Cathinones

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A class of synthetic stimulants chemically related to a natural compound found in certain plants, often used for their psychoactive effects and sometimes linked to recreational drug use
2. Synthetic substances resembling a naturally occurring stimulant in some plant species, primarily affecting the central nervous system to produce stimulating or euphoric experiences
3. Chemical compounds that mimic the action of a plant-based stimulant, typically engineered for use as psychoactive agents with effects such as increased alertness or mood elevation

Etymology: Cathinones take their name from cathine, the alkaloid that gives khat (the leaves of Catha edulis, a shrub grown in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula) its stimulant effect. The "-one" ending is the standard chemical suffix for a ketone, so the name records the structural change that distinguishes the family: cathinone is cathine with a ketone group added. Chemists formed the word by attaching this suffix to the older name, a plain piece of systematic naming rather than a story with a single coiner. Because the plural form is simply the regular English "-s" added to that chemical name, the word keeps the same history as its singular. It is best understood as a family label: each member shares the cathinone skeleton, and the synthetic versions are modified from the natural parent compound.

Synonyms: khat alkaloids, beta-keto amphetamines