Corynanthine

Corynanthine
Clinical data

Routes of administration	Oral
ATC code	none
Legal status
Legal status	In general: uncontrolled
Identifiers
IUPAC name (16β,17α)-17-hydroxy-yohimban-16-carboxylic acid methyl ester
CAS Number	483-10-3
PubChem CID	92766
IUPHAR/BPS	5345
ChemSpider	83744
ECHA InfoCard	100.006.901
Chemical and physical data
Formula	C₂₁H₂₆N₂O₃
Molar mass	354.44 g/mol
3D model (Jmol)	Interactive image
SMILES O=C(OC)[C@H]5[C@H]4C[C@H]3c2nc1ccccc1c2CCN3C[C@@H]4CC[C@@H]5O

Corynanthine, also known as rauhimbine, is an alkaloid found in the Rauwolfia and Pausinystalia (formerly known as Corynanthe) genera of plants. It is one of the two diastereoisomers of yohimbine, the other being rauwolscine. It is also related to ajmalicine.

Corynanthine acts as an α₁-adrenergic and α₂-adrenergic receptor antagonist with approximately 10-fold selectivity for the former site over the latter. This is in contrast to yohimbine and rauwolscine which have around 30-fold higher affinity for α₂-adrenergic over α₁-adrenergic. As a result, corynanthine is not a stimulant (or an aphrodisiac for that matter), but a depressant, and likely plays a role in the antihypertensive properties of Rauwolfia extracts. Like yohimbine and rauwolscine, corynanthine has also been shown to possess some activity at serotonin receptors.

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