Ginseng is the root of plants in the genus Panax, such as Korean ginseng, South China ginseng, and American ginseng, characterized by the presence of ginsenosides and gintonin. Ginseng is common in the cuisines and medicines of China and Korea.
18-Methoxycoronaridine, also known as zolunicant, is a derivative of ibogaine invented in 1996 by the research team around the pharmacologist Stanley D. Glick from the Albany Medical College and the chemists Upul K. Bandarage and Martin E. Kuehne from the University of Vermont. In animal studies it has proved to be effective at reducing self-administration of morphine, cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine and sucrose. It has also been shown to produce anorectic effects in obese rats, most likely due to the same actions on the reward system which underlie its anti-addictive effects against drug addiction.
DMCM is a drug from the β-carboline family. It acts as a negative allosteric modulator of GABAA receptors, meaning that it causes the opposite effects to the benzodiazepine class of drugs. As such, DMCM has anxiogenic and convulsant properties, and is used in scientific research to induce anxiety so that new anxiolytic medications can be tested, and to produce convulsions so that anticonvulsant medications can be tested. It has also been shown to produce analgesic effects in animals, thought to be because it produces panic which reduces the perception of pain.
Lobeline is a piperidine alkaloid found in a variety of plants, particularly those in the genus Lobelia, including Indian tobacco, Devil's tobacco, great lobelia, Lobelia chinensis, and Hippobroma longiflora. In its pure form, it is a white amorphous powder which is freely soluble in water.
Ginsenosides or panaxosides are a class of natural product steroid glycosides and triterpene saponins. Compounds in this family are found almost exclusively in the plant genus Panax (ginseng), which has a long history of use in traditional medicine that has led to the study of pharmacological effects of ginseng compounds. As a class, ginsenosides exhibit a large variety of subtle and difficult-to-characterize biological effects when studied in isolation.
Spiradoline (U-62066) is a drug which acts as a highly selective κ-opioid agonist. It has analgesic, diuretic, and antitussive effects, and produces subjective effects in animals similar to those of ketazocine and alazocine. The main effect in humans is sedation, along with analgesic and diuretic effects, but significant side effects such as dysphoria and hallucinations have stopped it from being used clinically.
Zacopride is a potent antagonist at the 5-HT3 receptor and an agonist at the 5-HT4 receptor. It has anxiolytic and nootropic effects in animal models, with the (R)-(+)-enantiomer being the more active form. It also has antiemetic and pro-respiratory effects, both reducing sleep apnea and reversing opioid-induced respiratory depression in animal studies. Early animal trials have also revealed that administration of zacopride can reduce preference for and consumption of ethanol.
Binospirone (MDL-73,005-EF) is a drug which acts as a partial agonist at 5-HT1A somatodendritic autoreceptors but as an antagonist at postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors. It has anxiolytic effects.
3-( ethynyl)pyridine (MTEP) is a research drug that was developed by Merck & Co. as a selective allosteric antagonist of the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype mGluR5. Identified through structure-activity relationship studies on an older mGluR5 antagonist MPEP, MTEP has subsequently itself acted as a lead compound for newer and even more improved drugs.
MDAI (5,6-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane) is a drug developed in the 1990s by a team led by David E. Nichols at Purdue University. It acts as a non-neurotoxic and highly selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) in vitro and produces entactogen effects in humans.
SDZ SER-082 is a drug which acts as a mixed antagonist for the 5-HT2B and 5-HT2C serotonin receptors, with good selectivity over other serotonin receptor subtypes and slight preference for 5-HT2C over 5-HT2B. It has been used in animal studies into the behavioural effects of the different 5-HT2 subtypes, and how they influence the effects of other drugs such as cocaine.
Spiramide (developmental code name AMI-193) is an experimental antipsychotic that acts as a selective 5-HT2A, 5-HT1A, and D2 receptor antagonist. It has negligible affinity for the 5-HT2C receptor.
TDIQ is a drug used in scientific research, which has anxiolytic and anorectic effects in animals. It has an unusual effects profile in animals, with the effects generalising to cocaine and partially to MDMA and ephedrine, but the effects did not generalise to amphetamine and TDIQ does not have any stimulant effects. It is thought these effects are mediated via a partial agonist action at Alpha-2 adrenergic receptors, and TDIQ has been suggested as a possible drug for the treatment of cocaine dependence.
PNU-99,194(A) (or U-99,194(A)) is a drug which acts as a moderately selective D3 receptor antagonist with ~15-30-fold preference for D3 over the D2 subtype. Though it has substantially greater preference for D3 over D2, the latter receptor does still play some role in its effects, as evidenced by the fact that PNU-99,194 weakly stimulates both prolactin secretion and striatal dopamine synthesis, actions it does not share with the more selective (100-fold) D3 receptor antagonists S-14,297 and GR-103,691.
American ginseng is a herbaceous perennial plant in the ivy family, commonly used as an herb in traditional Chinese medicine. It is native to eastern North America, though it is also cultivated in China. Since the 18th century, American ginseng has been primarily exported to Asia, where it is highly valued for its cooling and sedative medicinal effects. It is considered to represent the cooling yin qualities, while Asian ginseng embodies the warmer aspects of yang.
(+)-Naloxone (dextro-naloxone) is a drug which is the opposite enantiomer of the opioid antagonist drug (−)-naloxone. Unlike (-)-naloxone, (+)-naloxone has no significant affinity for opioid receptors, but instead has been discovered to act as a selective antagonist of Toll-like receptor 4. This receptor is involved in immune system responses, and activation of TLR4 induces glial activation and release of inflammatory mediators such as TNF-α and Interleukin-1.
Melanocyte-inhibiting factor (also known as Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2, Melanostatin, MSH release–inhibiting hormone or MIF-1) is an endogenous peptide fragment derived from cleavage of the hormone oxytocin, but having generally different actions in the body. MIF-1 produces multiple effects, both blocking the effects of opioid receptor activation, while at the same time acting as a positive allosteric modulator of the D2 and D4 dopamine receptor subtypes, as well as inhibiting release of other neuropeptides such as alpha-MSH, and potentiating melatonin activity.
Bay R 1531 is a tricyclic tryptamine derivative which acts as a selective serotonin receptor 5-HT1A agonist. It was researched unsuccessfully for the treatment of stroke but remains in use for scientific research.
Bacopasides are triterpene saponins isolated from Bacopa monnieri.
Ginsenoside Rb1 (or Ginsenoside Rb1 or GRb1 or GRb1) is a chemical compound belonging to the ginsenoside family.
