mindperformer

How do you think does Lagochilus inebrians smell? It always reminds me slightly on urine, besides the resiny intoxicating scent, which is spearmint-catnip-laurel-camphor-like, also like Metaxa spirit, also has accents of dried raisins and roses. Besides the diterpene alcohols (Lagochilin) it has a high terpineol content (like laurel). Lagochilin does not have an odor (?), because it has 20 carbon atoms. There is the 18 carbons rule: Molecules with more than 18 carbon atoms cannot have an odor because they are too heavy and too less volatile. The heaviest odor molecules are the musks (Ambrettolide, Muscone, Exaltolide). Regarding this rule there are very few exceptions: Labdane from Labdanum is one, it is regarded as the largest odorant with 20 carbons! The pheromones Androstenol, Androstenone and Androstadienone have 19 carbon atoms.

Recently a girlfriend asked me if I could make an antidepressant aroma-therapeutic agent. I've read many studies on the antidepressant effect of essential oils and found 14 plants: especially Lemon (Citrus limon), Eukalypt, Rosemary, Patchouli and Saffron (Tibet) additionally Calamus, Clary sage, Orange, Lavender, Lemongrass (Bhutan), Sandalwood (New Caledonia), Petitgrain (Citrus aurantium), Olibanum (Oman) and Cedar so I made a composition of them in various amounts. It has a headnote with a radiating and mind-clearing and very citrus-like bouquet, followed by a heart of Olibanum and Clary sage and finally a complex basenote, dominated by Sandalwood and Calamus. On me and three other testers it really has very balancing, antidepressant, refreshing and at the same time mellowing action on the mind.

One of the most unique odors of ethnobotanicals has Mondia whytei- root, which is used in Africa for many purposes, including aphrodisiac. It has a bitter-sweet dry scent which is like a mix of burned mannitol with vanilla The component responsible for the odor is 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde (a potent tyrosinase inhibitor, structural related to vanilline). There was also found the rare chlorinated coumarinolignan 5-chloropropacin and 1-2% volatile oil. The plant was shown to have androgenic effects and antidepressant-like activity and is used throughout Africa, except the North, mainly as stimulant, aphrodisiac, analgesic, stomachic, to flavour beer and to treat stress and tension. In Gabon the dried powdered roots enter in magico-religious mixtures because of their fragrance. The leaves are considered edible.

I'm impressed with the fast completion of the SAB store with perfume plants! Really a great addition! To cite Daniel Rühlemann, about Cistus ladanifer: "The particular suitability of the leaves as fixative (binding agent for scents), it gave proof of, recently: The leaves smelled wonderful like roses, only because a mother plant of Geranium 'Attar of Roses' stood next to it." The Labdane in it is regarded as the largest odorant molecule known with 20 carbon atoms, anomalous regarding the 18-carbon rule.

I didn' measure exactly, but I used as much wine, just to cover the lotus petals (not grinded)

yes, the scent of most plants can be captured and it is not too complicated. It also depends on what you want, essential oils and absolutes are the most concentrated forms but must be distilled or extracted, which is a bit more complicated. I have a small cheap distiller, but it was possible get the scent out of blue lotus. The easiest way to extract scents is to make a tincture with 80% alcohol. Grind the material and put it in the alcohol for a few days, then filtrate. In perfume mixes most tinctures are much weaker than essential oils, but it depends on the dominance of the plant-scent. If the scent, captured with the alcohol is too weak, let the alcohol evaporate at low temperature to get the absolute. The problem is, this method works for most but not all plant materials (80-90%). Some flower scents (or aldehydes from cilantro) for example are too fragile to extract them in this way, they break down by enzymatic processes, so you need two steps (enfleurage): Put the fresh chopped material in liquid paraffin or liquid refined coconut oil and put it aside for a few days, always shake well, then strain through a sieve and squeeze. Now you can extract the scent with 80% alcohol from the liquid paraffin (two layers), which takes up to a week. Cannabis scent (you always need the buds) is very complex, diverse and not easy to extract with alcohol because some of the components are not soluble in alcohol. The only way which worked was to microwave it 2 times for 30 seconds, then grind and put it in liquid refined coconut fat, stir well and microwave again. Liquify the fat again the next day and strain. Of course this description is only for legal low-THC-strains and only for the scent, not for consumption ;-)

does Synaptolepsis also has non-dream effects on you?

The Strawberry mint (Mentha x piperita var. citrata 'Strawberry') is a poor researched but highly interesting aroma plant: At first it smells creamy, then like cherry cake and finally like wood strawberries. I've never heard of its use in perfumery, so I've done it ;-)

The Scent of Ethnobotany: ...brings together many odorant entheogens and psychoactive volatile compounds: a few drops Vitex agnus-castus tincture (seeds and leaves) 1 drop Kaempferia galanga essential oil 1 rod wetting Ratrani (Cestrum nocturnum flower)- not too much, it strongly dominates! 1/2 Damiana tincture 1/8 Tobacco (organic) tincture 1/16 Backhousia citriodora leaves- tincture (antidepressant odor) <1/16 Alepidea amatymbica root tincture- not too much, it strongly dominates!- really euphoric 1/16 Abelmoschus moschatus seed tincture 1 rod wetting Jasmine absolute- not too much, it strongly dominates! 1 rod wetting Oud oil 1 rod wetting Sassafras oil (Safrole) 1 rod wetting Tuberose absolute 2 drops AMT tincture 1 rod wetting Canada balsam as mild fixative 3 drops Iso E Super as blender 1/16 tincture from Macropiper excelsum leaves and Piper methysticum root (Vanuatu) 1/16 Colanut tincture (smells powdery, like headshop) 1 rod wetting Immortelle (Helichrysum) oil 1/16 Fabiana imbricata tincture (smells resin-like pine forest) <1/16 Ledum groenlandicum tincture (contains the psychoactive Ledol in the essential oil) 1 rod wetting Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) oil 1 rod wetting Spikenard oil a few crystals Borneol a bit Nepeta mussinii tincture

Nepeta mussinii syn. racemosa (also often indicated as N. fassenii) in winter: Nepetalactones have opioid action, this study found 4a alpha,7alpha,7a alpha-nepetalactone to be the active one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9720633 The composition of the essential oil: http://en.sbu.ac.ir/Desktopmodules/Sbu_ProfessorsPage/Upload/499/Papers/9.pdf

a part of my ethnogarden in the center of vienna: here a balcony-window and our dog, Luna: in front of the balcony-door:

very interesting documentation of a zulu ritual with beer ...looks like the Xhosa- ubulawu (dream medicine):

My new Ambergris- accord (also contains Ambroxane from Labdanum, Tobacco and clary sage, and the natural Ambergris- substitute Canada Balsam): ...for 15ml total (indicated are fraction numbers): 1/4 Civet-Musk-accord tincture (my own, see at the bottom) 1/4 Sea accord (Kombu alga tincture with a bit violet leaf and Limnophila) 2/12 Labdanum tincture 1/12 Tobacco tincture (organic) 1/12 Amber (tincture from roasted fossil amber) <1/12 Benzoe tincture (Laos) <1/12 Tolu balm tincture 1 big rod wetting Kanada balm (absolute) 1 smaller rod wetting Clary sage oil 1 drop Iso E Super (smells a bit like Ambergris, more woody musk and blends all components, while also giving profile) 1 needle wetting Sandal wood oil (New Caledonia) 1 needle wetting Oak moss absolute 2 needle wettings Patchouli oil 1 needle wetting Vetiver oil The Civet-Musk-accord (15ml): 1/2 Boxwood leaf tincture (liquid paraffin-to-alcohol- enfleurage from fresh leaves, smells slightly like cat pee, like Civet) 1/8 Labdanum tincture 1/8 Tobacco tincture (organic) 1/8 Angelica dahurica root tincture (for sweet musk) 1/8 Abelmoschus moschatus seed tincture (classical musk) 8 drops AMT (or dimitri) tincture (indole-, skatole-like natural slightly fecal animalic smelling in the right concentration) 2 drops Iso E Super 1-2 drops Costus (Saussurea lappa root tincture) 2 rod wettings Spikenard oil 1 rod wetting Patchouli oil 1 needle wetting Jasmine absolute be careful with Abelmoschus and Costus!

Aquilaria agallocha: Aquilaria crassna:

...we never rank first with an idea. The internet indicated once again, there were many other people with the same thought... First I thought refined coconut-oil is perfect for the rarely described "scented smoke enfleurage" (to catch incense smoke), now I found a description on the internet, how to make it, almost exactly like I did: https://sites.google.com/site/perfumerecipes/tincture-your-own-smoke-with-frankincense Yesterday I thought on using my new Vanuatu-Kava- extraction also for the perfumes, today I saw this product from a seller for essential oils and absolutes: http://www.edenbotanicals.com/products/essential-oils-pure-therapeutic-grade/essential-oils-k-l/kava-kava-co2.html

yes, I have read this article, interesting, but I think the psychoactive activity is weak, regarding many essential oils have compounds, which also activate the TRPV3- receptor, like Thymol, Carvacrol and Eugenol

I like the olibanum tinctures from Olibanum Omani (high quality, also for chewing): Boswellia sacra syn. carterii Olibanum Maidi (high quality, also for chewing): Boswellia frereana Olibanum Eritrea: Boswellia papyrifera The cembranoid diterpene Incensol acetate was shown to have antidepressant and anxiolytic effects: its better to translate the german wiki, because there are more infos: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incensol So Boswellia papyrifera is the main psychoactive species. Olibanum Eritrea: Boswellia papyrifera

it is now cultivated in Oz, right?

fungi are responsible in the formation of Oud in Agarwood, Oak moss is in fact a lichen and as such a symbiosis of alga and fungi I will make an absolute from cepe in the near future fungi-like odor is also present in the scent of Poliomintha longiflora and especially Rungia klossii

yes, clary wort is synonym with clary sage, salvia sclarea ...like Labdanum it is a perfect fixative, as you already recognised ;-), and the sclareol from the essential oil is used to make Ambroxane

of course ;-)

some odors are too sensitive to extract them directly like lily, violet flower, the "green" from boxwood, aldehydes from cilantro and many flowers. these can be catched by enfleurage: put the flowers or leaves in nautral (clarified coconut-) fat or liquid paraffin and let them sit for at least one week, then strain and extract the fat with 80% alcohol. This was also the only method to extract the wonderful complex scent of Chinese Glory Bower (Clerodendrum philippinum), which has its own thread

polish spirit is perfect, don't take it, if you smell something like wine, but I think the polish rectified Spirytus is made from corn and potato thanks for odor description, so it seems very complex

you need at least 75% alcohol, better 80-90% I don't use denaturated alcohol, although it would be cheaper because you don't pay the alco-tax for it, but it often contains 2-Methyl-2,4-pentanediol Look for 80% Corn/grain, it is more neutral and also cheaper than spirit of wine, here you get 1 litre corn for €16 in the super market what do you want to do with the solution? for perfumes you only need a very small amount as fixative it combines well with musk- notes like from Abelmoschus moschatus- seeds and Angelica dahurica- root you could add some freshness and a kind of floral waxy smell with cilantro-aldehydes (I extracted them with liquid paraffin from fresh coriander leaves, then strained, extracted with 80% alcohol, separated with a dropping bottle and filtrated the alcohol. the scent of the sea can also be underlined with Violet leaf- extracts (fresh watery, cucumber-like), Limnophila aromatica extracts (smells watery like melon, lemony fresh and like the air after a thunderstorm) and kombu seaweed extracts (a brown alga with a better scent than nori). The scent of the sea on a beach is caused by Dimethyl sulfide from degrading organic compounds and Dictyopterene, a pheromone in brown alga. I tried to extract the scent of the sea from many things, including pieces of (dead) corals, greenshell mussel shells (also an enfleurage from the cooking water), nori alga and many more, but the best raw material seemed to be Kombu alga. I chopped the kombu-stripes (like leather) and steamed them in a sieve over boiling water, to swell up a bit. Then I extracted them for a few days with 80% alcohol, strained and put the alcohol aside. Then cooked the alga with a very small amount of water, strained and combined the water- and alcohol extracts, then filtrate the solution, which should have at least 75% alcohol. How would you describe the scent exactly? is it more powdery, or amber-resin-like, or like musk? On some site the scent of the real thing is described as having labdanum and clary sage- notes in it, which fits exactly to the phytochemical studies, which found Ambroxan in Labdanum and Clary sage. quote from this site: http://www.ambergristincture.com/perfumers-perspective.php They have, for example, been told that the sure sign of the use of Ambergris in a perfume is a spicy, musky or amber base note. This of course, is far from the truth. I have purchased bottle after bottle of oils claiming to be "real Ambergris oil" only to receive something powdery, sweet or balsamic, smelling of Benzoin, Vanilla, and Labdanum or else having a herbal note from Clary Sage and similar oils.

I have made lotus wine with blue lotus petals and sweet wine, like the egyptians and had a very clear and slightly euphoric mellow experience, and years ago a friend gave me vodka with the oil in it, which was more intense I have never tried to extract the flower petals with perfumers alcohol because you don't get the scent by this way, it is more bitter and much less flowery than the oil, as the teas were, I remember In the Egyptians collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna you can see many steles and paintings with blue lotus flowers on it