Science & ResearchJul 16, 2026
Why do plants make opioids? Testing the herbivore defense hypothesis for psychoactive alkaloids in kratom
A growing body of literature proposes that psychoactive plant compounds evolved as defenses against herbivorous insects, with their neurological effects in humans an evolutionary accident of conserved receptor architecture.
A growing body of literature proposes that psychoactive plant compounds evolved as defenses against herbivorous insects, with their neurological effects in humans an evolutionary accident of conserved receptor architecture. This hypothesis - which we call the herbivore defense…
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