Compound Monograph
Tortuosamine
Tortuosamine is a minor alkaloid isolated from the South African succulent kanna (Sceletium tortuosum).
Classification
Tortuosamine is an alkaloid, part of the alkaloids class. Nitrogen-containing, often bitter and physiologically potent compounds — the group behind many of the strongest plant medicines and poisons.
Where Does It Come From? (1)
Tortuosamine is a naturally occurring alkaloid, found in Kanna.
Research & Evidence
Tortuosamine is one of the minor alkaloids identified in kanna (Sceletium tortuosum), the succulent traditionally used in southern Africa. It belongs to a group of alkaloids structurally distinct from the better-studied mesembrine-type compounds that dominate the plant. Little is established about its individual pharmacology, and most attention to Sceletium has focused on mesembrine and related alkaloids rather than on tortuosamine itself.