Alkaloids are organic compounds found in plants and contain nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Some are toxic, while others are used medicinally, such as caffeine and quinine. Tropane alkaloids, like atropine, were historically used as poisons, but now have medical uses. Morphine alkaloids, derived from opium poppy, are used as pain relievers. Vincristine and vinblastine, both alkaloids, are used to treat cancer.
An alkaloid is a type of organic compound derived from plants. Alkaloids are generally made up of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen. Some alkaloids are considered toxic, but others are often used medicinally. Alkaloids one may encounter in everyday life include caffeine, the drugs atropine and quinine, and the deadly nightshade plant.
Alkaloids are relatively rare in plants. They have what is considered a complex chemical structure, and always contain a nitrogen molecule. An alkaloid can also contain oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen molecules.
Although their effects range from medicinal to poisonous, all alkaloids cause a physiological effect on the human body. Some alkaloids, such as the ergot alkaloid, can be toxic and even deadly. Cocaine and caffeine are two alkaloids of plant origin that are believed to be toxic in their effects.
A class of alkaloids known as tropane alkaloids are historically famous for their use as poisons. The alkaloid atropine belongs to this class. It is usually derived from the atropa belladonna plant or the deadly nightshade.
Many alkaloids can be used for medical purposes. Atropine, thought to have been used historically as a poison, is now sometimes used to stimulate the central nervous system and dilate the pupils of the eyes. Scopolamine, an alkaloid of the same class, is often used to treat motion sickness. Quinine, one of the 31 alkaloid chemical compounds found in the cinchona succirubra plant, has antimalarial properties. Quinine is still used as the treatment of choice for malaria.
Some alkaloids, such as morphine alkaloids, can have narcotic effects. These alkaloids are typically derived from the opium poppy. Morphine alkaloids may be some of the oldest drugs in the world. Its use was first recorded in Sumer, around 3500 BC. C. Morphine alkaloids were often used to induce drowsiness in laudanum preparations from the 1830s onward, although they were believed to be addictive. Today, morphine alkaloids are still sometimes used in medicine as analgesics or pain relievers.
Vincristine, an alkaloid believed to have been first isolated from Catharanthus roseus in the 1950s, is now used to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma and childhood leukemia. Vinblastine, also isolated from the same plant, is believed to be an effective treatment for Hodgkin’s disease.
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