Abstract
Indole compounds, related to the metabolism of tryptophan, constitute an extensive family, and are found in bacteria, plants and animals. Indolic compounds possess significant and complex physiological roles, and especially indole alkaloids have historically constituted a class of major importance in the development of new plant derived drugs. The indole alkaloid alstonine has been identified as the major component of a plant-based remedy, used in Nigeria to treat mental illnesses by traditional psychiatrists. Although it is certainly difficult to compare the very concept of mental disorders in different cultures, the traditional use of alstonine is remarkably compatible with its profile in experimental animals. Even though alstonine in mice models shows a psychopharmacological profile closer to the newer atypical antipsychotic agents, it also shows important differences and what seems to be an exclusive mechanism of action, not entirely clarified at this point. Considering the seemingly unique mode of action of alstonine and that its traditional use can be viewed as indicative of bioavailability and safety, this review focuses on the effects of alstonine in the central nervous system, particularly on its unique profile as an antipsychotic agent. We suggest that a thorough understanding of traditional medical concepts of health and disease in general and traditional medical practices in particular, can lead to true innovation in paradigms of drug action and development. Overall, the study of this unique indole alkaloid may be considered as another example of the richness of medicinal plants and traditional medical systems in the discovery of new prototypic drugs.
Highlights
Indole compounds constitute an extensive family of compounds found in bacteria, plants and animals [1]; in general, these compounds are related to the metabolism of tryptophan and present substitutions in different positions of the indole ring [2]
Since there is no indication that a direct stimulation of 5-HT2A/2C result in anxiolytic effects, and given the blocking effect of previous administration of ritanserine, it is tempting to speculate that alstonine may act as an inverse agonist of 5-HT2A/2C serotonin receptors; binding studies are necessary to clarify the exact mode of the anxiolytic action of alstonine
Alstonine is an alkaloid present in a variety of plant species used in traditional medical systems
Summary
Indole compounds constitute an extensive family of compounds found in bacteria, plants and animals [1]; in general, these compounds are related to the metabolism of tryptophan and present substitutions in different positions of the indole ring [2]. Indole alkaloids possess an indole ring in its structure, constituting a versatile heterocyclic discovery in 1866 [1]; this extensive group of alkaloids received more attention after the isolation of reserpine from Rauwolfia serpentina Benth., an alkaloid that changed. Some plant families have the genetic capability of producing more than one alkaloid, reflected in the structural diversity of these compounds [3]. We have previously identified the indole alkaloid alstonine (3,4,5,6,16,17-hexadehydro-16-(methoxycarbonyl)-19 alphamethyl-20 alpha-oxyhoimbanium, see Fig. 1) as the major component of a plant-based remedy traditionally used in
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