Desmethoxyyangonin or 5,6-dehydrokavain is one of the six main
kavalactone
Kavalactones are a class of lactone compounds found in kava roots and Alpinia zerumbet (Shell ginger). Kavalactones are under research for potential to have various psychotropic effects, including anxiolytic and sedative/ hypnotic activities.
En ...
s found in the ''
Piper methysticum
Kava or kava kava ('' Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ''ʻawa'' (Hawaiʻi) ...
'' (kava) plant.
Pharmacology
Desmethoxyyangonin is a reversible
inhibitor of
monoamine oxidase B
Monoamine oxidase B, also known as MAOB, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''MAOB'' gene.
The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the flavin monoamine oxidase family. It is an enzyme located in the outer mitochondrial membrane. I ...
(MAO-B). Kava is able to increase
dopamine levels in the
nucleus accumbens
The nucleus accumbens (NAc or NAcc; also known as the accumbens nucleus, or formerly as the ''nucleus accumbens septi'', Latin for " nucleus adjacent to the septum") is a region in the basal forebrain rostral to the preoptic area of the hypot ...
and desmethoxyyangonin likely contributes to this effect. This, along with several other catecholamines, may be responsible for the purported attention-promoting effects of kava.
Unlike the other major kavalactones, desmethoxyyangonin does not appear to act as a
GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulator.
Desmethoxyyangonin has marked activity on the induction of
CYP3A23.
See also
*
Kavain
Kavain is the main kavalactone found mostly in the roots of the kava plant.
Pharmacology
Kavain has anticonvulsive properties, attenuating vascular smooth muscle contraction through interactions with voltage-dependent and channels. How th ...
References
{{Dopaminergics
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors
Kavalactones
Alkene derivatives
Ethers
Nootropics