Coca-leaf habituation has affected millions of Andean natives for over 400 years. In the last half-century it has also involved millions more Malayans. Coca leaf, from which cocaine and extracts for some commercial carbonated soft drinks are obtained, remains relatively unknown by the medical and allied professions elsewhere. A review of the original medical, historical and other pertinent literature of the last 350 years illustrates the origins of the use of coca leaf, its spread, the isolation of cocaine and its first uses, as well as some of the euphoric and other effects of both substances.
Sixty-two "leukoplakias" from the cheeks of betel-nut chewers in West Malaysia were studied histologically. Ten biopsies were from non-tobacco betel-nut chewers. An amorphous von Kossa positive layer was seen on the keratin surface in 42 specimens. Tobacco did not appear essential for its formation, and it appeared to be significantly associated with parakeratosis. Its possible significance as a cuticle-like layer prolonging contact between carcinogens and the mucosa is discussed.Parakeratosis appeared to be the most common form of cornification seen, and the mitotic activity in parakeratinized leukoplakias appeared to be significantly greater than orthokeratinized leukoplakias.Comparison with studies on other population samples using different quids suggested that severe histological changes were more likely to be seen when tobacoo-containing quids were chewed as compared to non-tobacco-containing quids.An attempt to correlate the histological changes seen with the clinical habit in leukoplakias from chewers using tobacco-containing quids suggested that epithelial atrophy appeared to be significantly related to the duration of the habit but not to the "intensity" of the habit.
Changes in the buccal mucosa of 296 Indian and Malay betel-nut chewers in Perak, West Malaysia, were studied clinically. 167 out of 212 Indian subjects incorporated tobacco in their quids, while 45 out of 84 Malay subjects incorporated. "Gambir". The Indians appeared to show a higher proportion of mucosal changes, particularly when tobacco was used. "Gambir" did not appear to be potent in the production of mucosal changes. Comparison with studies in other parts of the world suggested comparable findings with respect to both tobacco and non-tobacco chewing samples, and there would appear to be some evidence that tobacco-containing quids are likely to produce a higher proportion of mucosal changes as compared to non-tobacco-containing quids. An attempt to demonstrate a dose-effect relationship by dividing the subjects into "slight" and "heavy" chewers did not yield significant differences between these two categories in each of the groups.
Areca cattechu Linn is commonly known as areca nut or betel nut. It is a very widely cultivated plant in eastern countries like India, Bangladesh, Ceylon, Malaya, the Philippines and Japan. The importance of this nut is due to its use for chewing purposes. It had an important place as a pharmaceutical in Ayurveda--the ancient Indian system of medicine--also in the Chinese medicinal practices. The pharmaceutical importance of areca nut is due to the presence of an alkaloid, arecoline. Synthetic arecoline hydrobromide is also shown to possess numerous pharmacological properties. Chewing of "betel quid" or areca nut is a typical oriental habit. Betel quid comprises betel leaf, areca nut, catechu, lime and sometimes also tobacco. It is shown that there exists a correlationship between betel quid or areca nut chewing habit and oral cancer. A number of investigators have been able to produce cellular changes such as leukoplakia by application of betel quid or areca nut extract to the buccal mucosa of different animal.
The presence, in the fruit of Averrhoa carambola (star fruit), of a depressant agent with properties similar to those of tranquilizers was demonstrated.
PIP:
The efficacy of a recently marketed posttesticular male oral contraceptive, Contrasperm, was assessed in a clinical trial involving 32 Malaysian volunteers ages 21-39 years. Contrasperm is claimed to be a pure botanical extract free of toxic chemicals, steroids, and hormones. The drug is believed to cause cells surrounding the sperm in the seminiferous tubules to secrete carbon dioxide, producing a weakly acidic environment that greatly increases the sperms' metabolism and reduces the pH of semen from its normal level of 7.5 to 1.5. The manufacturer claims that this drop in pH decreases motility from 95% to 0%. Semen samples were collected by masturbation from subjects to provide baseline data. 3 days after the initial sperm analysis, subjects were given 1 capsule of Contrasperm containing 10 mcg of the active ingredient. Additional semen analyses were conducted 30 minutes, 6 hours, and 24 hours after ingestion. Sperm count and sperm motility were greatly reduced in most subjects 30 minutes after ingestion. However, 6 subjects had increased sperm counts and 4 subjects demonstrated increased sperm motility, indicating an enhancing effect. At 6 hours after ingestion, 20 subjects had lowered sperm motility and 12 subjects showed normal sperm motility, contradicting the manufacturer's claim that motility is reduced to 0%. Although Contrasperm is claimed to be effective for 6-8 hours after ingestion, its effect wore off in less than 6 hours in 37% of subjects. Both sperm count and sperm motility returned to normal levels 24 hours after ingestion, confirming the reversibility of this drug. Most subjects reported mild side effects such as muscle weakness, blurred vision, dizziness, perspiration, urgency, abnormal muscle tension, and dry throat which persisted longer than 24 hours. Further studies, with proper controls, are needed to assess the reliability and toxicity of this preparation.
Buddleja species play a minor role in the ethnopharmacology of several areas of the world where they are indigenous. Phytochemical investigation of the genus has been somewhat neglected but a picture is emerging of the type of constituents which are present in reasonable quantities, namely iridoid and flavonoid glycosides. Many of the uses of Buddleja in folk medicine such as a topical antiseptic and a diuretic can be partially explained at least by the known biological activity of compounds identical or similar to those found in the genus. Other reputed uses are, as yet, without explantation due to the incomplete state of knowledge of the chemistry and, to an even greater extent, the pharmacology of Buddleja.