This blog first started when I was living in the USA back in 2009 and in order to revamp the purpose for which it was created the last two recent posts were revised versions of old posts to attract more comments. However since the use of Khat (Catha edulis) is surrounded with so much controversy particularly in the UK where it is not illegal like many other countries in Europe; the focus will be more on the social and scientific aspects of its use (or habitual use) as well as the evolving issues and discussions around its legality. In the coming months I will be posting reviews as well as opinions around this plant. I appreciate your comments and presence here.

1. Brief history of Khat

 Since time immemorial humans have sought the use of drugs for inducing pleasurable feelings as well as for altering mood and treating sickness; indeed many drugs that are abused either produce feelings of well being and euphoria or reduce the aversiveness of the perceived environment. Stimulant drugs including cocaine and amphetamine are but two examples among the variety of drugs within this group, while cannabis and heroin are popular candidates in the latter classification. Cocaine, heroin and cannabis are all well known drugs of natural origin that have crossed continents and transcended different cultures for centuries. Out of the many old World plants Khat, which is the general name given to describe the variety of Catha edulis plant the leaves of which are chewed for their pleasurable stimulant effect; has been historically fairly unknown outside of the area of its original habitat.

There is much speculation about the early history of the plant. Al-Hebshi and Skaug, (2005), mentions a theory by Cotterville-Girandet that suggested Khat was known to ancient Egyptians. Kennedy (1983), also reports another account from an Arabic source which indicates that the plant was used for medicinal purposes as early as the beginning of the 11^th century in Turkistan Afghanistan. This report is by the Persian Physician Bin Ahmed Al-Biruni [973-1051 AD] in his book Kitab al-Saidana fi al-Tibb, an 11th century work on pharmacy and material-medica, (Krikorian, 1984) in which he mentions correspondence that he had with the famous Persian physician Ibn Sina or Avicenna, [980-1037 A.D.]. In one of his later manuscripts Al-Biruni, who was unfamiliar with Khat describes it as:

"a commodity from Turkestan. It is sour to taste and slenderly made in the manner of batan-alu. But qat is reddish with a slight blackish tinge. It is believed that batan-alu is red, coolant, relieves biliousness, and is a refrigerant for the stomach and the liver." (Hamarneh, 1972)

According to Krikorian (1984), d’Hericourt was the first European to mention the existence of Khat in his manuscripts on Arabia Felix (present day of Yemen) which cites ‘planting of Khat was introduced from Abyssinia into Yemen about 1424 by Sheikh Abou Zerbin’. In an entry of a book titled: “Strongest proofs in Favour of the Legitimacy of the Use of Coffee” which is translated by the French orientalist Baron Silvestre de Sacy, mentions that preparations made from the leaves of Khat was widely used as a beverage that was called cafta in Yemen well before Coffee was introduced by Ali. b Umar al Shadhali in 1418 (Krikorian 1984).

El Mahi, (1962) on the other hand suggests that ‘the current names of Coffee and Khat are etymologically derived from the place name ‘Kafa’ in Ethiopia where they flourished’. There has been also some debate as to the origin of the Khat plant. According to most researchers Khat is believed to originate in Ethiopia (Getahun and Krikorian, 1973) and was introduced to Yemen in 525 AD during the Ethiopian occupation (Al-Motarreb et al., 2002). There are few reliable historical accounts in literature. One of these is cited by Al-Hebshi, 2005 and refers to the mention of Khat in the chronicle of Christian King Amda Seyon I, who reigned in Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia) from 1314-1344.

Sir Richard Burton, who was the first European to enter the forbidden citadel of Harar (Ethiopia), wrote in his book ‘First Footsteps in East Africa’, that there is strong tradition in Yemen about the introduction of Khat from Ethiopia. Also in line with d’Hericourt earlier, Burton relates a tradition amongst Yemenis, that Khat was introduced by one Sheikh Ibrahim abu Zaharbui on his return from Harar (Ethiopia) about 1430, the same year that Sheikh al- Shadhali introduced coffee into Arabia.

Most of these early entries about Khat use were written in Arabic and they mainly focus on areas bordering the Red Sea, and relate to accounts documented up until mid 16^th century, before European travel to Southern Arabia began. The earliest monograph about the effects of Khat was that by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (1504-1567) ‘The Authoritative Warning against the Use of Kafta and Kat’. A translation of his work by the Arabist Frans Rosenthal at Yale University was later reviewed by (Hes, 1971), and gives the description that some of the effects Al-Haytami attributed to Khat were worse than those of hashish (Cannabis).

Accounts of Khat use or its effect appears to have started to filter through slowly to the scholarly circles of Europe from 17^th century. Several historical publications point out that it was partly access to earlier colourful writings depicting Khat as an exotic and mysterious plant that could have been the catalyst to many of the early European expeditions to Yemen (Al Hebshi et al 2005).

Krikorian, 1984 gives an extensive detailed description of the history, ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology of Khat since the 11^th century. The earliest entry in the European literature about Khat use in Southern Arabia was the French orientalist Barthelemy d’Herbelot [1625-1695] who described three different beverages commonly used in the area. The first he called Cahuat al Catiat [a corruption of what is presumed to be kat coffee] or Caftah; the second Cahuat al Caschriat [kishr], a beverage from the mesocarp or husks of coffee fruit] and the third, Cahuat al Bunniat [bunn, coffee from the seed or beans]. Following these earlier accounts, Achille Richard [1811-1860], a Professor of Botany at the University of Paris; reassigned plants collected during his expedition to Tigre and Shoa regions of Ethiopia to the genus Catha and rejected Martin Vahl’s earlier  contention that the plant should be in the genus Celastrus (Krikorian, 1984). Paul Emile Botta [1829], a French botanist who was commissioned by the Natural History Museum of Paris to explore Yemen, was the next European to document and publish a detailed account (based on first hand experience) about use of Khat in Yemen as well as the methods of cultivation used to grow the plant.

In the late 19^th century interest had also been generating amongst scientist and pharmacists in Europe to sell Khat as a pharmaceutical preparation for use in various medical disorders. Krikorian (1984) also describes few short-lived enterprises in France before World War I that commercially exploited preparations of Catha but were faced with difficulty in obtaining regular supplies. In Britain similar ideas of using Khat as a basis for potent remedies foundered on supply problems.

In the early and mid twentieth century and during the British colonial era in Eastern Africa and Yemen the story of Khat use amongst the various societies in these regions became common knowledge; along with the various attempts to bringing ordinances to prohibit its widespread use (Carrier, 2005). In the latter part of the last century Khat use began and grew in countries in Europe and North America whereas its trade due to the advent of modern transportations made possible for it to be sold across contents.

Reference List

Al-Hebshi NN, Skaug N (2005) Khat (Catha edulis) - An updated review. Addiction Biology 10: 299-307

Al-Motarreb A, Baker K, Broadley KJ (2002) Khat: pharmacological and medical aspects and its social use in Yemen. Phytother Res 16: 403-413

Carrier N (2005) The need for speed: Contrasting timeframes in the social life of Kenyan miraa. Africa 75: 539-558

El Mahi: Khat a dream drug or a dope .Hamdard Med. Dig: 1963; 7: 38-41.

Getahun A, Krikorian AD (1973) Chat: Coffee's rival from Harar, Ethiopia. I. Botany, cultivation and use. Economic Botany 27: 353-377

Hamarneh S (1972) Pharmacy in medieval Islam and the history of drug addiction. Medical History 16: 226-237

Hes JP (1971) Some historical remarks on Catha edulis forsk. Korot 5: 661-668

Kennedy JG, Teague J, Rokaw W, Cooney E (1983) A medical evaluation of the use of qat in North Yemen. Social Science and Medicine 17: 783-793

Krikorian AD (1984) Kat and its use: an historical perspective. J Ethnopharmacol 12: 115-178