Posted on 12/11/2018 6:31:31 AM PST by BenLurkin
The substance that triggers this state of feline ecstasy is called nepetalactone, a type of chemical called a terpene. This simple, small molecule is part of an unusual chain of events, not previously seen by chemists.
The researchers believe that understanding the production of these nepetalactones could help them recreate the way that plants synthesise other chemicals like vinblastine, which is used for chemotherapy. This could lead to the ability to create these useful medicines more efficiently and quickly than we are currently able to harvest them from nature.
Usually in plants, for example peppermint, terpenes are formed by a single enzyme. In their paper published online this week in Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers report that in catnip terpenes are formed in a two-step process; an enzyme activates a precursor compound which is then grabbed by a second enzyme to produce the substance of interest.
This two-step process has previously never been observed, and the researchers also expect something similar is occurring in the synthesis of anti-cancer drugs vincristine and vinblastine from Madagascan periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus, and elsewhere in olive and snapdragon.
In the publication, the team describe the process by which catmint produces nepetalactone in microscopic glands on the underside of its leaves. The study also identifies three new enzymes with unusual activity.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Neither of my cats like it - they give a sniff and trot off as fast as they can go.
We’ve had lots of cats and none have shown the least bit of interest in catnip.
Do tigers eat kitty weed?.
Yeah, lots of plants produce varieties of them, generally as a protection against insects. What is toxic to insects, however, sometimes has novel effects on the human (or feline) nervous system.
Good one never pet a cat when it’s on kitty weed.
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