Catha edulis / Khat

Catha edulis (Celestraceae)Ghat; Khat, Abyssinian tea, African salad, African tea, Arabian tea, Bushman's tea, cat, catha, chafta, chat, ciat, crafta, djimma, four of paradise, ikwa, ischott, iubulu, kaad, kafta, kat, khat, la salade, liss, liruti, mairongi, mandoma, maonj, marongi, mbugula mabwe, mdimamadzi, meongi, mfeike, mhulu, mira, miraa, mirungi, miungi, mlonge, m'mke, msabukinga, masbukinja, msuruti, msuvuti, msekera, muholo, muhulu, muirungi, mulungi, muraa, musitate, mutsawari, mutsawhari, mutsawhri, mwandama, mzengo, nangungwe, ol meraa, ol nerra, qat, quat, salahin, seri, Somali tea, tohai, tohat, tsad, tschad, tschat, tshut, tumayot, waifo, warfi, warfo, Boesmanstee

Khat of qat is een struik of boom die tot vijftien meter hoog kan worden. De blade­ren zijn donkergroen en glan­zend, de bloemen zijn klein, teer en geel. Hij groeit in Ethiopië en Arabië, maar vooral in Jemen, waar hij veel wordt gekweekt. In feite is Ethiopië het moederland; de plant groeit in koele dalen op vrij grote hoogte. Hij werd in de zesde eeuw naar Arabië gebracht en is daar goed geacclimatiseerd. Als gebruiksplant heeft hij bui­ten de kring van de islam weinig ingang gevonden, veel minder dan de koffie, die eveneens afkomstig is uit Ethiopië. Interessant voor een plantenliefhebber is ook dat de plant in Europa goed te kweken is en zelfs redelijk winterhard is. Mijn exemplaar heeft, zelfs in pot de strengste winters overleefd, al was hij in de winter van 2009 bovengronds wel helemaal afgestorven, maar bleek tot mijn verbazing in de lente wel terug blad te vormen.

Lees verder op http://mens-en-gezondheid.infonu.nl/leven/69600-catha-edulis-een-stimulerende-plant.html

Catha edulis tegen leukemie?

Camptothecin and khat (Catha edulis Forsk.) induced distinct cell death phenotypes involving modulation of c-FLIPL, Mcl-1, procaspase-8 and mitochondrial function in acute myeloid leukemia cell lines Therese Bredholt4,1, Elizabeth AO Dimba2, Hanne R Hagland3, Line Wergeland4, Jørn Skavland4, Kjell O Fossan5, Karl J Tronstad3, Anne C Johannessen1,6, Olav K Vintermyr6 and Bjørn T Gjertsen4,7*

An organic extract of the recreational herb khat (Catha edulis Forsk.) triggers cell death in various leukemia cell lines in vitro. The chemotherapeutics camptothecin, a plant alkaloid topoisomerase I inhibitor, was tested side-by-side with khat in a panel of acute myeloid leukemia cell lines to elucidate mechanisms of toxicity.

Khat had a profound effect on MOLM-13 cells inducing mitochondrial damage, chromatin margination and morphological features of autophagy. The effects of khat on mitochondrial ultrastructure in MOLM-13 correlated with strongly impaired routine respiration, an effect neither found in the khat-resistant MV-4-11 cells nor in camptothecin treated cells. Enforced expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein provided protection against camptothecin-induced cell death and partly against khat toxicity. Khat-induced cell death in MOLM-13 cells included reduced levels of anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 protein, while both khat and camptothecin induced c-FLIPL cleavage and procaspase-8 activation.

Khat activated a distinct cell death pathway in sensitive leukemic cells as compared to camptothecin, involving mitochondrial damage and morphological features of autophagy. This suggests that khat should be further explored in the search for novel experimental therapeutics.

    • Dimba EA, Gjertsen BT, Bredholt T, Fossan KO, Costea DE, Francis GW, Johannessen AC, Vintermyr OK: Khat (Catha edulis)-induced apoptosis is inhibited by antagonists of caspase-1 and -8 in human leukaemia cells.Br J Cancer 2004, 91:1726-1734. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text |PubMed Central Full Text

    • Lukandu OM, Costea DE, Neppelberg E, Johannessen AC, Vintermyr OK: Khat (Catha edulis) induces reactive oxygen species and apoptosis in normal human oral keratinocytes and fibroblasts.Toxicol Sci 2008, 103:311-324. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text

Khat invloed op bloeddruk

Regular Khat (Catha edulis) chewing is associated with elevated diastolic blood pressure among adults in Butajira, Ethiopia: A comparative study

Workineh Getahun1, Teferi Gedif1 and Fikru Tesfaye2*BMC Public Health 2010, 10:390 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-390

Regular chewing of Khat is associated with elevated mean diastolic blood pressure, which is consistent with the peripheral vasoconstrictor effect of Cathinone. Regular Khat chewing may have sustained effects on the cardiovascular system that can contribute to elevated blood pressure at the population level.

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/10/390