Research library / Laboratory study
Effects of iboga alkaloids on morphine and cocaine self-administration in rats: relationship to tremorigenic effects and to effects on dopamine release in nucleus accumbens and striatum
Glick SD, Kuehne ME, Raucci J, et al. Brain Research 1994;657(1-2):14-22
Ibogaine, an alkaloid from the iboga shrub, has been claimed to interrupt opioid and stimulant addiction. This laboratory study tested ibogaine and several chemically related compounds in rats trained to give themselves morphine or cocaine. Every compound tested cut drug intake in the hour after treatment, and higher doses had bigger effects. Some, including ibogaine, also lowered intake the next day, and in some rats the reduction lasted several days after one or a few injections. The researchers also looked at tremor, a side effect linked to possible nerve damage, and at dopamine release in reward-related brain regions, but those results are cut off in the available abstract. This is animal research. It helps explain why ibogaine attracted interest as an addiction treatment, but it says nothing directly about safety or effectiveness in people.
What it found
- Every alkaloid tested reduced morphine and cocaine intake in the hour after treatment, more so at higher doses.
- Some, including ibogaine, also reduced intake the following day.
- In some rats, reduced intake lasted several days after one injection or a few weekly injections; R-ibogamine did this most consistently.
- The study also measured tremor and dopamine release, but those results are cut from the PubMed abstract.