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Natural product 'legal highs'
Warunya Arunotayanun1, Simon Gibbons
1Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, UCL School of Pharmacy, 29-39 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AX, United Kingdom.
Natural Product Reports
|August 30, 2012
Summary
Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS), or
Area of Science:
- Forensic Chemistry
- Pharmacology
- Toxicology
Background:
- Global rise in popularity of 'Legal Highs' or Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in the last five years.
- NPS include single chemicals or natural products (plant/fungal materials) often structurally related to controlled substances.
- Natural product NPS are chemically complex with limited recent studies on their pharmacology and toxicology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current popular legal highs.
- To describe their chemistry, usage, preparation, pharmacology, and toxicology.
- To discuss the complexities and potential harms of natural product NPS.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of current legal highs.
- Analysis of chemical structures and relationships to controlled drugs.
- Examination of existing pharmacological and toxicological data.
- Discussion of natural product variability and complexity.
Main Results:
- NPS encompass diverse chemical entities, including synthetic and natural products.
- Natural product NPS present significant challenges due to chemical complexity and variability.
- Limited research exists on the full spectrum of effects from natural product NPS extracts.
Conclusions:
- The chemical complexity and natural variability of NPS, particularly natural products, complicate harm assessment.
- Further research is needed to understand the multifaceted risks associated with NPS use.
- Regulatory and public health strategies must account for the evolving nature and complexity of NPS.
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