Pukateine
Encyclopedia
Pukateine is an alkaloid
found in the bark of the New Zealand
tree Laurelia novae-zelandiae
("Pukatea"). An extract from pukatea is used in traditional Māori
herbal medicine as an analgesic
, and it is thought pukateine is the active component, as it is similar in both structure and activity to alkaloids such as glaucine
and tetrahydropalmatine
which are found in Chinese medicinal herbs used as analgesics. Pukateine has multiple mechanisms of action, with the most prominent effects being as an agonist at the D2 dopamine receptor
and antagonist at the α1 adrenergic receptor
.
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
found in the bark of the New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
tree Laurelia novae-zelandiae
Laurelia novae-zelandiae
Laurelia novae-zelandiae, also called Pukatea, is a large laurifolia evergreen tree, endemic to the forests of New Zealand . with so-called 'toothed' leaves and producing small flowers...
("Pukatea"). An extract from pukatea is used in traditional Māori
Maori culture
Māori culture is the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, an Eastern Polynesian people, and forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture. Within the Māori community, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori...
herbal medicine as an analgesic
Analgesic
An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....
, and it is thought pukateine is the active component, as it is similar in both structure and activity to alkaloids such as glaucine
Glaucine
Glaucine is an alkaloid found in several different plant species such as Glaucium flavum, Glaucium oxylobum, Croton lechleri and Corydalis yanhusuo. It has bronchodilator and antiinflammatory effects, acting as a PDE4 inhibitor and calcium channel blocker, and is used medically as an antitussive in...
and tetrahydropalmatine
Tetrahydropalmatine
Tetrahydropalmatine is an alkaloid found in several different plant species, mainly in the Corydalis family, but also in other plants such as Stephania rotunda. These plants have traditional uses in Chinese herbal medicine...
which are found in Chinese medicinal herbs used as analgesics. Pukateine has multiple mechanisms of action, with the most prominent effects being as an agonist at the D2 dopamine receptor
Dopamine receptor D2
Dopamine receptor D2, also known as D2R, is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the DRD2 gene.- Function :This gene encodes the D2 subtype of the dopamine receptor. This G protein-coupled receptor inhibits adenylyl cyclase activity...
and antagonist at the α1 adrenergic receptor
Alpha-1 adrenergic receptor
The alpha-1 adrenergic receptor is a G protein-coupled receptor associated with the Gq heterotrimeric G-protein. It consists of three highly homologous subtypes, including α1A-, α1B-, and α1D-adrenergic...
.
See also
- ApomorphineApomorphineApomorphine is a non-selective dopamine agonist which activates both D1-like and D2-like receptors, with some preference for the latter subtypes. It is historically a morphine decomposition product by boiling with concentrated acid, hence the -morphine suffix...
- BulbocapnineBulbocapnineBulbocapnine is an alkaloid found in Corydalis and Dicentra, herbs in the family Fumariaceae that can cause fatal poisoning in sheep and cattle...
- GlaucineGlaucineGlaucine is an alkaloid found in several different plant species such as Glaucium flavum, Glaucium oxylobum, Croton lechleri and Corydalis yanhusuo. It has bronchodilator and antiinflammatory effects, acting as a PDE4 inhibitor and calcium channel blocker, and is used medically as an antitussive in...
- NantenineNantenineNantenine is an alkaloid found in the plant Nandina domestica as well as some Corydalis species. It is an antagonist at both the α1 adrenergic receptor and the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, and blocks both the behavioural and physiological effects of MDMA in animals.-See...
- NuciferineNuciferineNuciferine is an alkaloid found within the plants Nymphaea caerulea and Nelumbo nucifera. It has a profile of action associated with dopamine receptor blockade. It induces catalepsy, it inhibits spontaneous motor activity, conditioned avoidance response, amphetamine toxicity and stereotypy...
- StepholidineStepholidine-Stepholidine is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in the herb Stephania intermedia. Stepholidine is a dual D2 receptor antagonist and D1 receptor agonist, and has shown antipsychotic activity in animal studies.-See also:*Apomorphine...
- TetrahydropalmatineTetrahydropalmatineTetrahydropalmatine is an alkaloid found in several different plant species, mainly in the Corydalis family, but also in other plants such as Stephania rotunda. These plants have traditional uses in Chinese herbal medicine...