The cath or khat or qat, CATHA EDULIS, CELESTRACEAE, is a small tree native to eastern (Horn of Africa) and southern Africa.
It reaches about ten meters in tropical zones with a prolonged wet season: Kenya,Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique and only the size of a bush in the arid zones of the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) or the Horn of Africa ( Somalia).
Its foliage is persistent (except in South Africa, but is it the same species?).
The leaves are dark green, shiny, lighter on the underside, with a toothed margin, a short petiole and often a little pinkish.
Cultivated varieties do not produce seeds and multiply by root rejection.
In wild varieties, the flowers are small, greenish-white, and the fruit (a three-lobed capsule), red-brown when ripe, contains winged seeds.
It is a drought-resistant tree that is grown in Kenya, Somalia and at altitudes between 1000 and 2000 meters in the Yemeni mountain.
CATHA EDULIS KATH QAT CATHINONE KHAT LEAVES AMPHETAMINE EXCITANT SOMALIA YEMEN ETHIOPIA DRUG ALKALOID PROHIBITED STIMULANT
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES
CATHA EDULIS LEAVES
The pharmacologically active components of the FRESH KHAT LEAVES are:
- tannins: 2 to 4%,
- vitamins and provitamins: vitamin C (150 mg / 100 g), carotenes, vitamins of group B,
- and especially alkaloids whose major constituent is CATHINONE, phenethylamine extremely close by its chemical composition of ephedrine or amphetamine (stimulating substances with many physiological effects).
Moreover, in the aged leaves, cathinone is transformed (with much loss) into cathine, ephedrine and pseudo-ephedrine.
CATHINONE
Cathinone has an activity comparable to amphetamine, it causes the release of endogenous catecholamines (neurotransmitters stored in the nervous system):
- nervous excitement and stimulation with the feeling of a clearer and more lively mind, a slight euphoria,
- the breathing is accelerated as well as the heart rate; body temperature and blood pressure are slightly increased,
- there is loss of appetite (anorectic effect) and sleep (maintenance of awakening).
PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF QAT OR KHAT LEAF
The leaf of Catha edulis is chewed, kept for a while in the mouth and then spit out (it is very astringent, not at all pleasant to taste).
The active substances are mainly absorbed through the oral mucosa (it is very effective): 70 to 95% of the alkaloids pass into the blood.
Their effect is felt in 15 to 30 minutes, the blood concentration reaches a maximum 1 1/2 to 2 hours after the beginning of « grazing » (which lasts at least 1/2 h), the sensation of stimulation disappears in 4 to 5 h.
Experiments with the help of volunteers who do not have knowledge of cath show that at least 0.5 mg of cathinone per kg of weight is required to feel an effect and that at 1 mg per kg the sensation of stimulation is manifest without adverse effects.
The amount of active substance present in the leaf is variable depending on the crop conditions and cultivars, however, it is generally necessary to chew several leaves to feel the « cath effect ».
USES
KHAT TRADITIONAL PLANT OF AFRICA AND MODERN DRUGS
The leaf of Catha edulis is chewed, kept for a while in the mouth and then spit out (it is very astringent, not at all pleasant to taste).
The active substances are mainly absorbed through the oral mucosa (it is very effective): 70 to 95% of the alkaloids pass into the blood.
Their effect is felt in 15 to 30 minutes, the blood concentration reaches a maximum 1 1/2 to 2 hours after the beginning of « grazing » (which lasts at least 1/2 h), the sensation of stimulation disappears in 4 to 5 h.
Experiments with the help of volunteers who do not have knowledge of cath show that at least 0.5 mg of cathinone per kg of weight is required to feel an effect and that at 1 mg per kg the sensation of stimulation is manifest without adverse effects.
The amount of active substance present in the leaf is variable depending on the crop conditions and cultivars, however, it is generally necessary to chew several leaves to feel the « cath effect ».
Qat or khat is consumed in large quantities in Yemen, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and more generally throughout East Africa and also in south Africa.
In recent years it has been imported by plane to Europe in countries where the legislation tolerates it and then transported by car to other countries.
French customs officers thus regularly seize real loads of Khat due to their powerful herbaceous odor.
It is a drug that maintains an active trade: the khat sometimes takes the place of food crops , small transport planes replaced dhows, caravans or the train (the leaves must be very fresh) , khat resellers are present in all cities and markets.
Chewing khat is a social rite as much as a personal addiction.
A study shows that 95% of police officers, 70% of truck drivers and 10% of students consume regularly in Uganda.
In Yemen it is a plant integrated in social rituals and accompanies all stages of life: weddings, celebrations, various meetings including political meetings.
He who abandons the use of the cath isolates himself from the group; Yemeni houses have a room dedicated to sharing the cath. Women consume but much less than men.
The narghile pipe (tobacco) is often smoked during these « sessions » of chewing khat, but with restraint because the nicotine added to the cathinone can cause undesirable effects: dizziness, tremors, palpitations, nausea.
In general the desired effect (stimulation and slight euphoria) is felt quickly enough to communicate more easily, some people even become logorrheic. All this lasts 2 to 3 hours, later the « grazers » become irritable or taciturn.
In the Yemeni countryside you can chew the cath all day including women and children, so you can skip a meal, withstand the difficulties of everyday life more easily. This reminds us of the use of the coca leaf in the countries of the South American
THE EFFECTS OF CATH ON HEALTH
The regular, « chronic » use of cath or khat is not without physiological consequences:
- On the psyche:
Schizophrenic tendency, (disappearing normally at weaning), with the frequent need to isolate oneself, or more rarely aggressive impulses.
Since alkaloids of catha edulis cause insomnia, grazers sometimes use alcohol to fall asleep with the risk of double intoxication. - On the vascular system.
Cathinone and its metabolites are vasoconstrictors, coronaries are not spared (increased coronary events in catheters).
-On blood lipids.
In artificially fed animals, there is a decrease in total cholesterol with increased HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), a decrease in triglyceride levels and blood glucose, but these effects are not found in humans .
- On the digestive system.
The oral mucosa of the grazers is very often irritated: stomatitis, plaque of leukoplakia (keratosis on the mucous membranes) at the place where the leaves quid is preserved, this precancerous alteration of the mucosa is normally reversible.
There is a clear increase in non-induced Helicobacter pylori gastric ulcers in regular khat consumers (epidemiological observations in Yemen and Saudi Arabia)
The tannins present in quantity in the leaf induce a chronic constipation; when the Yemeni authorities temporarily banned Cath, the sale of laxatives fell by 90% in Aden (Yemen).
Inappetence causes chronic malnutrition. - At the hormonal level.
Men consider khat as an aphrodisiac (because of the induced vasoconstriction), but in reality regular kath eaters see their libido drop, sometimes ejaculation disorders appear.
There is also evidence of spermatogenesis alteration and a decrease in plasma testosterone levels inducing a decline in male fertility.
In pregnant women there is a decrease in the weight of the fetus and the child (poor fetal development secondary perhaps to a decrease in placental blood flow and aggravated by malnutrition).
Neonatal mortality is increased.
Breastfeeding women complain of lack of milk (interaction with prolactin?)
CATH or KHAT AND ITS LEGISLATION
Legislation on substances currently considered as dangerous to health or law and order can change, but currently cathinone is on the list of substances whose production, selling, and use are prohibited in most legislation of western countries (including the USA where the cath sheet is prohibited from import).
The cath leaves is considered a drug and is also banned from importation in most European countries.
ABSTRACT
KHAT OR QAT A TRADITIONAL DRUG IN AFRICA
The cath or khat is a tree or a shrub spontaneous but also cultivated in the east of Africa and in Yemen.
The chewing of leaves that contain alkaloids very close to amphetamine causes pleasant stimulation and is integrated into the social life of many African and Arab countries.
The regular consumption of cath is not without danger: secondary malnutrition, psychic dependence with permanent search of the drug and various physical disorders.
Khat is a banned drug in most Western countries.
Copyright 2023 : Dr Jean-Michel Hurtel
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