Differential effects of ibogaine pretreatment on brain levels of morphine and (+)-amphetamine.
Brain research – August 14, 1992
Source: PubMed
Summary
Ibogaine significantly increases brain levels of (+)-amphetamine, with a 50% rise observed at 30 minutes and a 100% increase at 2 hours post-injection. In contrast, it does not affect morphine levels after administration. The findings suggest that ibogaine may inhibit an enzyme responsible for metabolizing amphetamine, leading to enhanced effects. This interaction highlights a distinct metabolic pathway between ibogaine and amphetamine compared to morphine, indicating potential implications for understanding drug interactions in the brain.
Abstract
Previous studies in rats have shown that ibogaine inhibits neurochemical and behavioral effects of morphine yet potentiates similar effects of (+)-amphetamine. To assess whether these different functional interactions have a metabolic basis, brain levels of morphine and (+)-amphetamine were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after ibogaine pretreatment (19 h before injection of morphine or (+)-amphetamine). Ibogaine pretreatment had no effect on brain morphine levels, either at 30 min or 2 h after morphine injection; however, ibogaine significantly increased brain amphetamine levels at 30 min and, to a greater extent, at 2 h after (+)-amphetamine injection. These and other data suggest that ibogaine irreversibly inhibits an amphetamine-metabolizing enzyme. The functional interactions between ibogaine and (+)-amphetamine, but not those between ibogaine and morphine, may result from a hepatic drug-drug interaction.