MAO Inhibitors

[Nestran]

Below is taken from the New Zealand study of the Ruyan carts. Am I reading this correct in that it seems to be saying that cigarettes contain inhibitors that enhance the effect of nicotine??? If so, just how addictive IS Nicotine? Like caffeine, maybe a bit worse?

2.3 Monoamine oxidase

.

Rationale.

MAO, an enzyme naturally found in blood platelets and the brain, metabolises
dopamine, also known as the pleasure drug. When this process is inhibited by known
MAO inhibitors in tobacco smoke, dopamine tends to accumulate, reinforcing the effect
of nicotine. The question is whether e-cigarette cartridge liquid also acts to inhibit MAO
and reinforce the addictive effect of nicotine, or whether it acts like pure nicotine.

Method.

Samples of the liquid contained in the Ruyan e-cigarette cartridges were tested
with a monoamine oxidase (MAO) enzyme activity assay which employs the fluorescent
MAO substrate kynuramine, and the effect compared with that from tobacco extracts
including a nicotine-free tobacco.

Laboratory.

ESR Porirua NZ, a Crown Research Institute.

Results.

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) enzymes both A and B, were strongly inhibited by
tobacco smoke extracts but the cartridge liquid alone had no such effect15.

Conclusion.

The Ruyan E-cigarette cartridge liquid does not behave like a tobacco
extract. The absence of a MAO inhibitor effect means the e-cigarette has no detectable

addictive potential beyond that of nicotine.

[Zofryer]

My understanding of the MAO inhibitors is their function is to enhance nicotine absorption rather than some direct effect on neuroreceptors. So it's not making the nicotine more addictive per say, but instead making it more effective. So a cheap way for them to get more bang for the buck.

I could be completely and totally wrong though.

[Basil]

MAO inhibitors are a group of old drugs used to treat depression.

They have a lot of interactions with other drugs, which is why they are rarely used nowadays.

Their presence in real smoke and absence from vapor may explain some of the withdrawal when switching from analogs. Nice find that.

[TropicalBob]

This is perhaps the biggest reason why e-smoking does NOT satisfy so many, no matter the nicotine strength of the cart/liquid. We have numerous posts from the past on "what is missing".

[happily]

I'd say nicotine is not as addicting as we think... Some days I vape less than 10mg and hardly touch the e-cig(if I'm busy) and some days I vape 36mg like crazy. I was a 2-3 pack a day smoker and the only way I vape more is if I am doing absolutely nothing. It feels more like snacking than smoking to me now. I'll soon be cutting almost all my liquids to low nic.

[TropicalBob]

That's the best thing you can do. I'm a heavy nicotine addict and cannot rely on e-cigs to satisfy my needs. For that, I use snus, dissolvables, nasal snuff and a pipe.

[gatsby]

Its all dopamine regulation whether you are directly or indirectly exciting the release, depressing the re-uptake, or affecting the breakdown of dopamine. we all just what a lot of dopamine hanging around those receptors. It makes you feel good.

[Corksil]

Someone already said it but mao inhibitors (as far as I know) allow certain chemicals to bind with them and pass through the blood-brain barrier. I never knew tobacco companies put maoi's in cigarettes - but it makes perfect sense to me now.

without them - trace amounts of nicotine would cross the blood/brain barrier (get inside your mind) -- but w/maoi's in the body, more nicotine would make it to the brain - thus getting more of an affect (more happy nicotine feelings.)

clever companies - but the downside is that lots of other chemicals can get into the brain w/maoi's in the bloodstream. For instance chemicals in food that you would naturally metabolize in a healthy way end up in the brain wreaking havoc w/fragile brain chemistry.

the real question is - could maoi's be used to potentiate the nicotine in e-cig vapor? I think the answer is yes, but I'm not bold enough to try. The stronger the maoi's - the stronger the nicotine effect would be, but the riskier and more dangerous. I've heard stories of ppl taking maoi's for other things (like depression) and ending up in the hospital getting their stomachs filled w/charcoal (soaks up toxins in the body) and stumbling home the next day wondering what happened w/a $3000 hospital bill in one hand.

Anyone feel like taking maoi's and smoking e-cigs? If so drop me a PM and tell me how it went. (there are lots of naturally occurring maoi's found in nature such as harmaline which you take w/ayhuasca to feel trippy and psychedelic.)

[DaBrat]

It has long been the practice of Big tobacco to include additives to make their product more addictive. Yes manipulating checmicals to act as MAO inhibitors would strengthen this effect. IT has also been long thought that the nicotine ALONE was not the deciding factor in nicotine addiction in tobacco smoking. I have read many studys about MAO inhibitors in tobacco smoke (not sure if it is a characteristic of the plant itself).

The reaction of the two is what keeps the addiction to cigarettes so hard to break. IT seems that the ecig has managed to remove the one factor, while giving the brain the nicotine, it does not enhance the crave and reward as much which may explain why heavy smokers, like myself can do fine on lower than expected doses of nicotine in our liquid.

Has anyone noticed that when you want to drag on your ecig, you simply want it? With cigarettes I HAD to have it. Complete with nervousness and all after a long outing. I am cutting my liquid to nearly 0 and the only problem I have with it is lack of throat hit. I truly believe I could go 0 with a decent throat hit. Gonna try mixing VG and menthol and a couple of other tips I have read here to see if it can be done. Throat hit is very significant in my addiction.

[Casey C]

Originally Posted by gatsby

Its all dopamine regulation whether you are directly or indirectly exciting the release, depressing the re-uptake, or affecting the breakdown of dopamine. we all just what a lot of dopamine hanging around those receptors. It makes you feel good.

word.

Originally Posted by Corksil

Someone already said it but mao inhibitors (as far as I know) allow certain chemicals to bind with them and pass through the blood-brain barrier. I never knew tobacco companies put maoi's in cigarettes - but it makes perfect sense to me now.

Originally Posted by DaBrat

It has long been the practice of Big tobacco to include additives to make their product more addictive. Yes manipulating checmicals to act as MAO inhibitors would strengthen this effect. IT has also been long thought that the nicotine ALONE was not the deciding factor in nicotine addiction in tobacco smoking. I have read many studys about MAO inhibitors in tobacco smoke (not sure if it is a characteristic of the plant itself).

wrong, and wrong

MAOIs act by inhibiting the activity of monoamine oxidase, thus preventing the breakdown of monoamine neurotransmitters and thereby increasing their availability. There are two isoforms of monoamine oxidase, MAO-A and MAO-B. MAO-A preferentially deaminates serotonin, melatonin, epinephrinenorepinephrine. MAO-B preferentially deaminates phenylethylamine and trace amines. Dopamine is equally deaminated by both types. Many formulations have forms of fluoride attached to assist in permeating the blood-brain barrier, which is suspected as a factor in pineal gland effects.

Technically, nicotine is not significantly addictive, as nicotine administered alone does not produce significant reinforcing properties. However, only after co-administration with an MAOI, such as those found in tobacco, nicotine produces significant behavioral sensitization, a measure of addiction potential.

The only 599 things U.S. tobacco companies are allowed to add to cigarettes are approved food additives

List of additives in cigarettes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MAOI's are their own drug, if you want some go tell your doctor