Legal notice
Internationally controlled compounds: cathinone (Schedule I) and cathine (Schedule III) of the 1971 UN Convention; banned in many countries.
The plant itself is not under international control, but its compounds cathinone and cathine are. The legal situation differs from country to country — legal in some countries of origin, prohibited in many others. Inform yourself about the laws that apply to you.
For education and documentation only. Not a consumption guide, not legal or medical advice. Possession, cultivation and use are regulated differently by country and species — check the law that applies to you.
© Krzysztof Ziarnek (Kenraiz) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Khat
Toxic🐾Kathstrauch (Khat) · (Catha edulis)
Staff-vine family (Celastraceae) (Celastraceae)
Description
The evergreen khat shrub grows across the Horn of Africa and Yemen, where its fresh leaves and shoot tips have traditionally been chewed for centuries. The stimulating effect comes from cathinone, a compound structurally related to amphetamine, alongside the related alkaloids cathine and norephedrine plus tannins and flavonoids. Traditional use as a stimulant against fatigue and in social settings is well documented ethnobotanically, but neither the plant nor its compounds have gained broad medical acceptance. Consumption can raise blood pressure and heart rate and has been linked to psychological dependence, sleep disturbance, cardiovascular complications and damage to teeth and oral mucosa; in many countries khat is classified as a controlled substance. This description serves purely botanical and historical context and is not a guide to use.
Historical documentation only — do NOT use
These internal applications are historically documented. This plant is highly toxic — self-treatment can cause severe poisoning or death. For documentation only, explicitly NOT a recommendation.
Traditionally, fresh shoot tips and young leaves are chewed in the Horn of Africa and Yemen as a central-nervous-system stimulant, against fatigue, and in social settings. Documentary only; not a consumption recommendation.
Khat has been used as a folk medicine by some indigenous peoples of East Africa; neither the plant nor its compounds have achieved broad medical acceptance.
Khat contains the amphetamine-like stimulant cathinone. Use can raise blood pressure and heart rate and is associated with psychological dependence, sleep disturbance, irritability, depression, psychosis (in predisposed individuals), cardiovascular complications, gastrointestinal and dental damage, and oral cancer. Interactions with other stimulants and medications are possible. Not for use in pregnancy/breastfeeding. This is a controlled/psychoactive plant presented for educational and historical purposes only — not a consumption guide.
Harvested part: Fresh shoot tips and young leaves (evergreen, year-round)
- Cathinon (Cathinone)Alkaloid
Amphetamine-like phenethylamine alkaloid; β-keto analogue of amphetamine. Principal stimulant compound; degrades within ~48 h after harvest.
- Cathin (Norpseudoephedrin / Cathine)Alkaloid
Weaker stimulant; quantitatively the main alkaloid in matured or dried material, formed as cathinone degrades.
- Norephedrin (Norephedrine)Alkaloid
Sympathomimetic amine, one of the three main psychoactive alkaloids.
- Tannine (Tannins)Tannin
Present in the leaves; contribute astringency and are linked to oral and digestive complaints with chronic use.
- Flavonoide (Flavonoids)Flavonoid
One of the many non-alkaloid compound groups found in the leaves.
- [3]MonographKhat drug profile — European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA)(accessed: 2026-05-31)
- [4]MonographUNODC — Plant-based substances (Catha edulis / cathinone, cathine)(accessed: 2026-05-31)
- [1]WikipediaKhat — Wikipedia(accessed: 2026-05-31)
- [2]WikipediaKathstrauch — Wikipedia(accessed: 2026-05-31)
- [5]CommonsFile:Catha edulis kz01.jpg — Wikimedia Commons(accessed: 2026-05-31)