The effects of beta-carbolines in rats trained with ibogaine as a discriminative stimulus.
S Helsley, R A Rabin, J C Winter
European journal of pharmacology March 19, 1998 DOI: 10.1016/s0014-2999(98)00002-8 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractRats trained to recognize ibogaine's effects were tested with several beta-carbolines to see which ones produced similar internal sensations. 6-Methoxyharmalan fully mimicked ibogaine in 86.3% of trials, while harmaline had done so in 83.5% in earlier work. Harmine, harmane, harmalol, and tetrahydro-beta-carboline produced partial substitution, but norharmane and DMCM did not. These results suggest that some beta-carbolines share ibogaine-like effects, though whether this extends to anti-addictive properties remains unknown.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Animal study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Rats |
| Interventions | ibogaine harmaline 6-methoxyharmalan harmine harmane harmalol tetrahydro-beta-carboline norharmane DMCM |
| Keywords | Ibogaine: ibogaine effects Ibogaine-like effect Beta-carbolines: natural compounds 6-methoxyharmalan Harmine |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key finding | 6-Methoxyharmalan fully substituted for ibogaine as a discriminative stimulus in rats, while other beta-carbolines showed partial or no substitution. |
Abstract
The structural features and hallucinogenic properties shared by ibogaine and certain beta-carbolines prompted the evaluation of several representative beta-carbolines in rats trained with ibogaine as a discriminative stimulus. In a previous report from our laboratory harmaline completely substituted for ibogaine (83.5%). In the present study, only 6-methoxyharmalan completely substituted (86.3%). However, partial substitution was observed with harmine, harmane, harmalol, and tetrahydro-beta-carboline (THBC). Norharmane and 6,7-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-carboline-3-carboxylate (DMCM) failed to produce appreciable substitution. These results provide evidence for an ibogaine-like ether this extends to the previously reported anti-addictive effects of ibogaine remains to be established.