Abstract:
Catha edulis (khat) is a plant grown commonly in the
horn of Africa. Its leaves are chewed by the local people
for their stimulant action. The purpose of this review
was to summarize the psychopharmacologic aspects of
Catha edulis (khat) and consequences of long term use. I
collected data from scientific journals. The databases such
as Pubmed, Medline, Hinary, Google search, Cochrane,
and Embase were searched for literature on the different
aspects of Catha edulis (khat) including central nervous
system effects, pharmacological effects and long term
consequences of khat use. Different research findings from
various sources showed that Catha edulis (khat) causes
schizophreniform psychotic illness, mania, and more rarely,
depression and also has negative impact on health and
socio-economic conditions. Most of the effects of chewing
khat come from two phenylalkylamines; cathinone and
cathine which are structurally related to amphetamine. On
occasion these presentations are associated with episodes
of self-harm or harm to others. Owing to the mode of
consumption, the dose of khat tends to be self-limiting,
unlike amphetamines. Therefore toxic psychosis as a result
of excessive use is much less frequent with khat than
with amphetamines. Frequent khat chewing is responsible
for different disorders including psychotic illness and has
harmful socioeconomic consequences. It is important for
clinicians to increase awareness of their patients and the
general public about the harmful effects of khat-chewing
