Fire ant stings (piperidine alkaloid), why does it reduce my cogwheeling?

[BUZZ1397]

Well we’re having spring weather and some Fire ante mounds built up after recent rains as I was walking just now I couldn’t resist I did it again . No I’m not a masochist ha ha Ha ! Is there anyone on this Bolton board with a background in biochemistry that could explain why being stung by an insect Does smooth my gait the way that it does .

[Astra7]

Perhaps you enjoy the feeling and so produce more dopamine? Or maybe it's to do with adrenaline, although I think that makes symptoms worse. I'll ask my pharmacist sister.

It is very interesting, though might be difficult getting widespread use!!

[BUZZ1397 in reply to Astra7]

Not recommending😉

[rebtar]

I have a friend in Mexico who says apitherapy (beestings) works for many ailments.

[Xenos]

Replacing as a neurotransmitter dopamine by epinephrine (adrenaline) ?

Just my 2 cents...

[BUZZ1397 in reply to Xenos]

Adrenaline, interesting

[lempa_nik]

Hi Buzz, the alkaloids turn out to be MAO inhibitors. Therefore, similar to rasagiline (Azilect), they should reduce the metabolic degradation of dopamine in the brain, resulting in higher amounts of it. (However, that does not explain very well why stings just restore motor control locally in your stung hand:

healthunlocked.com/parkinso...

I would think that the boost to your brain's dopamine would show up more widely in your body.)

Here's the info on alkaloids as MAO inhibitors:

"Several classes of natural products can modulate MAO activity. One of these

classes is the alkaloids, which are nitrogenous secondary metabolites essentially

from plant origin. They are one of the largest groups of chemicals found in

nature. Most alkaloids are quite toxic and produced by the plants as a defense

against herbivores . . . [Aside: One suspects that the fire ants do not synthesize the piperidine themselves, but get it from plants.]

Among the alkaloids with activity on the CNS are those able to inhibit

MAO-A and -B with various potencies, such as indole, isoquinoline, piperidine,

quinazoline, tetrahydroisoquinoline, tropane, and tryptamine derivatives.

The aim of this chapter is to summarize the MAO inhibitory profiles of

several of these alkaloids and highlight their importance in the search for

novel MAO inhibitors to treat neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychia-

tric disorders. They might be particularly promising lead compounds for dis-

covering and developing novel clinical drugs."

Ref. Title: "Alkaloids as Inhibitors of Monoamine Oxidases and Their Role in the Central

Nervous System"

unige.ch/sciences/pharm/fas...

[BUZZ1397]

Thanks for the good lesson