Compound Monograph
Cryogenine
Cryogenine (vertine) is a quinolizidine-type alkaloid from sinicuichi, a Mexican plant with a tradition of psychoactive use.
Sources · 1
Where Does It Come From?
Cryogenine is a naturally occurring biphenylquinolizidine lactone alkaloid, found in Sinicuichi. It is flagged as moderately toxic.
Concentration
Content by Source
Concentrations not reported. No percent-dry-weight or mg/g figures have been published for this compound in its source plants.
Research & Evidence
Cryogenine, also called vertine, is regarded as the principal alkaloid of sinicuichi (Heimia salicifolia), a shrub of the loosestrife family used traditionally in Mexico to prepare a mildly psychoactive drink. It belongs to the biphenylquinolizidine lactone alkaloids characteristic of the genus Heimia. Older pharmacological literature attributed various effects to the plant, but firm, modern human data on isolated cryogenine are limited.
Toxicity & Safety
Reliable human safety information for isolated cryogenine is sparse, and most accounts concern the whole plant rather than the purified alkaloid. It should not be assumed to be free of risk, and its pharmacology is not well characterized by contemporary standards.
