Entheogenic

Just a few pictures from last time I took cuttings. I have exams right now so my posting here will probably be pretty irregular…

My friend gave me 2 cuttings of this beautiful plant. There’s been a lot of interest in it lately, and a lot of discussion on whether or not it’s active. Som people find it to be completely inactive, yet others state that it’s definately active and quite a potent psychedelic too.

It has been used as an entheogen by the Mazatecs of Oaxaca, but whether it was used as an entheogen or just because of it’s resemblance to Salvia divinorum is not known. There’s an interesting discussion on the subject here.

There’s an article here (public access) on a diterpene that has been isolated from S. scutellarioides. Unfortunately the scan is bad so it’s hard to make out the structure.  It has been speculated to be the active component, but there’s no substantial evidence to back it up.

Erowid Coleus vault.

As promised, here are the structures of the alkaloids of mulungu. I’m working on a post on kava kava, as well as a couple of book reviews so stay tuned.

Commonly known as eleuthero or “Siberian ginseng”, Eleutherococcus senticocus is a woody shrub native to Northeastern Asia. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine, but has been marketed in Europe and USA as an adaptogen and a substitute for ginseng (Panax ginseng), hence the (wrong) name “Siberian ginseng”. It can be bought as shredded or powdered root, extracts and tinctures. I also found out that Celestial Seasons (known for their great chais and herbal teas) use it in their “Tension Tamer” blend. I used to drink this before bedtime when I got home from night shifts, but I’d always have trouble sleeping. I never knew why until I checked the ingredients. Eleuthero doesn’t give you the same kick as caffeine at all, but it certainly is a powerful though subtile stimulant. There are good pictures of the plant itself on wikipedia. This is what half a kilo of shredded root looks like:

This is one bad ass plant. It is an adaptogen, as effective as caffeine in reducing fatigue in rats. It has also got anti-inflammatory properties and it is an antioxidant. It has proven effective in the treatment of cancer, but we’ll get on to that later. This would be far too long a post if I were to list all the compounds of this plants and their effects, so I’ve picked the most interesting out for your entertainment, and if you’re more curious you can PubMed it yourself.

The most important compounds isolated from E. senticocus are: ciwujianosides, eleutherosides, syringin (eleutheroside B, the most interesting of them) and isofraxidin (a coumarin derivative). Here is an article with structures of these and other constituents.

Administration of eleuthero extract to rats prevented stress-induced damage to the heart by increasing tolerance to cardiotoxic and arrhythmogenic compounds (D,L-isoproterenol and epinephrine) by increasing the level of beta-endorphin in the blood plasma. An ethanol extract has been shown to reverse hepatomegaly in mice. It also enhanced insulin action in the liver and decreased lipid synthesis. The effect on insuline action is possibly due to syringin, while the protective effect on the liver can be attributed to a 30 kDa glycoprotein called GF-AS, that has proven effective in the treatment of liver toxicity from acute and chronic alcohol poisoning by enhancing ethanol and lipid metabolism in the liver.

In studies with patients suffering from ovarian and lung cancer, eleuthero extracts have been shown to increase the level of human tumor necrosis factor and the activity of natural killer cells, thus regulating the immunity of cells in patients with these types of cancer (and possibly other types, these’s were the studies I could dig up).

There has been done quite a few studies on syringin at the Taipei Medical University, Taiwain. Syringin enhances glucose utilization and lowers blood glucose levels in STZ-diabetic rats (doses were 1 mg/kg). It has been shown to do so by enhancing secretion of beta-endorphin, stimulating peripheral µ-opioid receptors. It is also supposed to be a sleep-enhancer, increasing the amount of slow wave sleep in rats.

Ciwujianosides D1 and C1 behave like anti-histamines. Isofraxidin is reported a sedative, though I doubt it’s effective in the amounts present in eleuthero. The anti-inflammatory activity has been attributed to the compound (+)-Syringaresinol-di-O-beta-D-glucoside.

That’s it for now. There’s a LOT more to this plant than what I’ve discussed here, but you’ll have to find out yourself.

Mulungu (Erythrina mulungu) is a tree native to Brazil that has gotten quite a bit of attention in ethnobotanical circles lately. It has been used traditionally as a sedative against anxiety and insomnia, and against liver disorders. The root-bark of the tree was originally used in the form of tea, but lately new forms (tinctures, resin and capsules) have shown up on the market.

Mulungu and other members of the Erythrina family with similar activity contain large amounts of flavonoids, triterpenes and alkaloids.

Trials have shown it to be effective against anxiety and depression in animal-models, specifically the alkaloids erythravine and (+)-11alpha-hydroxy-erythravin have shown anxiolytic effects and are most likely GABA-related CNS depressants with activity similar to diazepam. The hepatotonic properties have been attributed to the alkaloid crystamidine. Erythrina mulungu also contains pterocarpans that have antibacterial activity.

I haven’t tried this plant yet, but doses of up to 10 g. of root-bark ground up and prepared as a tea should be effective for sleep and sedation. Be careful though, as too much will knock you out.

I’d like to show the structures of the alkaloids as well, but I need to be at uni to track them down so I’ll post them later.

More about this exciting plant can be read here:
http://www.rain-tree.com/mulungu.htm

For pictures, look here:
http://www.esalq.usp.br/trilhas/medicina/am10.php