For instance, adderall, from what I’ve seen it looks like the main active ingredient is d-amphetamine and l-amphetamine salts. But I guess what I’m not understanding is HOW is THAT made? I am assuming amphetamine doesn’t naturally occur anywhere, (example. like a plant that’s grown and used to extract whatever out of.) So where are the active ingredients coming from? Or derived from? Do all medication ingredients essentially come from SOMETHING growing naturally the wild?
I’m sorry if this wasn’t asked correctly, basically I understand there’s people or machines in a lab creating and mixing ingredients to MAKE adderall, but where are these ingredients coming from?
In: Biology
They’re generally synthesized by organic chemists. In the past more of them were derived from natural sources, like poppies for opium, willow for aspirin, etc. There are natural sources of amphetamines/precursors to them, for instance the ephedra plant native to Afghanistan is the source of most of their domestic meth production. In the west synthetic ephedrine is used to make meth.
[https://cen.acs.org/policy/global-health/Afghanistans-crystal-meth-boom-rooted/99/i13](https://cen.acs.org/policy/global-health/Afghanistans-crystal-meth-boom-rooted/99/i13)
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