAMINE TYPE INDUCED BY A CONSTITUENT OF KHAT LEAVES
Author(s) -
KALIX PETER
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1980.tb10690.x
Subject(s) - amphetamine , khat , dextroamphetamine , pharmacology , traditional medicine , chemistry , neuroscience , psychology , medicine , dopamine
Khat leaves, widely used as a stimulant in East Africa and the Arab Peninsula, contain the alkaloid, (−)‐cathinone. The effects of this substance on the locomotor activity of rats were compared to those of (+)‐amphetamine. Both substances were found to induce a similar degree of hypermotility. Furthermore, the effect of (−)‐cathinone on the locomotor behaviour of hypophysectomized rats was analogous to that reported for (+)‐amphetamine in such animals. The results support the claim that the symptoms caused by the chewing of khat are amphetamine‐like.