Asarone
Chemical compound
Asarone is chemical compound of the phenylpropanoid class found in certain plants such as Acorus and Asarum. There are two isomers, α (or trans) and β (or cis). As a volatile fragrance oil, it is used in killing pests and bacteria.
01Pharmacology
The main clinical symptom of asarone is prolonged vomiting that sometimes lasted more than 15 hours. Asarone is not metabolized to trimethoxyamphetamine as has been claimed by online vendors.
The Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Flavouring Substances concluded that β-asarone is clearly carcinogenic and has proposed limits for its concentration in flavorings such as bitters made from Acorus calamus (sweet flag).
β-Asarone exhibits anti-fungal activity by inhibiting ergosterol biosynthesis in Aspergillus niger. However, the toxicity and carcinogenicity of asarone means that it may be difficult to develop any practical medication based on it.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Asarone”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Alpha-Asaron.svg by NEUROtiker (talk), Public domain
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