Beta-carbolines are a class of drug which can interact with a high affinity with the benzodiazepine (BDZ) binding site of the GABAA receptor. The present paper, aimed at obtaining a deeper insight into the structure-properties relationships of this class of molecules, reports the crystal structures of four beta-carbolines: ZK93423 (3-carboethoxy-4-methoxymethyl-6-benzyloxy-beta-carboline), ZK91...

Summarized are psychonautic bioassays (human self-experiments) of pharmepéna--crystalline 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT; O-Me-bufotenine), at times combined with crystalline beta-carbolines (harmaline or harmine). These substances were administered via intranasal, sublingual and oral routes, by way of pharmacological modeling of diverse South American shamanic inebriants (principa...

A novel series of hybrids (7a-l, 8a-l) from β-carboline and salicylic acid (SA) were designed and synthesized, and their in vitro biological activities were evaluated. Most of the hybrids displayed potent antiproliferative activity against five cancer cell lines in vitro, showing potencies superior to 5-FU and harmine. In particular, compound 8h selectively inhibited proliferation of liver canc...

A case of a 25-year-old white male who was found dead the morning after consuming herbal extracts containing beta-carbolines and hallucinogenic tryptamines is presented. No anatomic cause of death was found at autopsy. Toxicologic analysis of the heart blood identified N,N-dimethyltryptamine (0.02 mg/L), 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (1.88 mg/L), tetrahydroharmine (0.38 mg/L), harmaline (0.0...

Genes controlling carotenoid synthesis were cloned from Erwinia herbicola and expressed in an Escherichia coli strain. Carotenoids protect against high fluences of near-UV (NUV; 320 to 400 nm) but not against far-UV (200-300 nm). Protection of E. coli cells was not observed following treatment with either psoralen or 8-methoxypsoralen plus NUV. However, significant protection of cells producing...

Recently many people have shown great interest in traditional indigenous practices and popular medicine, involving the ingestion of natural psychotropic drugs. We received a request to analyze and determine the nature of a dark green liquid with a dark brown plant sediment, which the police had seized at an airport and inside the home of a person belonging to the 'Santo Daime' religious movemen...