Plazas Erika, Faraone Nicoletta
Department of Chemistry, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS B4P 2R6, Canada.
Biomedicines. 2023 Feb 5;11(2):461. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11020461.
Neuropsychiatric diseases such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress represent a substantial long-term challenge for the global health systems because of their rising prevalence, uncertain neuropathology, and lack of effective pharmacological treatments. The approved existing studies constitute a piece of strong evidence whereby psychiatric drugs have shown to have unpleasant side effects and reduction of sustained tolerability, impacting patients' quality of life. Thus, the implementation of innovative strategies and alternative sources of bioactive molecules for the search for neuropsychiatric agents are required to guarantee the success of more effective drug candidates. Psychotherapeutic use of indole alkaloids derived from magic mushrooms has shown great interest and potential as an alternative to the synthetic drugs currently used on the market. The focus on indole alkaloids is linked to their rich history, their use as pharmaceuticals, and their broad range of biological properties, collectively underscoring the indole heterocycle as significant in drug discovery. In this review, we aim to report the physicochemical and pharmacological characteristics of indole alkaloids, particularly those derived from magic mushrooms, highlighting the promising application of such active ingredients as safe and effective therapeutic agents for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.
抑郁症、焦虑症和创伤后应激障碍等神经精神疾病对全球卫生系统构成了重大的长期挑战，因为它们的患病率不断上升、神经病理学尚不明确且缺乏有效的药物治疗方法。现有的已获批准的研究构成了有力证据，表明精神科药物已显示出有不良副作用且持续耐受性降低，影响了患者的生活质量。因此，需要实施创新策略并寻找生物活性分子的替代来源以寻找神经精神药物，以确保更有效的候选药物取得成功。源自神奇蘑菇的吲哚生物碱的心理治疗用途已引起极大关注，并具有作为市场上目前使用的合成药物替代品的潜力。对吲哚生物碱的关注与其悠久的历史、作为药物的用途以及广泛的生物学特性有关，这些共同强调了吲哚杂环在药物发现中的重要性。在本综述中，我们旨在报告吲哚生物碱的物理化学和药理特性，特别是源自神奇蘑菇的那些，突出此类活性成分作为治疗神经精神疾病的安全有效治疗剂的潜在应用。
