Anatabine (Ana)

Anatabine is one of the minor alkaloids found in plants in the Solanaceae family, which includes the tobacco plant and tomato, that has been shown to affect monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity. Anatabine is found in cigarette tobacco and smoke, and is absorbed in the human body after tobacco use. There have been hypotheses that minor tobacco constituents and other non-nicotine therapies may be beneficial in fighting nicotine withdrawal. Many studies have been conducted investigating the effects of smoking on MAO activity. Anatabine is one of the ingredients in the smoking alternative dietary supplement, CiGRX, developed by Star Scientific Inc. The use of anatabine rather than nicotine replacement therapy is related to the half-lives of nicotine and anatabine. The latency of needing a cigarette (LTNC) among regular smokers was less than two hours compared to the half-life of anatabine which is 10 hours.