Nuciferine is an

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of simila ...

found within the plants ''

Nymphaea caerulea ''Nymphaea nouchali'' var. ''caerulea'', is a water lily in the genus ''Nymphaea'', a botanical variety of ''Nymphaea nouchali''. It is an aquatic plant of freshwater lakes, pools and rivers, naturally found throughout most of the eastern half ...

'' and ''

Nelumbo nucifera ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often ...

''. Preliminary psychopharmacological research in 1978 was unable to conclusively determine the compound's classification in regards to dopamine-receptor activity. On one hand, investigative studies found evidence of behavior traditionally associated with ''dopamine-receptor'' ''stimulation'': stereotypy, increase in spontaneous motor activity, inhibition of conditioned avoidance response, and an increase in pain sensitivity resulting in an inhibition of morphine analgesia. On the other hand, these early investigative studies also found evidence of behavior traditionally associated with ''dopamine-receptor'' ''blockade'': decrease of spontaneous motor activity, chills, catalepsy, trance-like states of consciousness. Nuciferine may also potentiate

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies ('' Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...

analgesia Pain management is an aspect of medicine and health care involving relief of pain (pain relief, analgesia, pain control) in various dimensions, from acute and simple to chronic and challenging. Most physicians and other health professional ...

. The

median lethal dose In toxicology, the median lethal dose, LD50 (abbreviation for " lethal dose, 50%"), LC50 (lethal concentration, 50%) or LCt50 is a toxic unit that measures the lethal dose of a toxin, radiation, or pathogen. The value of LD50 for a substance is ...

in mice is 289 mg/kg. It is structurally related to

apomorphine Apomorphine, sold under the brand name Apokyn among others, is a type of aporphine having activity as a non- selective dopamine agonist which activates both D2-like and, to a much lesser extent, D1-like receptors. It also acts as an antag ...

. Nuciferine has been reported to have various

anti-inflammatory Anti-inflammatory is the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation or swelling. Anti-inflammatory drugs, also called anti-inflammatories, make up about half of analgesics. These drugs remedy pain by reducing inflammation as o ...

possibly via PPAR delta activation Nuciferine suppresses the SOX2-AKT/STAT3 signaling pathway in animal models. Targeting SOX-2 pathways in human models with Nuciferine may offer a novel therapeutic approach for

cancer treatment Cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy (including immunotherapy such as monoclonal antibody therapy) and synthetic lethality, most commonly as a series of separate treatments (e.g. ...

References

Phenol ethers Aporphine alkaloids Dopamine receptor modulators {{sedative-stub

See also

References