Martin E. Kuehne

Effects of iboga alkaloids on morphine and cocaine self-administration in rats: relationship to tremorigenic effects and to effects on dopamine release in nucleus accumbens and striatum

Ibogaine, a naturally occurring alkaloid, has been claimed to be effective in treating addiction to opioid and stimulant drugs and has been reported to decrease morphine and cocaine self-administration in rats. The present study sought to determine if other iboga alkaloids, as well as the chemically related harmala alkaloid harmaline, would also reduce the intravenous self-administration of morphine and cocaine in rats. Because both ibogaine and harmaline induce tremors, an effect that may be causally related to neurotoxicity in the cerebellar vermis, the temorigenic activities of the other iboga alkaloids were assessed. Lastly, in view of the involvement of the dopaminergic mesolimbic system in the actions of drugs of abuse, the effects of some of the iboga alkaloids on extracellular levels of dopamine and its metabolites in the nucleus accumbens and striatum were determined. All of the tested alkaloids (i.e., ibogaine, tabernanthine, R- and S-coronaridine, R- and S-ibogamine, desethylcoronaridine, and harmaline) dose-dependently (2.5-80 mg/kg) decreased morphine and cocaine intake in the hour after treatment; decreases in morphine and cocaine intake intake were also apparent the day after administration of some but not all of these alkaloids (i.e., ibogaine, tabernanthine, desethylcoronaridine, and the R-isomers of coronaridine and ibogamine). In some rats, there were persistent decreases in morphine or cocaine intake for several days after a single injection or after two or three weekly injections of one or another of these alkaloids; R-ibogamine produced such effects more consistently than any of the other alkaloids.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Mechanisms of action of ibogaine and harmaline congeners based on radioligand binding studies.

Assays using radioligands were used to assess the actions of ibogaine and harmaline on various receptor types. Ibogaine congeners showed affinity for opiate receptors whereas harmaline and harmine did not. The Ki for coronaridine was 2.0 microM at mu-opiate receptors. The Kis for coronaridine and tabernanthine at the delta-opiate receptors were 8.1 and 3.1 microM, respectively. Ibogaine, ibogamine, coronaridine and tabernanthine had Ki values of 2.08, 2.6, 4.3 and 0.15 microM, respectively, for kappa-opiate receptors. Long-lasting, dose-dependent behavioral effects of ibogaine have been reported. The possibility that these effects were due to irreversible binding properties of ibogaine at kappa-receptors was considered; however, radioligand wash experiments showed a rapid recovery of radioligand binding after one wash. A voltage-dependent sodium channel radioligand demonstrated Ki values in the microM range for all drugs tested. Using radioligand binding assays and/or 36Cl- uptake studies, no interaction of ibogaine or harmaline with the GABA receptor-ionophore was found. The kappa-activity of ibogaine (or an active metabolite) may be responsible for its putative anti-addictive properties whereas the tremorigenic properties of ibogaine and harmaline may be due to their effects on sodium channels.

18-Methoxycoronaridine, a non-toxic iboga alkaloid congener: effects on morphine and cocaine self-administration and on mesolimbic dopamine release in rats

Ibogaine, a naturally occurring iboga alkaloid, has been claimed to be effective in treating addiction to opioids and stimulants, and has been reported to inhibit morphine and cocaine self-administration in rats. However, ibogaine also has acute nonspecific side effects (e.g. tremors, decreased motivated behavior in general) as well as neurotoxic effects (Purkinje cell loss) manifested in the vermis of the cerebellum. 18-Methoxycoronaridine (MC) is a novel, synthetic iboga alkaloid congener that mimics ibogaines effects on drug self-administration without appearing to have ibogaines other adverse effects. Acutely, in rats, MC decreased morphine and cocaine self-administration but did not affect bar-press responding for water. In some rats, treatment with MC (40 mg/kg) induced prolonged decreases in morphine or cocaine intake lasting several days or weeks. MC had no apparent tremorigenic effect, and there was no evidence of cerebellar toxicity after a high dose (100 mg/kg) of MC. Similar to the effects of ibogaine and other iboga alkaloids that inhibit drug self-administration, MC (40 mg/kg) decreased extracellular levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. MC therefore appears to be a safer, ibogaine-like agent that might be useful in the treatment of addictive disorders.

Attenuation of Alcohol Consumption by a Novel Nontoxic Ibogaine Analogue (18-Methoxycoronaridine) in Alcohol-Preferring Rats

We previously reported that single administration of ibogaine, an indol alkaloid with antiaddictive properties, dose dependently reduced alcohol intake in three strains of alcohol-preferring rats. The present study examined the effect of different doses of a newly developed nontoxic ibogaine analogue, 18-methoxycoronaridine (18-MC), on alcohol intake. Selectively bred alcohol-preferring rats received a single intraperitoneal injection of vehicle or 5, 20 and 40 mg/kg of 18-MC at 9:30 AM, and their consumption of alcohol, water and food was measured for 24 h. Our results demonstrate that a single injection of 18-MC significantly and dose dependently attenuated alcohol consumption and preference and commensurately increased water intake. Only the highest dose of 18-MC significantly decreased food intake. Although the true mechanism of action of 18-MC in suppressing alcohol intake is not yet fully understood, it may, like ibogaine, exert its attenuating effects on alcohol consumption by modulating neurotransmitters believed to be involved in the regulation of alcohol intake.

Ibogaine and its congeners are σ2 receptor-selective ligands with moderate affinity

Abstract Ibogaine (12-methoxyibogamine) exhibited moderate affinity for σ2 sites (Ki = 201 nM) and low affinity for σ1 sites (Ki = 8554 nM), thus showing 43-fold selectivity for σ2 receptors. Tabernanthine (13-methoxyibogamine) and (±)-ibogamine had σ2 Ki = 194 nM and 137 nM, respectively. However, they showed 3- to 5-fold higher σ1 affinity compared to ibogaine, resulting in about 14-fold selectivity for σ2 sites over σ1. A potential ibogaine metabolite, O-des-methyl-ibogaine, had markedly reduced σ2 affinity relative to ibogaine (Ki = 5,226 nM) and also lacked significant affinity for σ1 sites. (±)-Coronaridine ((±)-18-carbomethoxyibogamine) and harmaline (1-methyl-7-methoxy-3,4-dihydro-β-carboline) lacked significant affinity for either σ subtype. Thus, σ2 receptors could play a role in the actions of ibogaine.

Structurally modified ibogaine analogs exhibit differing affinities for NMDA receptors

Based on both preclinical findings and anecdotal evidence in man, the psychoactive indole alkaloid ibogaine has been suggested to have anti-addictive properties. Previous studies indicate that blockade of NMDA receptors may mediate at least some of the putative anti-addictive actions of ibogaine. The potencies of a series of ibogaine analogs to inhibit (+)-[3-3H]5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo-[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10- imine ([3H]MK-801) binding to NMDA receptors were examined. This series of analogs included the putative ibogaine metabolite O-desmethylibogaine, its metabolism resistant analog O-t-butyl-O-desmethylibogaine, the iboga alkaloids (+/-)-ibogamine, (+/-)-coronaridine, tabernanthine, harmaline, and the indolotropanes endo-3-(1-methylindol-2-yl)-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]loctane (RS 075194-190), exo-3-(1-methylindol-2-yl)-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane (RS 075237-190), and endo-3-(indol-2-yl)-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane (RS 025989-190). Among these compounds, ibogaine was the most potent inhibitor of [3H]MK-801 binding (Ki = approximately 1.2 microM), whilst the compounds with the greatest structural similarity to ibogaine, O-desmethylibogaine and O-t-butyl-O-desmethylibogaine were less potent (Ki = approximately 5.5 and 179.0 microL, respectively). In morphine-dependent mice, ibogaine, but not O-desmethylibogaine or O-t-butyl-O-desmethylibogaine, attenuated naloxone precipitated withdrawal jumping. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that inhibition of the expression of morphine dependence by ibogaine is related to its NMDA receptor antagonist properties.

The isolation and structure determination of the fern glycoside osmundalin and the synthesis of its aglycone osmundalactone

Abstract From the Japanese foodstuff Akaboshi zenmai, consisting of dried leaves of Osmunda japonica Thunberg and from the Vermont royal fern Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis (Wilid.) Gray a new hydroxypentenolide glucoside, osmundalin (1), was isolated in addition to β-sitosterol and methyl and ethyl palmitate. The structure and absolute stereochemistry of osmundalin were established by spectroscopic and degradation methods and its aglycone, osmundalactone, was synthesized.

18-Methoxycoronardine attenuates nicotine-induced dopamine release and nicotine preferences in rats.

Abstract Two studies were conducted to assess, in vivo, potential anti-nicotinic effects of the iboga alkaloid ibogaine and its synthetic congener 18-methoxycoronaridine (18-MC). As previously demonstrated for ibogaine, using microdialysis, pretreatment (19 h beforehand) with 18-MC (40 mg/kg, IP) significantly attenuated nicotine-induced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens of awake and freely moving rats. In an oral model of nicotine self-administration, both ibogaine and 18-MC decreased rats’ preferences for nicotine for at least 24 h. Acutely, during the first hour after administration, ibogaine depressed responding for water as well as for nicotine; however, during this same time, 18-MC reduced nicotine intake without affecting responding for water. The results suggest that 18-MC might be the prototype of a new treatment for smoking.

Acute iboga alkaloid effects on extracellular serotonin (5-HT) levels in nucleus accumbens and striatum in rats.

The iboga alkaloid, ibogaine, its metabolite, noribogaine, and the congener, 18-methoxycoronaridine (18-MC) have all been claimed to have anti-addictive properties in animal models, but the mechanisms underlying these effects are unclear. Ibogaine and noribogaine were shown to have affinity for the serotonin transporter, and inhibition of serotonin reuptake has been proposed to be involved in their anti-addictive actions. It is not known yet if 18-MC also has this property. In vivo microdialysis and HPLC (microbore) were used to determine acute changes in extracellular serotonin levels in nucleus accumbens (NAC) and striatum (STR) after both i.p. (40 mg/kg for all drugs) and i.v. (1-10 mg/kg for ibogaine and noribogaine) drug administration in awake freely moving female Sprague-Dawley rats (250-275 g). After i.p. administration, ibogaine, noribogaine and 18-MC had very different effects on extracellular serotonin levels in both NAC and STR: ibogaine elicited large increases (up to 25-fold in NAC and 10- fold in STR), noribogaine produced moderate increases (up to 8-fold in NAC and 5-fold in STR), and 18-MC had no effect in either brain region. These and other data suggest that (1) the serotonergic system may not be an essential factor in the anti-addictive actions of these drugs; (2) ibogaine (or an unidentified metabolite) may release serotonin as well as inhibit its reuptake; (3) stimulation of the ascending serotonergic system may mediate ibogaines hallucinogenic effect; and (4) 18-MC probably has no affinity for the serotonin transporter, and is unlikely to be a hallucinogen.

Syntheses and biological evaluation of vinblastine congeners

Sixty-two congeners of vinblastine (VLB), primarily with modifications of the piperidine ring in the carbomethoxycleavamine moiety of the binary alkaloid, were synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxicity against murine L1210 leukemia and RCC-2 rat colon cancer cells, and for their ability to inhibit polymerization of microtubular protein at < 10(-6) M, and for induction of spiralization of microtubular protein, and for microtubular disassembly at 10(-4) M concentrations. An ID50 range of >10(7) M concentrations was found for L1210 inhibition by these compounds, with the most active 1000x as potent as vinblastine.