Stimulants

Taurine, or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is an organic acid. It is also a major constituent of bile and can be found in lower amounts in the tissues of many animals including humans. Taurine is a derivative of the sulfur-containing (sulfhydryl) amino acid, cysteine. Taurine is the only known naturally occurring sulfonic acid.

Cocaine (benzoylmethyl ecgonine) is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is both a stimulant of the central nervous system and an appetite suppressant. Specifically, it is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, a noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor and a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Because of the way it affects the mesolimbic reward pathway, cocaine is addictive. Nevertheless, cocaine is used in medicine as a topical anesthetic, even in children, specifically in eye, nose and throat surgery.

Other uses:

Amphetamine, and related drugs such as methamphetamine are a group of drugs that act by increasing levels of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine in the brain. It includes prescription CNS drugs commonly used to treat attention-deficit disorder (ADD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults and children. It is also used to treat symptoms of traumatic brain injury and the daytime drowsiness symptoms of narcolepsy and chronic fatigue syndrome. Initially it was more popularly used to diminish the appetite and to control weight. Brand names of the drugs that contain amphetamine include Adderall and Dexedrine. The drug is also used illegally as a recreational club drug and as a performance enhancer. The name amphetamine is derived from its chemical name: alpha-methylphenethylamine. Some biochemistry textbooks also claim that the name 'amphetamine' is derived from an abbreviation for "amphoteric amine," as it was one of the first amine compounds found to exhibit stereoisometry (levo and dextro-rotary forms.) The name is also used to refer to the class of compounds derived from amphetamine, often referred to as the substituted amphetamines.

Adderall is a brand-name pharmaceutical psychostimulant or sympathomimetic amine composed of mixed amphetamine salts. The drug is used primarily to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy. These are its only two approved indications. The XR formulation is not approved to treat narcolepsy.

Ephedrine (EPH) is a sympathomimetic amine commonly used as a stimulant, appetite suppressant, concentration aid, decongestant, and to treat hypotension associated with anaesthesia. Ephedrine is similar in structure to the synthetic derivatives amphetamine and methamphetamine. Chemically, it is an alkaloid derived from various plants in the genus Ephedra (family Ephedraceae). It is most usually marketed in the hydrochloride and sulfate forms.

Caffeine is a bitter white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a psychoactive stimulant drug and a mild diuretic (speeds up urine production) in humans and other animals. Caffeine was discovered by a German chemist, Friedrich Ferdinand Runge, in 1819. He coined the term "kaffein", a chemical compound in coffee, which in English became caffeine. Caffeine is also called guaranine when found in guarana, mateine when found in mate, and theine when found in tea; all of these names are synonyms for the same chemical compound.

Yohimbine, also known under the antiquated names quebrachin, aphrodin, corynine, yohimvetol and hydroergotocin, is a purported aphrodisiac.

Ephedra refers to the plant Ephedra sinica. E. sinica, known in Chinese as ma huang (麻黃; pinyin: má huáng), has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years for the treatment of asthma and hay fever, as well as for the common cold. Several additional species belonging to the genus Ephedra have traditionally been used for a variety of medicinal purposes, and are a possible candidate for the Soma plant of Indo-Iranian religion. Native Americans and Mormon pioneers drank a tea brewed from an Ephedra, called Mormon Tea.