Tropane
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Background: Alkaloids are plant metabolites that have a nitrogen-containing chemical ring structure, alkali-like chemical reactivity, and pharmacologic activity. Stimulant alkaloid amines, hallucinogenic alkaloid amines, and highly anticholinergic tropane alkaloids (or belladonna alkaloids) comprise the 3 major pharmacologic groups of alkaloid amines.
Plants containing tropane (or bicyclic) alkaloids, atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine include the following:
Datura species (jimson weed, angel's trumpet, thorn apple) Hyoscyamus niger (henbane) Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade) Mandragora officinarum (mandrake) All of these plants have long histories of hallucinogenic use and have been connected with sorcery, witchcraft, native medicine, and magico-religious rites dating back to 1500 BC and Homer's Odyssey. (Homer's use of the plant moly as an antidote to Circe's poisonous anticholinergic drugs may have been the first recorded use of an anticholinesterase to reverse central anticholinergic intoxication.)
