The Effects of Khat (Catha Edulis) on Human Health

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Date
2023
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جامعة الشيخ عبدالله البدري
Abstract
Abstract Khat (Catha edulis) is a plant that is widely grown in the Horn of Africa. People chew the Khat leaves for their stimulating properties. Its tender leaves and early buds are chewed to induce euphoria and stimulation. Khat is an evergreen shrub that can be grown as a bush or small tree. The leaves have a pleasant scent. The taste is astringent with a hint of sweetness. The plant has no seeds and can grow in a variety of climates and soils. The plant contains a vast variety of active compounds, the most important of which are cathinone, Cathine, and norephedrine, which can be classified as sympathomimetics of natural origin. These chemicals are amphetamine analogs, and as such, they have amphetamine-like stimulating effects on the neurological system. There is a significant association between Khat chewing and health risks such as decreased sexual performance, HIV infection, sexual violence, elevated diastolic blood pressure, urinary and digestive system problems, periodontitis, liver damage, psychiatric problems, and ophthalmological problems. The use of Khat is influenced by a number of complex factors. People who are frustrated, poor, or dislocated are more likely to use Khat. Several million people are reported to use Khat on a regular basis for its euphoric and other subjectively explained positive effects. Aside from those nations where Khat is widely used, the habit has a strong socio-cultural legacy. This is especially true in Ethiopia, where chewing Khat is a deeply ingrained socio-cultural habit throughout the country's eastern and south-eastern regions. Although Khat is consumed by people from all walks of life, the overabundance of Khat consumption is associated with youth. Such an alarmingly increasing psychoactive substance has a number of adverse effects. Because the use of Khat is an established cultural custom for many social circumstances in primary cultivation, East Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula, even the government has failed to protect the public from its use. As a result, aggressive measures must be done to raise awareness among the most 5 common users, such as the poor, taxi and car drivers, school and college students, and the general public. The chewing of Khat leaves has a long religious and sociocultural history. Khat is a commercial crop, and its cultivation provides economic value to the cultures and nations involved. However, there have been allegations of negative economic consequences for those who engage in the Khat chewing practice. The growing global use of Khat, along with the unfavorable public attention it has received, has resulted in the current state of confusion surrounding the originally indigenous habit of Khat chewing. Scientists, primarily from Western Europe, have tended to focus on Khat-related issues, with little regard for the positive function of Khat chewing in society and the globe at large. Furthermore, no investigation has directly linked Khat to organized crime, violence, or antisocial behavior, particularly in nations where Khat is legal.
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