How Iboga Alkaloids May Interrupt Addiction

Ibogaine, a major alkaloid from the iboga root, may help reduce substance use in rodents but poses risks in humans.

• Ibogaine has shown potential to lower self-administration of opiates, amphetamines, alcohol, and nicotine in rodent studies.
• Despite its anti-addictive properties, ibogaine's cardiotoxicity and hallucinogenic effects limit its use in treating Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in humans.
• Efforts are underway to understand ibogaine's action and develop safer alternatives.
• There have been over twenty total syntheses of ibogamine and ibogaine, but fewer for recently isolated iboga alkaloids.
• This review focuses on the synthetic methods used for both classical and non-classical iboga alkaloids.

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