Acetylcholine and brain development

[nicoliani]

I came across an article linking tobacco smoke or being exposed to smoke during pregnancy can harm the development of the fetus brain.

The experiments show that nicotine appears instead of a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, which normally regulates precisely during fetal development to build up the brain comlexa switching system. Nicotine works by activating acetylcholine receptors in the wrong time. The result is that the brain incorrectly linking their nerves and that permanent damage occurs.

There is an intervjue with the Proffessor describing it more in detail, it can be found here. http://abc.com.au/quantum/poison/nicotine/ted.htm

A cholinergic neuron makes the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Some of its target cells contain a specific receptor protein called a nicotinic cholinergic receptor. As you can tell from its name, it responds to nicotine as well as to acetylcholine. The way the developing brain ordinarily works is, when this neuron makes contact with the target cell, acetylcholine flows across the cells from the neuron to its target cell. By depolarising that target cell, it tells that cell to stop dividing. The time has come instead to specialise. It's called differentiation. This is particularly important in the nervous system because once nerve cells make the decision to stop dividing they can never divide again. That's why when you get brain damage as an adult you can't really replace that function. You can work out ways around it, but the function of those cells will be lost forever because they can't be replaced.

What I ask now is, as acetylcholine and (also serotonin) is a substance in the nettle plant is does the above have anything to do if a pregnant woman for exampel drinks nettle tea during pregnancy or introduce it's child to drink nettle tea in early age as there is acetylcholine, will that acetylcholine in the needle tea activate the receptors in the wrong time?

If wanting to discuss this in a proffesional matter with the proffesor here's the contact info of him. As for me trying to contact him wouldn't provide much as I have no expirience or high knowledge in neurology. But I look forward to get an answer if it's safe fore pregnant woman to drink nettle tea or (I for personal should prevent my wife from doing it).

The professor is called Theodore Slotkin, Ph.D.


Duke Univeristy Medical Center

[MG (Admin)]

You ask an interesting question.
I think what you are asking is whether drinking nettle tea can result in too much stimulation of the acetylcholine receptors in the brain of the fetus due to the acetylcholine in the nettle plant.

I think there is no reason to assume that this would be a problem due to the following:-

1) I am not familiar with the amount of acetylcholine in the nettle plant but even assuming this is very high, much, if not all of it would be destroyed by the boiling water.
2) Even if some of it got into the stomach, it would almost invariably get broken down in the digestive process.
3) If a significant amount of it managed to get into the bowel, you would know about it as it would cause severe diarrhea!
4) Even if it got absorbed into the blood, it would still need to get through the placenta and then through the very tight barrier guarding the brain (the mother would also be expected to feel the brain effects if this was the case!)

You should note that Nicotine is different and does get absorbed, goes through the placenta and into the brain....as far as ACh goes though...there is no reason to think this could happen.

To the best of my knowledge, nobody has ever tested the safety of nettle tea drinking during pregnancy and so it is possible that (for reasons other than those you ask about) it is harmful or perhaps even beneficial for the fetus and until someone decides to check this we will never know.

Hope that helps