The same substance is biosynthesized in animals and plants
DMT is an indole alkaloid that has similar structure to serotonin and is a neurotransmitter with a common structure that acts on 5-HT receptors. This similarity is like dopamine and noradrenaline.
However, it is peculiar in that the same substance is biosynthesized in the body of animals and the body of plants. DMT, which is biosynthesized in the animal body, functions as a neurotransmitter, while indole-3-acetic acid, which is excreted in urine as a metabolite, functions as plant growth hormone.
On the other hand, DMT, which is biosynthesized in the body of plants, is contained in the leaves of oranges, for example, and has a repellent effect on insects as predators. The seeds contained in the fruit eaten by the predator animal are spread together with the excrement that serves as a nutrient. Here, animals are the "extended phenotype" of plants. If the DMT contained in the fruit provides some reward for the predator animal, it may also be a coevolution of the plant and the animal.
Glutamic acid also functions as a neurotransmitter, but it is a more common amino acid.
DMT is a unique substance in that it is a neurotransmitter as well as a psychedelic drug. In hypoxia, it acts on the sigma-1 receptor, causing transcendental mystical experiences such as near-death experiences.
The exogenous substance and the endogenous substance are the same
A substance contained in plants has a psychotropic effect, and later, a receptor on which the substance acts is discovered, and then, substances acting on the same receptor is discovered in the brain. This in itself has been repeated in the history of science.
For example, a neurotransmitter that acts on morphine receptors contained in poppies was also found in the brain and was named endogenous morphine, or endorphin. However, endorphins and morphine have completely different structures.
Similarly, a neurotransmitter that acts on the cannabinoid receptors in cannabis was discovered and named anandamide. However, anandamide and cannabinoid also have completely different structures.
DMT is found not only in Amazon's chacruna, but also in many plants such as acacia, mimosa, orange, and lespedeza bicolor, and acts on 5-HT receptors. The neurotransmitter that acts on 5-HT receptors is 5-HT (serotonin), but DMT itself is also an endogenous neurotransmitter that acts on 5-HT receptors.
Is "drug in the brain" "possession" of "drug"?
Although DMT is regulated as an illegal drug, is it "manufacturing" and "possessing" a "drug" because it is also biosynthesized in the human body? This reveals the fundamental strangeness of the legal system in which possession of substances that act like neurotransmitters is a crime.
For example, the stimulant, methamphetamine, is a regulated drug, but it is artificially synthesized. It does not exist in the body unless it is ingested from outside the body. If metaamphetamine is detected in urine, it means that the person has applied metaamphetamine. However, even if DMT is detected in urine, it cannot be determined whether or not it was ingested from outside the body. This is because endogenous DMT is biosynthesized in the human body.
Another example, cocaine is a regulated drug extracted from a plant called cocaine, but coca plant which contains cocaine is also regulated as a Plant Containing a Narcotic Raw Material under Japanese law. However, cocaine is not biosynthesized in the human body.
However, although DMT is an illegal drug, even though many plants, such as oranges, which are commonly consumed as food or drink, contain DMT, those plants are not regulated as narcotic raw plants under Japanese law. Tea, which is an intermediate form between legal plants and DMT, illegal drug, is subject to regulation is not clearly stated in the Japanese Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act. Does it mean the tea is legal?
