Abstract
Nicotiana tabacum, Datura stramonium, and Carica papaya are plants that are on the high trend as substitutes to conventional psychoactive substances due to their legality and the difference in the experiences they offer. The present study was aimed at comparing the neuromodulatory and toxicological potentials of the afore-named plants to an illicit psychoactive plant, Cannabis sativa. Consequently, the effects of the alkaloid extract of the plants were evaluated on critical neuronal enzymes of the monoaminergic, cholinergic, and purinergic (sodium/potassium adenosine triphosphatase (Na+/K+-ATPase), ecto-5’-nucleotidase [eNTDase], and ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase [E-NTPDase]) systems of neurotransmission, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and lipid peroxidation in rat brain tissue homogenate ex vivo. Plants’ alkaloids were prepared by solvent extraction method. Results revealed that the extracts inhibited the enzymes in a concentration-dependent manner. However, C. sativa had the highest inhibition of monoamine oxidase (MAO), eNTDase, and E-NTPDase activities, while D. stramonium had the highest cholinesterase and Na+/K+-ATPase activity inhibition, and ROS production and lipid peroxidation. In conclusion, D. stramonium altered critical neuronal enzymes significantly more than the illicit plant of abuse, while Nicotiana tabacum showed no significant difference in comparison to C. sativa. Therefore, the use of these plants as drugs should be discouraged.
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All authors of the present study acknowledged the Functional Food and Nutraceutical Unit of the Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Akure, for their support in terms of free laboratory, reagent, and equipment usage.
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The care and use of Laboratory Animals were approved by the Federal University of Technology Akure ethical committee, which was followed strictly and in compliance with the National Institute of Health guidelines. Ethical approval was obtained from the Centre for Research and Development (CERAD), Federal University of Technology, Akure, with the number FUTA/ETH/2020/016.
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Fasakin, O.W., Oboh, G. & Ademosun, A.O. Neuromodulatory evaluation of commonly abused plants ex vivo: a comparative study. Comp Clin Pathol 30, 671–680 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-021-03259-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-021-03259-4