BACKGROUND Khat (Catha edulis) contains a psychoactive substance, cathinone, which produces central nervous system stimulation analogous to amphetamine. It is believed that khat chewing has a negative impact on the physical and mental health of individuals as well as the socioeconomic condition of the family and the society at large. There is lack of community based studies regarding the link b...

Objective. The objective is to assess the prevalence of bruxism among the university students and to check its association with their khat chewing habit. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional descriptive study is designed using cluster random sampling. Pretested questionnaire was administered by a trained interviewer to assess awake bruxism and the use of variables like khat, coffee, tobacco...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to explore effects of khat (Catha edulis) on outcome of rodent malaria infection and its anti-plasmodial activities on Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA). METHODS Female Swiss albino mice were orally treated with crude khat (Catha edulis) extracts (100, 200 and 300 mg/kg) on a daily basis for 4 weeks prior to PbA infection. Physical, clinical, hematologic...

AIM This study investigated the effects of fresh khat extract on specific circulating hormones in male rabbits. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 25 male New Zealand White rabbits were divided into five groups each comprising five animals. The first four groups were fed four doses (1.5 g/kg, 4.5 g/kg, 13.5 g/kg and 40.5 g/kg body weight) of khat extract twice a week for 5 weeks while the last ...

The leaves of khat (Catha edulis Forsk.) are chewed as a social habit for the central stimulant action of their cathinone content. This review summarizes the prevalence of the habit worldwide, the actions, uses, constituents and adverse health effects of khat chewing. There is growing concern about the health hazards of chronic khat chewing and this review concentrates on the adverse effects on...

OBJECTIVES To estimate the prevalence of daytime sleepiness and circadian preferences, and to examine the extent to which caffeine consumption and Khat (a herbal stimulant) use are associated with daytime sleepiness and evening chronotype among Ethiopian college students. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2,410 college students. A self-administered questionnaire was used to ...

Khat ( Catha edulis ) is a widely used stimulating drug often consumed in daily routine in Yemen and East African countries. Chewing khat acutely elicits states of euphoria and feelings of well-being which later shift into emotional instability and low mood. Little is known about emotional regulation in habitual khat chewers. In this study, we compared self-reports on trait anger as well as pos...

AIMS To review the status of khat, the most recent plant based psychoactive substance to reach a global market, and consider policy making processes in general and the framework of drug control in particular. MATERIALS AND METHODS Desk review of literature on khat and wider drug policy processes. RESULTS The risk assessment and classification of psychoactive drugs is a contested arena where...

BACKGROUND Khat (Catha edulis Forsk) is a psycho-stimulant substance grown in East Africa. But its adverse effects and its prevalence are not well studied. The main aim of the present study is thus to assess the association between khat chewing and GI problems among students in Ambo University. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2010 on 1005 Ambo University students. Stu...

Chewing the leaves of the khat shrub is common in certain countries of East Africa and Arabian Peninsula mainly Yemen. It has been established that a khat plant leaves contain an active psycho-stimulant substance known as cathinone that is similar in structure and pharmacological activity to amphetamine in affecting the CNS. Intoxication with khat is self-limiting but chronic consumption can ca...