Akuammine (Aku)

Akuammine is the most abundant active alkaloid found in the seeds from the tree Picralima nitida. The seeds are crushed or powdered and taken orally, and are mainly used for the treatment of malaria and diarrhoea, and as a painkiller. An enterprising Ghanaian hospital started manufacturing standardised 250 mg capsules of the powdered P. nitida seed, and sold them around the country where they became widely accepted as a safe and effective pain relief product. This then led researchers to try to discover the active component of the seeds. Akuammine is the main alkaloid found in the seeds, comprising 0.56% of the dried powder, indicating that the 250 mg "Picap Capsules" sold commercially should contain approximately 1.4 mg of akuammine, plus 0.085 mg akuammidine and 0.015 mg ψ-akuammigine. Akuammine is structurally related to both yohimbine and mitragynine, both of which are alkaloid plant products with uses in medicine.