Cytisine
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Other names | Cytisine; Baptitoxine; Sophorine |
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Melting point | 152 °C (306 °F) |
Boiling point | 218 °C (424 °F) |
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Cytisine, also known as baptitoxine, cytisinicline, or sophorine, is an alkaloid that occurs naturally in several plant genera, such as Laburnum and Cytisus of the family Fabaceae. It has been used medically to help with smoking cessation.[1] It has been found effective in several randomized clinical trials, including in the United States and New Zealand,[1] and is being investigated in additional trials in the United States and a non-inferiority trial in Australia in which it is being compared head-to-head with the smoking cessation aid varenicline (sold in the United States as Chantix).[2] It has also been used entheogenically via mescalbeans by some Native American groups, historically in the Rio Grande Valley predating even peyote.[3]
Sources
Cytisine is extracted from the seeds of
Uses
Smoking cessation
Cytisine has been available in post-Soviet states for more than 40 years as an aid to smoking cessation under the brand name Tabex from the Bulgarian pharmaceutical company Sopharma AD.[4] In 1961, Bulgarian pharmacist Strashimir Ingilizov synthesized Tabex using the alkaloid Cytisine which was derived from the seeds of the yellow acacia (Cytisus laburnum), a European decorative shrub prevalent in Bulgaria and commonly referred to as "golden rain".[5] It was first marketed in Bulgaria in 1964 and then became widely available in the Soviet Union.[6] In Poland, it is sold under the brand name Desmoxan, and it is also available in Canada under the brand name Cravv.[7][8]
Its molecular structure has some similarity to that of nicotine, and it has similar pharmacological effects. Like the smoking cessation aid varenicline, cytisine is a partial agonist of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs).[9] Cytisine has a short half-life of 4.8 hours.[10] As a result, the extract provides smokers with satisfaction similar to smoking a cigarette, alleviating the urge to smoke and reducing the severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms, while also reducing the reward experience of any cigarettes smoked.[11]
In 2011, a randomized controlled trial with 740 patients found cytisine improved 12-month abstinence from nicotine from 2.4% with placebo to 8.4% with cytisine.[12] A 2013 meta-analysis of eight studies demonstrated that cytisine has similar effectiveness to varenicline but with substantially lower side effects.[13] A 2014 systematic review and economic evaluation concluded that cytisine was more likely to be cost-effective for smoking cessation than varenicline.[14]
Recreational
Plants containing cytisine, including the
Reagent for organic chemistry
Toxicity
Cytisine has been found to interfere with breathing and cause death in test mice;
Māmane (
References
- ^ S2CID 13759117.
- S2CID 58621453.
- JSTOR 666531.
- PMID 17130378.
- ^ Gatsov, Nikolai (October 1964). "Ein Mittel Gegen Rauchen". Bulgarien. 1: 39.
- ^ "Old anti-smoking drug passes new test". Reuters. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- S2CID 31845933.
- S2CID 234956118.
- PMID 20478710.
- S2CID 45441989.
- ^ Reinberg S (17 December 2014). "Cheap Natural Compound May Help Smokers Quit. But cytisinicline isn't widely available, study authors note". WebMD. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ PMID 21991893.
- PMID 23404838.
- PMID 24831822.
- .
- ^ The Merck Index, 10th Ed. (1983) p.402, Rahway: Merck & Co.
- ^ Keeler RF. Handbook of Natural Toxins: Toxicology of Plant and Fungal Compounds. CRC Press. p. 43.
- S2CID 7064787. Archived from the original(PDF) on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
External links
- "Cytisinicline". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.