A constituent of khat leaves with amphetamine-like releasing properties

Khat leaves, which are widely abused as a stimulant, contain the alkaloid (--)-cathinone. The effect of this compound on the efflux of radioactivity from rabbit striatal tissue prelabelled with [3H]dopamine was examined. (--)-Cathinone enhanced the release of label, and was found to have a potency similar to that of (+)-amphetamine. The observation demonstrates that the khat alkaloid also has amphetamine-like effects at the cellular level.