Pharmacological actions of the South African medicinal and functional food plant Sceletium tortuosum and its principal alkaloids.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The South African plant Sceletium tortuosum has been known for centuries for a variety of traditional uses, and, more recently, as a possible source of anti-anxiety or anti-depressant effects. A standardised extract Zembrin(®) was used to test for pharmacological activities that might be relevant to the ethnopharmacological uses, and three of the main alkaloids were also tested.

Materials And Methods: A standardised ethanolic extract was prepared from dried plant material, along with the purified alkaloids mesembrine, mesembrenone and mesembrenol.