Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
PHALARIS ARUNDINACEA
LINNAEUS (1753)
Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida
Order: Cyperales Family: Ponaceae
Common name: Reed canary-grass, ribbon grass
Distribution: North America, Europe
Habitat: Wetlands, margins of lakes, brooks, and swamps, roadside ditches,
river dikes, shallow marshes, meadows
Description: This rhizomatous perennial plant grows to a maximum height
of 2 m. The stems (1 cm diameter) are sturdy and hollow. The leaf blades
(2 cm diameter) are lat and hairless. The lowers are borne in panicles
(15 cm long) on culms high above leaves.
Compounds and activities: The leaf extracts of this species have bioactive com-
pounds such as the central nervous system (CNS)-active natural products,
viz., N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and 5-methoxy dimethyl tryptamine
(5- MeO- DMT), and β-carbolines and hordenine. The compound hordenine
possesses antibacterial and antibiotic activities. β-Carbolines act as mono-
amine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) (antidepressants). DMT is considered to
be a hallucinogenic, enthenogenic, or psychedelic drug (mind-expanding
drug), and it functions as a trace amine neurotransmitter. 5-MeO-DMT has
also been reported to be used as an enthenogen (psychoactive substance)
(McClatchey et al., 2009).
H
3
C
H
3
C
CH
3
N
N
CH
3
O
H
3
C
H
H
DMT (dimethyltryptamine)
5 methoxy dimethyl tryptamine (5-MeO-DMT)
