Dynamic Changes of Endogenic or Exogenic β-Carboline Alkaloid Harmine in Different Mammals and Human in vivo at Developmental and Physiological States

Objective: Several beta-carboline alkaloids (beta CBs), such as harmine, harmaline, harmane, and nor-harmane, are effective for Alzheimer's disease mouse models. They can be found in some plants, common foodstuffs, and blank plasma of various mammals. However, whether these compounds in mammals are exogenous or endogenous remain unclear.Methods: The exposure levels of beta CBs and of neurotransmitters in plasma and tissues of pup rats, aging rats, mice of different physiological states, and healthy volunteers were detected by using UPLC-MS/MS. Plasma and tissue samples from 110 newborn rats up to 29 days old at 11 sampling points were collected and were analyzed to determine the concentration variation of beta CBs in the developmental phase of newborn rats. The plasma of rats aged 2 to 18 months was used to detect the variation trend of beta CBs and with some neurotransmitters. The plasma samples of normal C57BL/6 mice, APP/PS1 double transgenic mice, and scopolamine-induced memory impairment mice were collected and were analyzed to compare the difference of beta CBs in different physiological states. The exposure levels of beta CBs such as harmine, harmaline, and harmane in plasma of 550 healthy volunteers were also detected and analyzed on the basis of gender, race, and age.Results: Results showed that harmine was the main compound found in rats, mice, and human, which can be detected in a newborn rat plasma (0.16 & PLUSMN; 0.03 ng/ml) and brain (0.33 & PLUSMN; 0.14 ng/g) without any exogenous consumption. The concentration of harmine in rat plasma showed a decreasing trend similar to the exposure levels of neurotransmitters such as 5-hydroxytryptamine, acetylcholine chloride, glutamic acid, tyrosine, and phenylalanine during the growth period of 18 months. The harmine exposure in rats and human indicates high dependence on the physiological and pathological status such as aging, gender, and race.Conclusion: The dynamic changes of harmine exposure in different animals and human, in vivo, at developmental and physiological states indicate that harmine is a naturally and widely distributed endogenous substance in different mammals and human. In addition to exogenous ingestion, spontaneous synthesis might be another important source of harmine in mammals, which should be verified by further experiment.

Automated summary

The study found that harmine is a main compound found in rats, mice, and humans, which can be detected in the plasma and brain of newborn rats without exogenous consumption. The concentration of harmine in rat plasma decreases with age and growth, showing a high dependence on physiological and pathological status.