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Peganum harmala
Peganum harmala, commonly called Syrian rue, harmel, espand, esfand, wild rue, African rue, or aspand, is a plant native to the eastern Iranian region west to India. It has also spread invasively throughout Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Washington.[1] The plant itself produces seeds which contain harmala alkaloids and is easily accessible and legal to purchase online.
| Peganum harmala | |
|---|---|
 P. harmala in the nature. |
|
| Taxonomical nomenclature | |
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Unranked | Angiosperms |
| Unranked | Eudicots |
| Unranked | Rosids |
| Order | Sapindales |
| Family | Nitrariaceae |
| Genus | Peganum |
| Species | P. harmala |
| Common nomenclature | |
| Common names | Espand, Esfand, Syrian rue |
| Constituents | |
| Active constituents | Harmala alkaloid |
Chemistry
Powdered syrian rue seeds act as a reversible inhibitor of MAO-A (RIMA) at doses of 2-5g. Syrian rue seeds contain several different harmala alkaloids at slightly varying percentages. Only some are monoamine oxidase A inhibitors. In one study, total harmala alkaloids were at least 5.9% of dried weight.[2][3]
- Harmane: 0.16%
- Harmine: 0.44% (the coatings of the seeds are said to contain large amounts of harmine)
- Harmaline: 0.25%
- Harmalol: 0.6%
- Tetrahydroharmine: 0.1%
- Vasicine (peganine): 0.25%<
- Vasicinone: 0.0007%