MAO inhibitors and their role in modern medicine

Monoamine oxidase( simply called MAO) is an enzyme that occurs in the gastrointestinal tract of every human being, and these enzymes serve to cleave all substances that come with food. In modern medicine, monoamine oxidase inhibitors are used to treat advanced cases of depression, when other methods of therapy are useless. What is a Mao inhibitor can be understood by a simple example. For example, monoamine oxidase is involved in the cleavage of many tryptamine derivatives.

MAO inhibitors - what is it? History of the use of

One of the derivatives of tryptamine is dimethyltryptamine, which can cause severe hallucinations. In ancient times, the Indians of many tribes mixed plants containing dimethyltryptamine with other plants that contained so-called MAO inhibitors, due to which the activity of monoamine oxidase was suppressed, and the hallucinogenic substance began to function in the body. Such a drug received a catchy name "ayahuasca" or simply "yage".As an inhibitor, the Indians used a liana of the species Banisteriopsis caapi, which includes substances such as beta-carboline harmaline and harmin.

To date, the most common non-synthetic inhibitors of MAO are the seeds of Peganum harmala( Siberian rue).The composition of this plant, as well as the composition of the liana Banisteriopsis caapi, includes harmine, harmaline and some other similar in structure alkaloids. And although harmin and harmaline are hallucinogens, which, moreover, in most cases cause side effects in the form of vomiting and seizures, such effects can be seen only if you take too many of them.

Application in medicine

In modern medicine, MAO inhibitors( more often synthetic) are used to treat different types of depressive conditions. A distinctive feature of synthetic drugs is that the duration of their action, in comparison with harmaline and garmin, which operate from several hours to days, can reach even one to two weeks after the patient stopped taking the drug.

The intake of MAO inhibitors contains some risks that may occur if the patient does not follow a certain diet. The thing is that MAO inhibitors destroy tyramine contained in a very large number of products. In cases where monoxide oxidase ceases to function, tyramine enters the human body and causes such effects as increased blood pressure, increased heart rate and the onset of headaches. The greatest amount of tyramine is found in cheese( not melted), red wine, beer, smoked products, yeast, bananas, sour cabbage, beans and liver of birds. In slightly lower concentrations, tyramine is found in citrus, cocoa and chocolate, coffee, peanuts, walnuts and white wine. Due to prolonged intake of synthetic MAO inhibitors, these products should be abandoned for the entire course of taking the drug and for two weeks after its completion. Observance of a rigid diet is one of the basic principles of the course of antidepressant therapy( if MAO inhibitors are used), as there are situations in which people are brought to a hospital with hypertensive crisis only because they eat inappropriate foods containing in theirtyramine composition. To avoid similar, far from the most pleasant cases, before starting the course of therapy with monoamine oxidase inhibitors, you should carefully consult your doctor about all the subtleties and nuances regarding taking prescribed medications. This will save not only your nerves, but also health, which can be significantly undermined by the use of a small piece of cheese.