Jump to content
The Corroboree
Sign in to follow this  
Torsten

Safrol and other allylbenzenes in Australian native plants

Recommended Posts

Several of the true magnolias have safrole in the essential oil of the flowers, so other phenylpropenes could be in others of the family.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just a suggestion:

If people want to bring their samples of their Crowea spp. or other allyl benzene containing samples to EB, we might be able to have a go at comparing them all by TLC (ie. if I run a TLC workshop). A decent handful of leaves (or bark or whatever) is probably more than enough. If you have essential oil, less than half a ml is heaps.

This would be a good exercise to demonstrate some of the principles of TLC and gain some interesting info about your samples at the same time.

Hope to see you there.

Fractal

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think that is a great idea. I still have a sample of Ocotea cymbarum oil from years ago. And there are plenty of camphor roots around the property

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

aw i reeeeally wish i was gonna be there!

hmmm just looked and found nutmeg essential oil in a catalogue here in the uk

very interested to hear again about the oil in muscle running thing..i live on 1800 acres of organic loveliness mmmmm

diluted with a carrier oil or slap it on neat? the catalogue says not for use on skin...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

slap on neat and smell like x-mas puddin for the rest of the day

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, just be careful *where* you slap it

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

quote:

Originally posted by Piers Gibbon:

 

[QB]i live on 1800 acres of organic loveliness mmmmm QB]

That would be almost half the UK wouldnt it Piers?

:D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For those interested in Croweas

3 species -

angustifolia (WA)

saligna (NSW)

exalata (Vic, NSW)

And several hybrids -

(exalata X salgna)

'Poorlnda Ecstasy'

'Festival'

'Cooper's Hybrid'

C. exalata 'Bindalong Compact'

C. exalata 'Austraflora Green Cape'

and there are probably more (feel free to add)

Here's a good link to Croweas and some hybrids:

http://farrer.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL18/jun00-5.html

Edited by Ed Dunkel

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am very interested in the two native Cinnamomum sp. in Northern NSW - Oliver's Sassafras - C. oliveri and the Red Barked Sassafras - C. virens.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Are y'all aware of the native sandfly bush - Cassinia subtropica, its not uncommon in SEQ/NNSW and it has a very distinctive smell....you dont even need to crush the leaves sometimes (its that potent) to get a rich rainforest/weed/organic scent.

I'll post again when i've got some plant material if.......anyone is interested in checking it out?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It aminates to MMDA3a (2-METHOXY-3,4-METHYLENEDIOXYAMPHETAMINE)

http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online...pihkal157.shtml

(5) The 2-methoxy-3,4-methylenedioxy pattern. This is the second of the three natural methoxy methylenedioxy orientations. Croweacin is 2-methoxy-3,4-methylenedioxyallylbenzene, and it takes its name from the binomial for the plant Eriostemon crowei from the worlds of rue and the citrus plants. It corresponds to the essential amphetamine MMDA-3a

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online...pihkal134.shtml

DOSAGE: 20 - 80 mg.

DURATION: 10 - 16 h.

QUALITATIVE COMMENTS: (with 20 mg) I became aware at about an hour, and an hour later I found myself suddenly caught up in the marvelous world of insects. Right alongside a pile of bricks I saw a measuring worm, and with great tenderness and patience I picked him up, observed his fore and aft 'feet' and finally replaced him and watched him acclimate himself. There was also a spider on the bricks, and I was compelled to watch him in action. I was grateful that I was not being observed. Time was moving slowly, and I felt I should intentionally move slowly, so as not to exhaust myself.

(with 40 mg) This developed between one and two hours into it, and there were considerable body tremors. Talking directed the energy outwards, and I became aware of a visually sparkling world about me. I started dropping way too soon; it would have been interesting to have gone higher. By early evening I was left only with an awareness of some residual physical hypersensitivity, and there was light diarrhea. I am not at all sure just what to compare this drug to. It is gentle.

(with 60 mg) There were visuals of a soft sort--things moved with eyes open, and with eyes closed the music was great. There seemed to be some lasting stimulation, but it didn't get in the way of sleeping. The next morning, however, I was still on. A good compound.

EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: The term MMDA-3a has the feel of being complicated, but there is a reason for the code. As had been mentioned, MMDA was the initials for methoxy (the M) methylenedioxy (the MD) amphetamine (the A). And with a molecule of amphetamine there are six ways of sticking these two groupings on the aromatic ring. The numbers 1-6 had already been assigned to the six ways of sticking three methoxyl groups onto an amphetamine molecule (with the trimethoxyamphetamines, the TMA's) and I decided to hew to the same convention with the methylenedioxy counterparts. However, there are two #3's (the methoxy and the methylenedioxy can go onto the three oxygen atoms in a row in two different ways, whereas the three methoxys can go on in just one way) and there can be no #6 (since a methylenedioxy must, perforce, have two oxygens that are adjacent, and there are none to be so found in the 2,4,6-orientation of TMA-6). So, with two possible MMDA-3's it becomes reasonable, in fact essential, to name one of them "a" and the other "b". The "a" orientation occurs in nature as the essential oil croweacin, or 1-allyl-2-methoxy-3,4-methylenedioxybenzene. It thus can allow MMDA-3a to be classified as an Essential Amphetamine, since it can arise, in principle, by amination in the liver in vivo. But in the laboratory, croweacin is certainly not a practical starting material in this synthesis.

I have been told of a number of clinical trials that have explored MMDA-3a at considerably higher levels, but I have no explicit quotations to give, and the details are quite sketchy. Three trials at 80 milligrams, and one at 100 milligrams, all made comparisons, in both quantity and quality of the experience, to 100 micrograms of LSD. However, two events occurred that may or may not be related to these trials; one subject had a spontaneous peak experience five days after the experiment, and another made a symbolic suicide attempt.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Four years ago, torsten said:

best yields here are probably achieved from the weed Cinnamomum camphora (Camphor Laurelbut only from its rootbark.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamomum_camphora

It has been declared a noxious weed for the entire states of Queensland and New South Wales. Its massive and spreading root systems disrupt urban drainage and sewerage systems and degrade river banks. Its leaves have a very high carbon content, which damages water quality and freshwater fish habitats when they fall into streams and rivers. The camphor content of the leaf litter helps prevent other plants from germinating successfully, helping to ensure the camphor's success against any potentially competing vegetation, and the seeds are attractive to birds and pass intact through the digestive system, ensuring rapid distribution. Camphor laurel invades pastures, and also competes against eucalyptus trees which are the sole food source of koalas, which are endangered in many parts of eastern Australia.

Fascinating...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

you need a 20 ton excavator to get at the roots :(

also, check out the criminal code in the legals forum in respect to possession of safrole. from memory something like 1.2L can get you 20 years jail.

things have changed a lot in the last 4 years.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You do mean for possession rather than importation?

I heard only today from a fairly reliable source that 20 or 30 ml bottles are available in Oz (at a fairly high cost mind you)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You do mean for possession rather than importation?

yes, I do. I did get the weights wrong though. Commercial quantity is 2.85kg, which is probably about 2.6 or so.

Federal Criminal Code Act

314.3 Controlled precursors

(1) The following table lists controlled precursors and sets out quantities:

Controlled precursor [Marketable quantity(grams)] [Commercial quanity(kilograms)]

1 Ephedrine 400.0 1.2

2 Ergometrine 0.15 0.006

3 Ergotamine 0.25 0.01

4 Isosafrole 290.0 1.45

5 Lysergic acid 0.075 0.003

6 3,4 Methylenedioxyphenylacetic acid 300.0 1.5

7 3,4 Methylenedioxyphenyl 2 propanone 150.0 0.75

8 Phenylacetic acid 1,350.0 4.05

9 Phenyl 2 propanone 675.0 2.03

10 Piperonal 320.0 1.6

11 Pseudoephedrine 400.0 1.2

12 Safrole 570.0 2.85

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

damn, oh well, MDxx are nasty anyway...

Would steam distilation of asarone, dillapiol or crowacien containing plants lead to hydrolysis of the allylbenzenes in the oil??

Also, if one had an oil that had several allylbenzenes, (say, nutmeg) could one process the oil WITHOUT seperating the myricistin, asarone, etc from each other, end with a product thats maybe a mix of MMDA and TMA?

(sry for the dumb Q...)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

partly just a teaser.........

have limited knowledge of mdma type compounds but chewing a plant in the mix of this thread is still the best exp of this type i've had.the real thing has not equaled it.it was the first exp of this type though.....many year later to the second.

it's not always nessiccary to ext.

i see no point in attracting more open attention to the plant so i wont name it openly but it is talked about here from time to time.

t s t .

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Would steam distilation of asarone, dillapiol or crowacien containing plants lead to hydrolysis of the allylbenzenes in the oil??

no, they are quite stable in steam.

Also, if one had an oil that had several allylbenzenes, (say, nutmeg) could one process the oil WITHOUT seperating the myricistin, asarone, etc from each other, end with a product thats maybe a mix of MMDA and TMA?

Asarone is not an allylbenzene. But yes, if you got a mix of allylbenzenes you could just convert the whole lot at once. They would probably convert at different rates, so your final alkaloid mix may not reflect the original oil mix, but in general it would be possible.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×