Designing CNS therapeutic essential oil blends

[Alchemica]

Most welcome. The rosemary extract seems to be rather insoluble, I just quickly gulp down the powder in some water and hope I don't cough it up. Play around and see what works best for you. No hurry, glad it arrived safely.

[Mapacho]

On 10/29/2016 at 4:42 PM, Alchemica said:

Most welcome. The rosemary extract seems to be rather insoluble, I just quickly gulp down the powder in some water and hope I don't cough it up. Play around and see what works best for you. No hurry, glad it arrived safely.

 

I have been using the rosemary extract with hot water in a gravity feed tea pot (the kind you sit on the cup and it drains), and the results so far are excellent.  The ritual of smelling and drinking the tea has become a favourite of both myself and my girlfriend.

 

It is definitely a grounding plant and I can see why it would be anxiolytic.  I found that aspect most pleasant before each exam, and I have also noticed my body and the nervous pathways being bathed in a gentle stimulation, which helps physical relaxation and awareness, occasionally leading to some insightful self-massage and the partial release of some very old injuries and tensions.

 

On a more spiritual note it seems to exude shamatha(stillness) and has a nice effect of reducing my sense of separation from the "external".  

 

I have not consciously explored the extract's potential memory benefits however -science aside- shamatha tends to be most beneficial for memorisation.  I will play with this now exams are over with some anatomy flashcards.  

[LikeAshesWeFade]

Mate, I've always enjoyed your comments and/or threads! The fact you suffer a form of high-functioning autism and are drawn to all this kind of research and medicine, is just sooo intriguing dude! I could talk for hours with you brother about all of this haha I ABSOLUTELY love everything you've done here bro.. just amazing! Keep up the good work as you are seriously providing some VITAL 'healing knowledge' here mate!!

 

Friday the 13th yesterday... was the perfect night for doing some infusions!! I'm working with B. Carterii 20:1 extract and straight Myrrh powder atm.. just leaving them to steep in my homemade ethanol for the first lunar cycle, then gonna drop it all through a 25micron filter and see what I end up with yield wise.. from there I'll be infusing the B. Carterii into MCT oil in order to make up an Anticancer tincture for a patient. The myrrh will just be filtered then left in ethanol and used as a mouth rinse/wash and also to sterilise and heal up any minor cuts or sores inside the mouth.

 

Peace brother, I hope you have an awesome weekend planned!

Edited January 13, 2017 by LikeAshesWeFade

[Alchemica]

So awhile back I was trying to design CNS therapeutic essential oil blends. How far did I get? Not very far.
 

Copaiba oil seems nicely therapeutic and the β-caryophyllene is definitely a winner, it's just the lack of notable psychoactivity which gets annoying personally ;) Evidence is all for it's use in everything from pain, cognitive deterioration in dementia, alcohol use disorders, anxiety and depression with more experimental indications including making use of the CB2 agonism for various neurodegenerative conditions, schizophrenia etc. Got a few samples out to people and all I heard back was it was effective topically for pain. Up to 0.5mL orally was personally well tolerated for several weeks, hard to discern any robust antidepressant or anxiolytic efficacy despite good in vitro effects in studies and efficacy in vivo in animal models but it seemed mildly 'emotionally soothing'.

 

Lavandula angustifolia essential oil is a good substitute for pregabalin/SSRIs as an anxiolytic. It's effective acutely. I use 0.5mL or so capped up every now and then if I'm getting super anxious and I also found it covered moderate EtOH withdrawals quite effectively at one stage without needing BZDs. I enjoy a blend of this and Melissa officinalis in about a 5:1 ratio, quite pleasant olfactorily and also capped up, seems to add something. The lemon balm EO is nice as a few drops in a cup of tea for a calming drink
 

Frankincense EO orally is interesting even without high levels of incensole acetate present. Guessing it's the pinenes which seem to account for the detectable psychoactivity... if you can tolerate the taste and burps.

 

Lemon EO is one I haven't detected much from even though a friend finds interesting effects from it. Limonene is interesting on paper as a CNS therapeutic but I didn't push the dose on this one.

 

Never got around to ingesting any rosemary EO chemotypes for safety reasons.

 

About the only thing I'm still keen to sample is the blend of terpenes in C. sativa EO and maybe incensole acetate rich frankincense CO2s. I'm tempted to use up my cyclodextrins and make some β-caryophyllene/HPBCD complexes so it's a bit easier on the stomach.

 

New project:

Trace mineral and blueberry or cacao powder:
 

2000mg Blueberry extract 25% anthocyanidins with yet to be decided dose of chromium nicotinate (can go up to 500mcg for diabetes, higher for MDD - probably 600mcg), selenium methionine 200 mcg (up to 400mcg) and 500mg chelated magnesium and 50mg chelated Zn per 2.5g dose? Anything to add or take out? Selenium can be toxic in high doses, chromium too so people would need to adhere to doses...

 

Blueberry intake affected genes related to fat-burning and storage.
Blueberries may improve thinking and memory skills in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)

 

"Blueberries may also have a potential nootropic effect. They have been found to improve cognition in people undergoing cognitive decline, but there is also some rodent evidence that suggests blueberries can improve cognition in healthy young people as well. They may also have a role to play in promoting the growth of nervous tissue and reducing neurological inflammation."

https://examine.com/supplements/blueberry/

 

"Magnesium is a dietary mineral. Magnesium deficiencies are the second most common deficiency in developed countries, the first being vitamin D. A lack of magnesium will raise blood pressure and reduce insulin sensitivity."

https://examine.com/supplements/magnesium/

 

"Chromium is an essential mineral. It regulates glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. Supplementing more chromium than the body needs does not produce reliable results, but it may be associated with minor benefits to diabetics."

https://examine.com/supplements/chromium/

 

For selenium: https://examine.com/supplements/selenium/

 

Primarily for weight management and mood, also antioxidant and cognitive benefits.

 

Other blends of herbal extracts. I've come up with a 2:1:1 blend of rosemary extract 20% rosmarinic acid, lion's mane 13:1 20% polysaccharides, 20% Beta-Glucans, brahmi extract I'm going to test soon.

 

About  zinc, magnesium and chromium:

For zinc, see https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201309/zinc-antidepressant

 

It is an effective SSRI augmentation strategy. In addition, chronic zinc treatment induced increases in both 5-HT1AR protein levels and density of 5-HT1A receptor binding sites, it also increased tissue levels of serotonin metabolite and turnover. On the other hand, DA, DOPAC, HVA tissue levels increased while DOPAC/DA and 3MT/DA decreased in the PFC of rats after chronic zinc treatment. Acute treatment induced increases only in tissue levels of DOPAC, and DOPAC/DA - the antidepressant effects of zinc are mediated in concert with the modulation of the serotonergic system including postsynaptic 5-HT1ARs and allude to a possible involvement of dopaminergic neurotransmission in this action.

 

Magnesium is a treatment option that may offer great potential for patients with MDD and treatment-resistant depression based on prior work in animals and humans. Combined magnesium and vitamin B6 supplementation reduced anxiety but had no effect when used in isolation. A very small study found benefit from a combination probiotics/magnesium orotate formulation adjuvant administered with SSRIs for treatment resistant depression. See http://evolutionarypsychiatry.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/magnesium-and-brain.html and Magnesium and depression: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27910808

 

Chromium is antidepressive and may help regulate blood sugar. Chromium supplementation for glucose regulation has shown mixed, modest-sized effects in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Chromium has the potential to improve insulin, dopamine, and serotonin function, The antidepressant activitity has been linked to a major role of the AMPA receptor and participation of NMDA glutamatergic and 5-HT1 and 5-HT2A/C serotonin receptors. Chromium treatment decreases the sensitivity of 5-HT2A receptors

 

Effectiveness of chromium in atypical depression: a placebo-controlled trial

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01500-7

Chromium potentiation of antidepressant pharmacotherapy for dysthymic disorder in 5 patients.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10221284

 

Also interested in selenium... it has potential antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like effects and "Se is capable of alleviating inflammatory signaling pathways. Obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation. Depression is also defined as an inflammatory disorder. Inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) participate in the progression of depression. They are also obesity-associated parameters. Due to TNFα induced depressive-like behaviors and the positive association between this proinflammatory cytokine and obesity, TNFα-activated signaling pathways and those inhibiting them have recently gained importance as potential targets and therapeutic tools, respectively. More studies are necessary to develop compounds with therapeutic nature against depressive disorders and obesity. PPARγ is an important signaling pathway that occurs at the crossroads of depression and obesity. Se, aside from its anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic and antioxidative nature, affects also the way of PPARγ action. Se supplementation or fortification ... will be promising approaches for future hope during the treatment of these diseases."

 

I can aim to offer small qty of the following (larger orders I'll give you the seller):
Chromium nicotinate @50c/gram *must be confident working in mcgs Reportedly superior to picolinate
Selenium methionine @60c/gram *must be confident working in mcgs
Zinc methionine @ 30c/gram
Magnesium chelate @25c/gram

Also do rosemary extract 20c/gram if you want to try or a small qty of rosemary, brahmi and lion's mane extract blends 2:1:1 [what I'll also be using] for 30c/gram. Small qty, trial sizes only of blueberry extract 60c/gram.

 

 

Edited March 23, 2017 by Alchemica

[Alchemica]

In addition, who wants Uncaria rhynchophylla 20:1 extract?
 

I'm looking at Cat's Claw Extract Powder - [20:1] but it must be, correct me if I'm incorrect, Uncaria rhynchophylla from my reading as I'm after geissoschizine methyl ether (GM), I can only find this one in a kg quantity, anyone want to go parts in a kg? ($17.50/100g) It's present in the hook at 0.08% but it's potent...

 

With the alkaloids:
- the alkaloids in this plant are NMDA receptor inhibitors. While the IC50 values are too high for what is normally found in the brain, it is possible that mild inhibition (less than 20%) may occur with high doses.
- geissoschizine methyl ether is a potent agonist of the 5-HT1A receptors while it is inhibitory at the 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C, and 5-HT7 receptors at the same concentration range, with the possibility of being a partial agonist at higher doses.
- anxiolytic and enhanced social behaviour

 

https://examine.com/supplements/uncaria-rhynchophylla/

 

The U tormentosa cat's claw, which contains similar alkaloids, is found in nature in two different chemotypes producing different alkaloidal constituents. Pentacyclic oxindoles are found in the roots of one type, while the tetracyclic oxindoles are present in the second type. Mitraphylline and isomitraphylline, seen as the main bioactives and usually present in older leaves or the stem bark but rhynchophylline and isorhynchophylline are also present. Anyone tried this one?

 

The reason I'm after GM:

 

"Geissoschizine methyl ether (GM) is one of the indole alkaloids in Uncaria hook, and an active ingredient of yokukansan (YKS) that improves behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in patients with several types of dementia. The pharmacological action of GM has been related to various serotonin (5-HT) receptor subtypes. Here we describe previous findings and our own data to review the binding characteristics of GM to the 5-HT receptor subtypes. Competitive receptor-binding assays showed that GM bound the following 5-HT receptor subtypes: 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, 5-HT2C, 5-HT4, 5-HT5A, 5-HT6, and 5-HT7. Subsequent agonist/antagonist activity assays showed that GM had partial agonistic activity for 5-HT1A receptors and antagonistic activity for 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, 5-HT2C, and 5-HT7 receptors. Pharmacokinetic studies showed that GM was metabolized by various CYP isoforms, mainly CYP3A4. Parent/unchanged GM was detected in both the blood and brain of rats after oral administration of YKS. In autoradiography analyses using rat brain slices, GM that entered the brain was presumed to bind to 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, 5-HT2C, and 5-HT7 receptors in neuron-like large cells mainly in the frontal cortex. In conclusion, these results suggest that GM is a pharmacologically important alkaloid that regulates various serotonergic activities or functions by binding to multiple 5-HT receptor subtypes."

 

So in about a week, I'll start a totally natural health bender. My aims are 1. weight management, cut carb cravings and night wakings to eat, improve blood glucose and insulin sensitivity 2. mood management 3. cognitive improvement 4. general wellbeing

 

Recipe 1 Worked out the best way of dispensing chromium nicotinate is definitely in a solution, not completely happy with the dispersal in a solid matrix. It's soluble enough in water to do a 1mg/mL solution which allows easy dosing. Currently upping to 1mg a day on top of Mg/Zn for the night time binge eating/mood (that's a high dose but 600-1000mcg is used for atypical depression).

 

As you can see, it's really cheap to fortify good foods with therapeutic amounts of minerals, and really cheap if you cover the cost of a gram of the needed materials for less than a dollar...

Edited April 1, 2017 by Alchemica

[Alchemica]

Updated my raw materials list. This is for people that want to buy a few grams to try first, then I'll give you a supplier. My markups are 0%, some items going at a loss. I'm not a rapid poster, so patience is needed. This isn't a business, it's a community service. Some things are still on the way but i hope to be able to offer these to SAB members:

 

 

(Prices subject to change at any time - this is only if you want to grab a few grams to try etc, then I give you the supplier if you need more, community service not a business)

 

Brain
Lion's mane extract 13:1 30c/g [limited stock]
Rosemary extract 20% rosmarinic acid 20c/g
5-HTP $1/g [low stock]
L-theanine 10c/g [limited stock]
Chamomile Extract Powder [20:1] 30c/g
"Chamomile extract produced a clinically meaningful reduction in generalised anxiety disorder symptoms over 8 weeks, with a response rate comparable to those observed during conventional anxiolytic drug therapy and a favorable adverse event profile." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27912871

 

Aging/memory support:
Uncaria rhynchophylla 20:1 - effective for dementia - POA
Brahmi 20:1 20c/g
Blueberry extract 25% anthocyanidins 60c/g
Huperzine A 1% [limited stock] complimentary 200mg trial size on asking.
Noopept $1/g [limited stock]
Sunifiram $2/g [limited stock]

 

Schizophrenia support
Sodium benzoate FG $5/250g
See also: L-theanine and Uncaria rhynchophylla 20:1

 

Autism support
Sulforaphane rich broccoli extract (also anti-cancer) 25c/g

 

Pain and inflammation relief
Tetrahydropalmatine $1/g [limited stock]
Myrrh Extract [Commiphora myrrha] - [20:1] 25c/g Contains delta-opioids

 

Well being support

Astragalus extract 80% POLYSACCHARIDES 30c/g

Astragalus membranaceus supplementation can provide a variety of health benefits, but may not actually prolong lifespan. Like resveratrol, Astragalus membranaceus is a compound that adds life to your years, rather than adding years to your life.

https://examine.com/supplements/astragalus-membranaceus/

 

Other:
p-coumaric acid 50c/g
Chromium nicotinate 50c/gram *must be confident working in mcgs
Selenium methionine 60c/gram *must be confident working in mcgs
Zinc methionine 30c/gram
Magnesium chelate 25c/gram
Calcium pyruvate 10c/g
Vitamin B6 Pyridoxal phosphate 50c/g
Berberine 25c/g [limited stock]
Zeolite 10c/g

 

Plants
Syrian rue seed $1/5g, cheaper in bulk

 

Soon coming:
Heimia etc
Ashwaghanda 20:1 20c/g
Palmitoylethanolamide by the gram [want to buy this in kgs]
Pure β-caryophyllene
Frankincense extract 70% boswellic acids - Potent antiinflammatory

What from here would people want? Expressions of interest for the moment

Edited March 24, 2017 by Alchemica

[Leaves]

Most potent essential oil I have used by far is Spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi). Very relaxing even if a couple drops are rubbed into temples or back of the neck. Taking deep breaths of this oil and holding gives me a similar effect to Nitrous oxide, longer its held in the stronger it gets.

[Mapacho]

I would like to try the brahmi extract.  

[Alchemica]

Cool, when I'm totally happy with the extract I'll be in touch. I'm currently looking to move to a standardised extract as the 20:1's weren't as great as I was hoping. I'll let you know when I have an extract I'm happy with.

[Mapacho]

Wonderful, thanks amigo.