Pukateine

Pukateine is an alkaloid found in the bark of the New Zealand tree Laurelia novae-zelandiae ("Pukatea"). An extract from pukatea is used in traditional Māori herbal medicine as an analgesic, and it is thought pukateine is the active component, as it is similar in both structure and activity to alkaloids such as glaucine and tetrahydropalmatine which are found in Chinese medicinal herbs used as analgesics. Pukateine has multiple mechanisms of action, with the most prominent effects being as an agonist at the D₂ dopamine receptor and antagonist at the α₁-adrenergic receptor.

Bernard Cracroft Aston studied the physical and chemical characteristics of the compound, and presented a paper with his findings to the Royal Society of New Zealand on May 11, 1909.

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