β-Carboline, also known as norharman or as 9''H''-pyrido ,4-bndole, is a

tricyclic Tricyclics are cyclic chemical compounds that contain three fused rings of atoms. Many compounds have a tricyclic structure, but in pharmacology, the term has traditionally been reserved to describe heterocyclic drugs. They include antidepr ...

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

and

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

. It is the

parent structure In chemistry, a parent structure is the structure of an unadorned ion or molecule from which derivatives can be visualized. Parent structures underpin systematic nomenclature and facilitate classification. Fundamental parent structures have on ...

of the

substituted β-carboline A substituted β-carboline is a chemical compound featuring a β-carboline moiety (chemistry), moiety with one or more chemical substituent, substitutions. β-Carbolines include more than one hundred alkaloids and synthetic compounds. The effect ...

s, a large group of alkaloids and

synthetic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-cont ...

s. β-Carboline may be thought of as a

cyclized tryptamine Substituted tryptamines, or simply tryptamines, also known as serotonin analogues (i.e., 5-hydroxytryptamine analogues), are organic compounds which may be thought of as being derived from tryptamine itself. The molecular structures of all trypt ...

. The compound has been found to possess a variety of pharmacological activities, including

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

mutagen In genetics, a mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that permanently changes genetic material, usually DNA, in an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. As many mutations can cause cancer in ...

ic effects,

imidazoline receptor Imidazoline receptors are the primary receptors on which clonidine and other imidazolines act. There are three main classes of imidazoline receptor: I1 is involved in inhibition of the sympathetic nervous system to lower blood pressure, I2 has ...

interactions, serotonin reuptake inhibition,

monoamine oxidase inhibition Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are a class of drugs that inhibit the activity of one or both monoamine oxidase enzymes: monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) and monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B). They are best known as effective antidepressants, especia ...

cytochrome P450 Cytochromes P450 (P450s or CYPs) are a Protein superfamily, superfamily of enzymes containing heme as a cofactor (biochemistry), cofactor that mostly, but not exclusively, function as monooxygenases. However, they are not omnipresent; for examp ...

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

inhibition Inhibitor or inhibition may refer to: Biology * Enzyme inhibitor, a substance that binds to an enzyme and decreases the enzyme's activity * Reuptake inhibitor, a substance that increases neurotransmission by blocking the reuptake of a neurotransm ...

, and inhibition of other enzymes, among others.

References

External links

β-Carboline - Isomer Design
Beta-Carbolines Monoamine oxidase inhibitors {{Alkaloid-stub

See also

References

External links