Plants like catnip and silver vine have been known to induce safe, drug-like euphoria in cats. A new study from Japan finds out which compounds trigger this response in cat brains, and what other evolutionary benefit the plants have for cats. ThePrint’s Sandhya Ramesh explains recent findings and potential medicinal uses for humans from catnip. ----more----Supplementary reading:

Intoxicating Chemicals in Catnip Don’t Just Give Cats Joy – They Help Repel Mosquitoes https://scitechdaily.com/intoxicating-chemicals-in-catnip-dont-just-give-cats-joy-they-help-repel-mosquitoes/----more----Research paper: The characteristic response of domestic cats to plant iridoids allows them to gain chemical defense against mosquitoes https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/4/eabd9135----more----Your Cat Isn’t Just Getting High Off Catnip https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/science/catnip-mosquito-repellent.html