Chewing fresh leaves of the Khat plant (Catha edulis Celestrasae) is a widespread habit (also practiced by women, even during pregnancy) with a deep-rooted tradition in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. With the influx of immigrants from East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula khat chewing has been imported into other countries including Europe the United States. The major pharmacologically ...

Letter by Burillo-Putze et al Regarding Article, “Acute Coronary Syndrome and Khat Herbal Amphetamine Use: An Observational Report” To the Editor: We have read with interest the article by Ali et al and would like to offer some comments on acute coronary syndrome (ACS) associated with khat consumption from the point of view of its clinical impact in Europe.1 The prevalence of khat use in the Eu...

In a rural district hospital in Kenya, the authors screened 100 randomly selected outpatients for khat (miraa) chewing. A surprisingly high number of them admitted chewing khat leaves. The implications of this finding and the controversy about whether or not khat is a harmful drug are discussed.

AIM OF THE STUDY To review the information available on the use of khat (Catha edulis) in the EU, and to assess the future use of this drug and related substances. MATERIAL AND METHODS Khat is not controlled by international law and it has not been systematically included in the list of illicit drugs monitored in the EU. The current principal source of information on khat use in Europe is the...

Severe rhabdomyolysis is a rare complication of exposure to the recreational drug khat. Adverse reactions to khat that have been reported in the literature include myocardial infarction and reversible vasoconstriction syndrome. The active ingredient, cathinone, is a naturally occurring beta-ketone amphetamine that may be responsible for this severe catecholaminergic response. Here we report a c...

The chewing of khat leaves is an established tradition in East Africa but is much less prevalent in other areas of the world and is mostly limited to Somali communities. However, our understanding of what constitutes problematic khat use in the Somali community in Victoria, Australia, is limited. The objectives of this study were to better understand the views of Somali community representative...

OBJECTIVES (1) To estimate the prevalence and behavioral patterns of Khat chewing and (2) to investigate factors that influenced the pattern of Khat use among undergraduate students in different higher education institutions in Jazan region, Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study using a pretested structured self-administered quantitative questionnaire was used to collect...

BACKGROUND Publication of scientific articles related to khat (Catha edulis) in peer-reviewed journals is considered a measure of research productivity. The principal objectives of this study were to quantify the research contribution related to khat at the global level, as well as to determine its relative growth rate, collaborative measures taken, productivity at the institutional level, and ...

Khat or Catha edulis, is a flowering plant most commonly found in countries of the African Horn and the Arabian Peninsula. Khat chewing goes far back in history and has always been a kind of tradition in some of these countries. Khat contains an alkaloid, cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant believed to cause excitement, loss of appetite, and euphoria. Khat is therefore classified by the Wo...

BACKGROUND Habitual khat chewing is a widespread male habit in Southern Arabia and East Africa. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Khat chewing on oral hygiene and periodontal health status among Yemeni male khat chewers. MATERIAL AND METHODS This case- control study included 310 khat chewers, aged 20-65 years, and 72 age- and gender- matched non-chewers as controls. Periodonta...