Magic beans?
![](http://www.dosenation.com/upload/img/jamesk_Acacia_berlandieri_branch_41734_sm.jpg) | I came across this story a few months ago, and thought it had been in a dream until i rediscovered the magic bean (although I was sure I had read MDMA was now believed to be naturally occurring).
It seems at least 5 chemicals thoughts to be human inventions (including tasty amphetamine) were discovered in at least one species of bean tree.
What caught my curiosity immediately was the casual indifference shown to what is certainly an extraordinary discovery. Here, amongst some 40 or so alkaloids found in each of these two species, there were five amphetamines that had heretofore been thought to be inventions of man. Two of these are Schedule II drugs, Amphetamine and Methamphetamine. Two are Schedule I drugs, N,N-Dimethylamphetamine and 4-Methoxyamphetamine. And the fifth one is a major human metabolite of Amphetamine, 4-Hydroxyamphetamine. To my knowledge, none of these had ever before been reported as being natural plant alkaloids. This unprecedented discovery elicited only a passing line of comment in the earlier of the two papers.
Makes you wonder: what else might have been discovered that doesn't get published. Valium in the potatoes?
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