African Drug Being Developed For Antidepressant

The first known account of this plant, known by Latin (Carolus Linnaeus) nomenclature “Sceletum tortuosum allegedly dates back to Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch founder of South Africa. He appears, also, to have seen the first recorded comet that passed through that distant place, so we know he was educated enough to be a scientific dilettante at the very least. He has earned, rightfully, a lovely place in the history of South Africa. I am not knocking such status, mind you. I think few people would be clever or concerned enough to be scientific even at dilettante level in our day and age — thinking of even the cleverest of politicians. I am somewhat more concerned about what the South Africans seem to be excited about.

This plant, Sceletum tortuosum, is known enough to have its own website, compendium of knowledge, and “org.” Mesembrine, one of the alkaloids in this plant, is a serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) which is the same classification as FDA approved antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil.  It is also dopamine active. They say psychiatrists are already using it, but not where I hang out. Probably South African docs. No “confirmed” reports of drug interactions, although it is certainly ripe for them, as this medication seems to be active on the same receptors as the previously mentioned prescription drugs. But the natural product seems to be available – without prescription over the internet, of course. My concern is that we already have a well-trod path.  Not much yet in the way perhaps of academic quality experimental evidence that this stuff works.  A part of the natural patrimony of South Africa, licensed to a commercial drug company.  They will refine it, find which of the alkaloids are an “active principle” and (my bets are in) find more side effects and counterindications. Here is the website of the company that is the only one licensed to export this substance.

There is also a beautiful photo of the plant, so we know that the “tortuosum” name comes from twisted leaves. According to both the initial report and the website, the company has investigated the doses in which this plant, or whatever standardized contract used, is used by the indigenous folks. I really cannot tell how much of the partnership with indigenous folks, in creating the plant extract and in commercializing it, is real.  Some of it may be simply the most brilliant marketing ever, but it is a consideration rarely made and doubtless deserved by the poor folks who may not have had access to medications that are effective for the depression and anxiety of being colonists, other than this plant for, maybe over four hundred years. It is interesting that the developers, according to the pharmaceutical company website, are going for something low in mesembrine, which other sources say is the most potent component.  It is supposed to be very serotonergic.  Serotonergic reuptake inhibitors — well, we are talking about a class of drugs that has sexual side effects (diminishing sex drive and pleasure) and all kinds of stuff.  So they are moving in another direction which is not bad. Maybe limiting potency so there are less interactions.  Of course, I can’t tell for sure. This stuff also seems to have some activity as a PDE-4 inhibitor. That means it might have some anti-inflammatory effects on what is known as the “second messenger” or intracellular part of inflammatory reactions.  This could be the mechanism of lots of things.  It seems like yesterday that I saw a bunch of studies linking anxiety and depression to inflammatory and maybe even subclinical infectious processes. I am convinced that the study of plant origin natural treatments has the capacity to be exciting and wonderful, especially this one. I wish the South Africans well, hoping only that they do not “overdevelop” the plant in a quest for some kind of “active principle,” but stay close to the clinical data as well as the social responsibility, and give us something wonderful.