sandalwood

I have been interested in the Elaeocarpus grandis tree for some time... after reading specific chemistry about selected species...focusing on compounds of the grandisine types that have varying levels of potency as delta opioid agonists... one of the more potent analogs, should occur in elaeocarpus grandis. I was lucky enough to have a freind send me leaf and seed sample. elaeocarpus ganitrus is also known as rudraksha tree... this tree has ornamental value....and I think the leaves and fruits and seeds are also used in ayurvedic and folk tradition medicine. the seeds of e. ganitrus are known as rudraksha seeds...and they are used as mala beads, and as jewelry, magic talismans etc within hindu religion/culture. the seeds can have from 1 to 32 or more segments.... the most common is the 5 "mukhi" or 5 segment seed.....the rarer the seed, the more the cost...some rudraksha seeds can be priced into the thousands of dollars for just a few seeds. so my interest in e. grandis was also in the ornamental and bead direction as well as possible source for grandisine alkaliods. the seed of e. grandis, while not as fine, small, and intricate as the rudraksha seed, definitely has bead potential...I have never seen this seed in any western bead stores...and rarely see rudraksha seeds for that matter either....the potential that the seed could be used for decoration is a good one...especially if the seeds were well weathered naturally. if anyone knows of any traditional use of Elaeocarpus grandis leaf let me know...it would be very interesting if that is so. the potential of grandisine mu opioid active analogs is not my area of knowledge. but even delta opioid agonist compounds are interesting. I have several seeds...around 10...and I am interested in busting up one of them, and trying to get some to germinate... the rudraksha plant has been tested to show sedative, anti bacterial, and analgesic activity.... as for e. grandis, I have only read that it is possible the alkaloids might have analgesic action in animals and humans...so the research into the opioid activity is basically only on the cellular level for now.

Yes its a must have. My copy came after about 9 days, quick actually, considering it came the day after x-mas. Its the most money I have spent on a single book, around 150 usd. So far my favorite part is his obscure info that is discussed by region, but there is also tidbits everywhere. The author managed to create a real great book, that seems a bit underground at the same time polished. My copy had one double page,which is fine by me, I havnt noticed any other errors. There seems to be a good amount of anecdotal reports and the authors own experience as well. A lot of interesting info, and I was very stoked to read about a good amount of opiophile related data,including a VERY interesting thebaine derivative that has LSD'like effects. I also have noted the author has some knowledge of ayurvedic and TCM medicinals. Worth the money if one can afford it these days, I got lucky and was able to forgo getting my wife a x-mas present and spent the funds on the book instead. I doubt many used copies of this book will show up any time soon .

I am convinced that the major active component of lagochilus is not the purported lagochilin material that has been sold for a few years. the reason being...bioassay of lagochilus inebrians has always produced a light sedative effect when taken orally... but lagochilin insuffilated, held sublingual, taken orally, and vaporized barely did anything for me..if anything, slight sedative activity... the whole plant material seemed stronger to me...even in doses relatively small...around a few grams. I took almost 400 milligrams of lagochilin and noticed very little. one of the plants sold to me as lagochilus inebrians in the beginning, according to siebert, most likely cephelaria gigantea, produced a hard waxy extract that was more interesting to me than the lagochilus material that became avialable soon after.

I wouldnt call it quite an entheogen.... but bacopa...or brahmi...is an underwater plant that I see commonly sold at aquarium shops. I take it on a weekly basis...blends nicely for some that are using opiates/opioids... its a common herb in India. there is a type of algae that contains aphinorphine...which is a stimulant like kappa opioid agonist I believe....this is sold as a dietary supplement and is also listed by some sources as containing neuro toxins. for my purposes I like taking the algae when I need to not eat much, but have high energy. I used to take it when snowboarding...in the morning...with a banana, bran muffin, and coffee, I would be fine all day till dinner with eating no lunch...just an algae muffin breakfast, and that clean feeling of having high energy on an empty stomach. I started having problems when taking this algae everyday though...insomnia and stress soon set in....so its not something that I take regularly.

the ayurvedic data that I have found is pretty diverse. and there is other data besides that....which mentions oral, topical, insuffilation consumption of nearly every part of this plant... seeds, fruit, bark, are already ayurvedic products that are used both topically and oral. one source claimed 3-18 grams of the bark was good taken orally... some sources talk about insuffilating for headache. the pharmacy I dealt with sells seeds in whole form, and the fruit, the seed, and the bark in powdered form. as well, there are quite a few multi herb blends, including common medicines for children, that use small doses of the barringtonia species in modern indian herbal pharmaceuticals. I had more of a problem finding a source for the single herb......it seems to me that many shops just carried products that contained the plant parts..rather than carrying the single plant parts. months of looking...and paying for the material in advance paid off. I spent around 80$ to get a pound of different material....most of that was the money wire, as I couldnt find a place that sold the plant that had a website with a shopping cart. it also took almost 1 1/2 months to finally get shipped to me. to tell you the truth....I dont expect alot from the bark material....as I have read statements that claim there is no real negative effects from the bark at stated dosages....the material is claimed to be benign enough for regular use as a tonic, and for children. I know fish poison sounds like something to be cautious of...and any new herb/plant material that one tries should be done cautiously...bordering on the ridiculous sometimes. anyway, fish poisons like balche root, kava kava, jamaican dogwood....all struck me as quite mild in effects....not to mention low toxicity... I did test a small amount orally of the bark powder....with no problems. I am more worried about saponigen content causing bowel problems than anything.... the commercial/scientific interest in this plant is intruiging........but the common use in ayurveda, and india as a folk medicine, and much of the data has me worried a bit that the plant is going to be another low potency opioid at best, with minimal effects either way. I havnt seen any sources claiming poisonous or dangerous narcotic action with this barringtonia species......nor have I seen any mention that the plant is psychoactive, or debilitating or intoxicating. after all, menthol is a kappa opioid agonist...and besides slight stimulant, anti tussive, and topical pain relieving effects, I would hardly call menthol interesting as a psychoactive, maybe more as a odiferous agent...... I have tried at least 10 novel opioid plants that generally are not avialable commercially much...except maybe in africa...or at least werent when I had tried them for the first time....like dalea purpurea, picralima nitida, tabernaemontana pachysiphon, just off the top of my head... and for the most part...nothing has excited me much....it takes alot of leads to find just a few "more than interesting" plant materials. a few of those plants had negative, antagonist like effects rather than anything comforting still, I cant stop looking...its a driving interest. I would say that 1 out of 40 active natural opioids sourced from plants are interesting from a hedonistic perspective...with nigella sativa and kratom topping my list... picralima nitida very interesting as a stimulant....same thing with myrrh..excellent opioid stimulant.. ALL of the natural opioids are interesting to me from a medicinal herbal perspective..and combinations of such I think hold alot of potential for beneficial uses for humans and animals.

I just received a message about this book. too bad its an expensive printing......I really want to check this author out....but I dont think I will be able to afford a hundred dollar + volume until about a year from now...I can afford to put around 10$ away a month.... I just hope all the copies are not sold by the time I finally have saved enough cash. I also want Jonathan Ott's latest book.....I consider myself a general book collector...though I am not concerned with collectability as I am with just having a well rounded offering. I have been waiting for Ott to product a copy of his latest book that a vegetarian would want to buy....but I dont think any were printed that dont utilize leather. I am also hoping that a cheaper version would be forthcoming. I was lucky enough to find a somewhat cheap copy of Ratsch's psychoactive encyclopedia..... few things irritate me more than having to wait months or years to have access to certian information. personally I would rather just be able to buy a photocopied version of a book, created by the author of course, at a reduced price than deal with fancy trimmings. that is why the entheogen review was such a great deal. cheap access to important information....the last thing I want to encourage is financial elitism in the entheogen scene. anyone actually recieved this book yet?

I have seen some patents for using essential oils as a carrier agent for opioid medications...apparently even when used orally some oils increase bioavailability of medicinal compounds. I think it would be similiar with topical application. probably will take more of any substance to notice...but maybe not much more! I personally am VERY interested in the oil/seeds of nigella sativa...purported opioid activity. in my experience...nigella is right after kratom in opioid like potency.

well, after almost a year of searching for sources I have finally sourced some decent barringtonia material. around 6 months ago I recieved some small ill kept seeds from a company in India that specializes in seeds. I bought rudraksha seeds and barringtonia acutangula seeds from them. the B. acutangula seeds were not viable...and barely viable as a source for bioassay...the seeds actually looked rotten, and I think that they were. a few days ago I finally recieved some bark powder, and large, hard, healthy seeds. the company that I sourced them from took a few months to supply the materials....and they have no website...so I had to wire them money from my bank...which cost me almost as much to wire the money as the initial small order I placed! after a few months of waiting though, I was not let down. the bark powder is well ground..... and the seeds are VERY hard, and fresh looking. apparently the reason my order took so long, is because this material is relatively rarely produced as a single herb ingredient...most supply goes to patent/combination ayurvedic medicines...in which barringtonia is just a minor ingredient. so the pharmacy had a fresh amount processed, prompted in part by my order, and because the material that was onhand was old. I have planted 6 seeds....they will probably take awhile to germinate, if they germinate at all...being sent through customs I never know if my seeds are going to get irradiated to death. the different sources I have found online, and other places, in communications, suggests that the bark and seed and leaf material are all used medicinally....seeds are powdered and used as a snuff for headache....bark is used for diarrhea and cough...the whole plant seems to be used for various pain complaints...fever treatment, and from one source, an explanation that the main modern use at least in their area, is using the seed powder aqueous extract as an ear infection/ache treatment...to be dripped into the ear. also the seeds are used as fish poisons. I havnt bioassayed anything yet. one source I found online suggests that a dose is anywhere from 3 grams to 18 grams as an oral decoction. one use that interests me is the bark aqueous extract being used as a general tonic. I have found no specific pharmakinetics research, that discusses specific activity in regards to a specific compound... various compounds are explained as the active material....but I am confused as to what exactly is causing the pain relief....I have noticed no discussion of mu, kappa, delta, or sigma stimulation. the company that sent me the material also claims to have access to 16:1 potency extracts of some of the different parts of the plant. the material doesnt sound too potent as far as dosage is concerned...I am really hoping that less is more with this material...because as usual, the taste doesnt seem to be something that is going to be nice. well, its been a long year of waiting for this one. now I have plenty of material to pass some on to a chemist, and for my personal bioassay research. and I REALLY hope I get some live seeds out of this shipment!

Bummer?!?!?!?!? I thought that was what this whole thread was about? I just recieved some Barringtonia acutangula seeds from India. I am attempting to grow half of them. I am confused as to whether the seeds are something to approach, or just the bark. I know the seeds are reported toxic. it would be nice if I got some germination... but for over a year, I have had very low germination to 0% germination rates from seeds I have recieved from overseas. I contacted many suppliers of ayurvedic plants in India, looking for a supplier of bark of this plant, and only had a few responses. I am very dissapointed.... I see more than a few types of medicinal blends that contain small amounts of the substance...but I find no one that offers the whole, single herb. there has got to be a supplier out there somewhere. one of the only people offering to help me find the herb, is a person involved with siddha medicinal system, and wanted me to take his correspondence course. I told him I could not afford such....and he claimed that maybe the institute he works with will sometimes overlook charging someone, if they are truly interested in integral medicinals, and crossing cultural boundaries... but then, I have heard nothing from him for months.

I tried low dose naltrexone... it actually worked for a few days....but the side effects became too much. a ringing in the ears, and nausea. it felt after a few days that the potentiation was too much....I became bed ridden for a day when I decided I had enough of the experiment. the solution I prepared might have been a problem, as I know that getting particles of the pill small enough might not have been achieved as well as it could have. I did a naltrexone treatment around 12 years ago. I was on 50 milligrams a day. I ended up getting high on naltrexone, during a relapse. it took about 3-4 times my normal relapse dose... once I found out that naltrexone does not seem to fully block a heroin high, at least for me, I quit taking it. I suffered as much weight loss in naltrexone almost as I did on heroin. I had no appetite, sexual libido was low, and I could not sleep longer than 3-4 hours at a time. and also, I craved nicotine constantly. a freind of mine who heard I got high on naltrexone, decided to try and use while he was on naltrexone treatment, and he ended up dying in a corner of a room, as his freinds thought he had just passed out. he was basically ignored to death. I was lucky my relapse while on naltrexone didnt kill me. I think the low dose naltrexone opiate tolerance augmentation hypothesis is a good one...but it might be hard for a person like me, to get accurately metered doses, even with a pill dropped into a litre of water, and then applied with an eye dropper to figure approx. dosage. I have tried several extracts of picralima nitida, and also tried the raw seeds. I was one of the first people to import into the USA..... all times, with all the different extracts, and the raw seeds, I felt mostly stimulant effects. no perceivable potentiation, and picralima nitida does not replace opiates either I dont think..... but it might help on a regimine of daily use, alongside opiates, to help treat some side effects of opiate tolerance.... the antagonist potentiation/tolerance augmentation hypothesis is very interesting..especially since there are numerous natural, plant based antagonists or partial antagonists out there. probably the most interesting medicinal that might have tolerance control use so far I have read about, and sampled...is mesaconitine...from a medicinal aconite species used in chinese and other asian medicinal systems. I checked for toxicity, by preparing the correctly handled aconite root elixir....basically boiling prepared root slices for a little over an hour and straining. I didnt feel much with the standard dose reccomendation...but importantly, I didnt notice any toxic or negative effects. anyway, mesaconitine is a kappa agonist, and is reported to help reduce tolerance to morphine, even if a person is habituated before the experiment. the compound is also used for pain relief....both topically, and internally. I have thought for a few years, that it might be one of the more active ingredients in HEANTOS...????...maybe, maybe not... but the plant is obviously one with alot of potential. the only problem is handling the herb, and probably toxicity at some level of use with so many natural opioid agonists and antagonists out there, and undoubtedly more such compounds waiting to be discovered...so many different structural varieties of active opioids...that I think many new discoverys, and overlooked common botanicals will have potential for those willing to push the envelope.

all of these items ARE LEGAL. and all are FDA approved in their natural form too I believe. menthol is a common ingredient in mint. its a good product, and a flavoring in food and pharmaceuticals. actually menthol is already used in most cough drops! its just the amount of menthol that they generally use is only 5-10 milligrams of menthol per lozenge. the data suggesting that menthol is similiar in potency to codeine might mean that doses of menthol might become more of an internal anti tussive with the doses similiar to those of codeine for cough. maybe 25-50 milligrams per lozenge might allow for a greater internal anti tussive effect. the menthol also works directly on areas that it comes in contact generally, especially mucous membranes. the nigella oil could only be used in a liquid form or in gel caps. unless there is a way to concentrate the oil into a semi solid. yellow horned poppy is a common anti tussive in europe. where pure glaucine is used for standardization in pill and powder form. so all these ingredients should be legal in all of the western world, and probably in many places in europe and the middle east. nigella sativa is sacred to islam in the sense that Mohammed espoused the virtues of the plant for all sorts of ailments/treatments. he said it would become a medicine used in the future. kappa opioid and other opioid agonist properties are known in a few fda approved herbs. chaste tree..., black cohosh....red clover.... while those herbs are not generally used for colds and coughs...I know that at least chaste tree is used in one otc the immune defense formula. the point I am trying to make is that kappa opioid and even mu opioid agonist properties are found in our diets and herbal dietary supplements...milk, wheat, and spinach contain compounds that turn into opioid peptides. so I wouldnt worry too much when your favorite dietary supplement is found to have activity comparable to some illegal or prescription substances. st johns wort is an herb that seems to have the potential of have a multitude of effects at various receptors types in the brains of mammals. menthol is probably the obvious ingredient to include in cough medicines.

some glaucine or yellow horned poppy which contains such compound would be nice. also, the peppermints/mints contain menthol which is reported to have kappa opioid agonist activity. topically, and internally. apparently, high doses of menthol...say a 100 milligrams, are described as being about as potent of an anti tussive as codeine. I think I have seen doses above a gram not reccomended. some plants containing menthol are listed as psychoactives. ..so not only does menthol help in the lungs....but also as an oral anti tussive, and a topical pain reliever as well. perhaps the menthol "effect" is why some people prefer menthol cigarettes...maybe there is a reinforcing activity of menthol combined with nicotine that is more than just taste. nigella sativa oil...a mild opioid mu agonist or at least purported to be, is another substance highly regarded for its anti tussive qualitys. I know enough of this oil to say watch large doses..over a tablespoon or even at that dosage can make one dizzy. and if other opioids/opiates are in your system, and you ingest nigella oil...it can make for a stronger, sometimes nauseating experience. I think many people could probably only need a teaspoon of nigella oil..with a crystal suspension of say 50 milligrams menthol....and 25-50 milligrams of glaucine in a juice or sugar water to wash the oil down. consuming nuts or oily substances right after the oil, and then drinking water help to get the oil out of the mouth quick. it has a somewhat spicy and bitter quality that is not unpleasant. I think a good balsamic could balance the nigella oil taste out...with some good cheese one wouldnt probably notice it too much. it might produce a slightly pain relieving salad...and help quiet the cough. mulllien oil on water, brought to steaming...and then inhaled with a towel over your head...is one of the best treatments that seems to have side effects on my lung health. it is an expectorant. one might do this expectoration period...and it really helps to soothe and stimulate one to get the large amounts of mucus free. also a bit of Eucalyptus oil in there works well with the mullien. I would put at least a half a millilitre of oil in a big pan. after this expectoration treatment...I would take some opioids to calm my coughs. the expectoration 2-3 times a day, followed with some night time opioids helped to calm my bronchitis infection. and after that went away, I was able to get over a concurrent strep infection. I also quit eating red meat at that period of my life. I had the strep and bronchitis for almost 3 months. I had to move from a cabin in the north shore Tahoe and move back home to Idaho and split up with my girlfreind because I was so sick. I moved in with a naturalpath and a clinical nurse. she helped me heal myself with herbs, and treatments. she also was scripted out of the yang being a nurse so she had plenty of cough medicines for me. but she insisted that the expectoration was going to get me better...the opioids taken alone might only help to perpetuate the bronchial infection. after the immune system was compramised the strep took hold. I was slowly damaging my heart, and building up scar tissue in my throat with these strep infections that I was getting every year...and also getting the bronchitis from I think sharing water pipes with large amounts of other people. in the late 90's I remember seeing a few Dr's talking about conventions where Dr's were noticing that strong bronchial infections seemed to stem from unsanitary water pipe water. anyways, Dr told me that if I kept getting strep like I was everyear...that it would probably lead to death by a heartattack. I pretty much took penicillin every year for strep and bronchitis by this time. and it was the naturalpath that told me to forgoe them for a time to see if I could kick it on my own with herbs to help. I did kick it in 2 weeks of her treatments. this gunge that had been perpetuation for almost over 3 months. after that experience...I never needed anti-biotics for strep or bronchitis again. I have taken them for some other infections....but not for strep. because I havnt had strep or bronchitis for over 11 years now after kicking the sichness with my own immune system helping. perhaps I built the antibodies needed. or perhaps it was something else, and I only perceived this to be so. so good expectorants and good anti tussives can be a good regimine together. DXM works...but some kids end up getting a bit reinforced on the stuff. I have seen teenagers end up using larger doses....just from initially using it as an anti tussive. I would rather give the kid a strong menthol tea.

I tried some cecropia smoked once. that plant material definitely felt active. put me to sleep quickly late at night. and I had some very strange and intense dreams. when I woke... a package was delivered early in the morning. in the package as a bunch of tagetes. the smell for some reason made me feel dizzy...and I attributed that to the strange effect of the cecropia leaf. anyone else have experience with cecropia? that is an interesting account of a snuff production.!

well that bottle was most likely an old patent medicine bottle that in all likelyhood probably contained at least morphine/opium and probably a good possibility some coca/cocaine as well. and if it was a "nice" bottle....he could probably sell it online for around a 100$....sometimes more. medical antiques have a good resale.....Dr's have lots of money usually...and a good portion of the people that collect such stuff are probably Dr's or at least in the health profession. I know of an old antique store...that has a box behind and under the counter that is full of old medicines. not just the hardware...but the actual drugs themselves. I did find one box that has a bunch of "bindle" wax paper envelopes..printed with the name of a vegetable painkiller company. and of course, as with patent medicines...no ingredients listed. each little bindle has a small amount of powder...say, 100 milligrams or a little more. its a very interesting find....probably costs a decent amount of money...and there is a good possibility that there is morphine in those bindles. it was real interesting to see that package...and then compare to the wax paper bindles that are sold generally on the east coast of the USA. not alot changed in all those years! finding an old morphine bottle is a dream of mine. I did find a nice little tiny blue glass vicks vapor rub bottle...about 2 inches long...it even had a working lid with the aquamarine top. it was buried in the ground...but for some reason the lid still had some paint intact. but, someone probably stole it from me.

well...sort of.. but in a country with a very vague analog law, something not having true opiate related structure is a big deal. it means that the compound/plant material has a better window of legality. it also means when the media makes reports against such natural products....that their sloppy unscientific terms can be picked on. different papaver species seem to contain oripavine and similiar types of compounds that could have potential in using to create very potent opiate analogs.....but the whole research project would technically be on thin ice at least in the USA. in nature there are to be found, possibly hundreds of opioid active compounds.....true opiate type compounds are less prolific. and anyway...what is a vegeena.... a vegitarian? ha heh ha ha

nice find on live plants. seeds can be found searching the plant name under google images. one thing small thing though.....this thread should actually be called indigenous OPIOID bark.. from my understanding...the active substances are NOT in any way structurally related to opiates. but that is just a minor issue.

personally I know that the cactus "paddles" can be eaten of this species. I think its called nopalito... I also know that this type of cacti can contain a compound that has been shown to help the body either replace oxygen or water after the effects of alcohol have taken their toll. a few years ago I thought that marketing this in a hangover pill was going to be obvious,....just last week I saw a drink at the grocers marketed as a hangover tonic, I am sure it would help if drank before one drinks as well. or why not make a margarita mix, with prickly pear extract and prickly pear fruit juice! its probably already being done. I know that there are other uses, as a possible anti depressant. some edot member told me that there is mescaline in trace amounts in some species.... here is what I just pulled off of wikipedia... "Opuntia is also added sometimes to the entheogenic drink Ayahuasca[18]. Psychoactive compounds and derivates thereof have been confirmed in some species. These include 3,4-DMPEA[19], 4-hydroxy-3,5-DMPEA[20], and mescaline[21]." so its possible I think that some opuntia being sold as food or as a dietary supplement, could have enough mescaline present to perhaps cause some mild somatic changes, or possible mood lifting....also wiki mentions these other compounds....which I really havnt heard much about...though they could be something that I have read about before. perhaps someday genetic manipulation by some genius could probably present us with a prickly pear cactus, that can be used for fruit, food and as a medicinal, and as an inebriant... if this cactus could be proven to contain mescaline that is being openly sold in stores...it could be used as a point for people defending themselves in court. similiar to how steak and wine can contain GHB....poppy seeds can contain morphine and codeine....etc etc. of course I am not saying this would get anybody off a charge...or to be though of as a card to play for ones defense...but it could be used as a point to deliver to a jury that the occurence of these types of substances in our daily lives could almost be considered unavoidable when considering society as a whole. its a great cacti.....one of the few that survives the winter up here in the desert northwest. we even have a species that is endemic I believe. other than opuntia there is only one other type of cacti native to the area I live. the opuntia is usually grown on the sides of side walks to keep peoples dogs from shitting in their yard, or on corners or common areas where people dont want to maintain the flora... Its not a real common item where I live for people to eat...but almost every grocers carries some.. its a crop that I think would be really good for the average american diet....also this plant does well in drought. tons of things can be done with the fruit....the paddles are good for stir fry, or thickening soup. I think the most common prep is in strips for fajitas. if you look at most dietary supplement herbalist co ops or health food stores you should be able to get it in gel caps or in bulk powder. there are also companies that extract this cacti. I dont know about grafting capabilities...but it might be worth a try...peyote would probably love to sit on one of these plants.

yes, I knew that Australia is a bit tougher on some plant species. some people in Australia when ordering certian plants like caapi vine, have Americans intentionally miss label the plant material as something else. I wont mention the plant names substituted commonly...but if anyone wants to PM me, I would be glad to let you know...unless of course you are an Australian official. intentional miss labeling is ok with me. even in the USA I know some people that have ordered kratom labeled as more common, FDA approved south american herbals, as sometimes the FDA gets a boner to destroy large amounts of kratom imports. what I am suprised about...not too much, but a little...is that this identity of plant is already known in the media. I finally found articles associated with the discovery in Australia that the plant has medicinal application. thing is...that the Australian discovery is actually a late discovery....this plant has been used as a medicinal for centuries now....its even listed in some older books on alkaloids and such. the plant is an ingredient in ayurvedic applications...that are even marketed towards children...though it seems that this plants extract or powder is used sparingly in most of these poly substance compounded medicines. it seems that there is probably alot more historical research on this plants medicinal use that I havnt touched. the total time I have spent knowingly researching this plants activity is about 2 hours total. kratoms opioid activity has been known for a decent amount of time...that, and the plant has a history of use in countries that are notorious for heroin production as a supplement to opium. one thing that Australia has going for it, is, that at least its close to endemic kratom populations, and has a good environment in areas for growing the plant. if kratom is ever illegalized in the USA....we are going to have a very limited area where the plant will winter over. its nice that Australia hasnt already illegalized the fresh water mangrove. having a comprehensive list of all plants that have proven opioid activity would be a nice thing to present to the general population and authorities. it might give them some idea of the scope of opioid activity in nature. common substances like menthol, which is a kappa opioid agonist both topically and internally, could be future sources of opioid analogs. its possible. the list of opioid active plants in nature is getting long. I dont see the possibility that as that list grows, that any government could effectively prohibit and control the sale of even 10% of the known opioid active plants. seeing that this plant has been somewhat commonly used as a medicinal, I think that chances that we are dealing with a substance with potential of abuse is pretty low. why has this plant not risen to the interest of that of opium.....probably like kratom we are dealing with compounds that like morphine are agonists, but unlike morphine. even though they might bind stronger, lack major euphoric effects. anyway, that is alot of conjecture. what I am interested in now is bioassay. from what I understand, the flower of this plant might be the most ethical and potent way to investigate this plant in the wild. the trouble with collecting flowers is the locale that this plant dumps its flowers into. mud and water. probably croc territory. but perhaps in the right season some enterprising individual might hang a tarp below some trees and collect some flowers. in one report I read, the flowers were listed as being one of the most potent sources of activity in this plant. from what I have read ethanol and methanol produce usable extracts of this plant. from an article on the plant in Australia "Quinn said the active compound appeared to be novel, and STRUCTURALLY UNRELATED TO OPIATE PAINKILLERS" ...very interesting...and not a bad factoid when considering the "window of legality" that this plant might be opportuned. "Quinn said Griffith University help a provisional patent on several compounds extracted from the plant and hoped to develop a drugs under joint agreement with the local Aboriginal people, who would recieve 50% of any returns once the product was brought to market" ....that is a nice policy for discovery...too bad such an agreement wasnt extended to the Mazatec, considering salvia divinorum could help produce a new painkiller with less tolerance side effects. they better get crackin on this discovery...because its possible that some corporation in India has known about this plant for years, and is prepared to do the same. "seeds in powder form have been used as a snuff to relieve headaches" seeds of the differen species have been used for homicidal intent "coconut milk being the antidote" "use of B racemosa as a tanning agent, due to the presense of tannins, and as an insecticide reportedly to be approximately half as potent as nicotine. the fruit of Barringtonia has been used to poison wild pig. in addition the seed of b. racemosa and ther fruit of B asiatica has been used for suicide and administration with homicidal intent. these toxic properties may be due to the presence of HCN which has been demonstrated in high concentrations in the kernel of B. asiatica" there is alot of information in this patent report....too much for me to easily deduct what the active compounds were in the plant. it makes for slow reading...someone with pharmacology study under their belt can probably understand more than I can. sometimes there is an easy answer, sometimes not. what is clear though is that this plant deserves more research. how many other related species share the same/similiar active compounds?

Barringtonia racemosa is an available plant in the USA. from a very nice nursery I have ordered tabernaemontana species from. the only problem with this company is that they have once shipped me mis identified plants. to their support I can say that they called me and informed me when they found this out. this species also has fish poisoning properties...though I have not found any human consumption history yet. Barringtonia acutangula seed seems avialable enough. being a fresh water mangrove perhaps this species is rare/endangered in Australia? I am thinking that India is going to be the place to find sourcable voucher specimen of this plant. if not prepared powdered material. the problem is sourcing some single herbs from this country. I have had some similiar problem in sourcing the extract of tabernaemontana divaricata from India. a little bit of raw roots is all I was able to find. and I bought that from a usa vendor.

well, a little more research. this plant is more common than I thought. there should be commercially avialable material out there somewhere. I had no idea that this was a mangrove tree. its funny because last night I was drawing a card for a girl I know dying of cancer. I drew an adaptation, of a mayan picture, of a crocodile, at the base of a mangrove swamp, and a quetzal bird in the trees. while I was drawing the picture,...I thought to myself that there might be something in the picture that has healing potential in nature. the next day I find that I was drawing a type of plant that I would later read about the next day. funny how life works. anyway, this plant is an ayurvedic herb. I can find no source for the single herb...though it is a component of poly ingredient herb blends. as a matter of fact, I found very few single herbs available for sale internationally, at least though some ayurvedic websites. this plant has been used for quite some time as a medicinal. strangely...it has been used more internally it seems in places other than Australia. are there certian taboo against internally taking herbs in Australias "original" culture? I have heard that in NZ, many herbs were not taken internally because of taboo.... I hope the chinese are researching this herb. I hope that material becomes avialable...and I hope if not an interesting euphoric opioid, that it is at least a marginally interesting analgesic opioid.

WO/2005/051969) NOVEL ANALGESIC COMPOUNDS, EXTRACTS CONTAINING SAME AND METHODS OF PREPARATION this report is on the analgesic activity of this plant belonging to the Barringtonia species. its the only page I can find any relevant info on the pharmacologic aspects of this plant. from what I skimmed quickly. bark is the prime material, flowers as well are potent....leaf material was reported to be almost inactive? damn. I want this plant. this is huge. this could be the next kratom type of discovery. this plants parts have been used as fish poisons, analgesics...for suicide. very interesting. this report above is a patent claim. did someone say that they have this plant growing? what are the wildcrafting possibilitys with this plant? rare? anyone else have specific pharmacological studys any structural info...any naloxone/binding assays? any personal research with this? the first person that gets to import this plant through US customs with a import/export license might be able to place an industry hold on the plants sale through shipping into the USA. if the plant was commercially avialable...a person might make a nice bit of coin, and help alot of people out with their research here in the USA. this thread reeks of potential.

not to "butt" in here... but I thought I would include a negative bioassay of ariocarpus fissuratus that was harvested apparently from land that was being cleared to raise cattle on. I seperated the two cacti tops from roots. I believe I ate the roots first. waited a few hours, and tried the tops. as I heard rumor the tops were psychoactive and the roots were narcotic/painkiller in effect. there was no bitterness. the cactus tasted like warm salty cucumber.....mixed with a not unpleasant earthiness. the cacti were not ancient specimen...I have two others that were almost twice the size. I feel bad for killing these cactus now. I have heard claims of ariocarpus being active. but the recent report over at edot seems to be someone claiming that a certian species is active if you smoke the tops. after my experience...or lack of one really, I would only stress to people that it may not be worth destroying such slow growing specimen of cacti such as these. I have looked at these lists for a few years....and been interested in bioassay reports. but about the most interesting I have found, are all reports of negative physical effects. such as the experiment that the shulgins sat in on with what I believe was a type of pachycereus (pringlii?) or similiar spelling....and the report that MS Smith includes on this website. the only effect that I might consider was a mild placid stimulation. but perhaps that was just increased opioidopaminergic endogenous activity from the act of novel exploration? ha ha. and the effect of feeling very "watery".... as if I was full of water, but not bloated, a comfortable saltiness. the commercial interest of finding a new psychoactive cacti probably drives as many people to eat "strange" cacti as does the search for psychoactivity. with pedro tea, I think one already has a lifetime of potential waiting. the gift that at least this cacti is legal to grow has been an important avenue of exploration for me since 1984 when I was first dosed on a small amount of "peyo-tea" there is a plant in particular that I would love to hear a bioassay of... but its not a cacti, rather, acacia rigidula.....this interesting species has recently found its way into some weight lifting formula's....but that is another forum. I think the pachycereus type cacti might hold some promise. at least we have some reliable information that they are at least psychoactive. if not nauseating. my ears will be eternally open to this discussion though, if not for my stomach.

well, dont feel too bad about this thelema... its important that we keep searching and researching. awhile back I found in data that a certian plant has dopaminergic and kappa opioid and mu opioid agonist activity. a certian chemist freind with the right equipment set to extracting and isolating the active diterpenoid type compounds that are suspected of some of the activity. he sent me a large amount of diterpene material, and also a small amount of alkaloid material. the first time I vaporized the alkaloid material I was knocked on my ass basically. my hands became very sweaty.....I felt a strong stimulation, probably the dopaminergic component of this plant was alkaloid in nature. but I also felt a slight salvia divinorum like effect. the material was obviously psychoactive. the raw plant material from which these compounds were extracted is a common medicinal herb. chaste tree. swiss research already labeled certian compounds as most likely active. I think probably the diterpene components are the mildly active opioid agonists. anyway, the whole extract of this plants berries is highly psychoactive in its own right. the first time me and my wife took chaste tree extract...we both felt sweaty hands...a feeling of energy, slightly nervous, and a definite suprise that this berry had such strong stimulant effects. I also found that in the first 40 minutes of the effects there was a slight cannabis like effect, a strange creeping strange psychoactive feeling...similiar in ways to cannabis. I though perhaps this was similiar kappa opioid/dopamine stimulation that THC can cause initially the alkaloid material was highly interesting. when the chemist that extracted it first bioassayed the alkaloid, he commented to me that he had an initial effect that reminded him of the start of a salvinorin a trip. later though they claimed that this compound was not similiar to salvinorin a. the first few times I vap'd the alkaloid, I had significan psychoactive experiences. strong stimulation. full body electric like effect, sweaty hands and feet. I also experience movement with my eyes closed, as if shadows were spinning around under my eyelids. a short experience totaling about 15 minutes. with a nice euphoric drift off. all this with only 10-15 milligrams of material being ingested. I even felt amounts as small as 5 milligrams or lower....but mild. well, the point of the story is that after a few times of vaping that alkaloid material...the effects became much less prominent. before I knew the potency of the pure compounds, I would feel nervous just trying to handle them. after a few experiences, I find that the alkaloid material seems much less a psychoactive effect, than it has somatic effect. perhaps the main component of the first psychoactive trial was endogenous opioid release, or some other neurotransmitter, mixed with the obvious psychoactivity of the actives. the effects became much less prominent. unfortunately the alkaloid component in chaste tree is low yeild, the milder active diterpene material is much more prolific...though seems not to be the major active compound compared to that alkaloid portion. I think that some people found out about this, and started adding chaste tree isolates into their smoking blends. I find that chaste tree is much more active consumed in its whole form it seems that breaking it down and isolating certian compounds. I have seen a little chaste tree make someone with the flu feel much better. I have a feeling that its one of the more active components of a certian anti-cold effervescent tablet for the cold/flu season. the girl I gave some chaste tree to, took it at the end of a day that she was out with the flu. some 30-40 minutes after I gave it to her, she started vacuuming and cleaning at 10 oclock at night!! it was sort of a letdown.....but still extremely satisfying. I have to thank the chemist that made most of the isolate research possible. it seems that a little psychoactivity can go a long way when you are experiencing the novelty of exploration. the initial rush was intense enough that soon after I came out of the experience, I felt like I had discovered something very interesting. reality was a bit hard when I realized that the alkaloid portion was very low yeild, and after a few experiences, quickly lost its edge. I still get effects from the alkaloid portion I still have left...but I rather save it for new heads to change. everyonce in awhile a freind will be interesed in the experience. I was so excited about chaste tree initially, that I tried to share my experiences with the whole plant material and the isolates. I actually met with alot of doubt. many people didnt think that something interesting was still under their noses, and prolifically avialable in health food stores and on the internet. some people claimed that I was confusing my psychoactives. a few years later I found a report in Dale Pendells last book that a tribe in south america worships the chaste tree, along with two other jurema species. they consider chaste tree 1 of three types of "jurema" this is a very interesting tidbit to me. here is a culture that has adopted the use of what I think is a european transplant psychoactive. and they consider it sacred, alongside one of the most interesting psychoactives on earth, certian mimosa species. after I read this, it was like a whole new world of possibility opened up for the already amazing chaste tree, is it possible that this semi common spice could effect the pharmakinetics of DMT taken orally? I dont know personally...but from the report stating that the plant is considered a type of jurema, I think that a chaste tree/jurema bioassay is warranted. keep up the search. dont be afraid to make some premature posts. it encourages interest. I also had a similiar experience with pukatea extract. an apparent dopaminergic and very good tasting tree product. my first few experiences with this extract were very good. mixed with DXM the experience was borderline potent as a moderate coca experience. after a few times though, the doses of pukatea that I was taken failed to produce the same effect. the last time I took that extract I experienced a very strong panic attack situation...and some tight chest feelings....I became tolerant to its psychoactivity, but not its somatic stress production from probably too much low quality dopamine stimulation. I have high hopes that more psychoactive salvia species will be found out. some people have thought they found some psychoactive species recently...though after two years of growing different varietys...and testing all plant parts....I failed to recieve even the slightest interesting effects. the claim was major opioid effect, heavy in the mu dept. but interest in those plants has seemingly died down, after most people failed to find anything interesting with the plant. talk was that there were inactive variations of the species..but I think maybe partly what happened is other psychoactives consumed within 24 hours of the experiments may have potentiated or produced false positives. its too bad, because I found a nursery that grows feilds and feilds of this type of salvia...and they were willing to let me trim the tops in the fall for a bit of $$ to produce alot of biomass for extraction. after the point though, I realized that this is probably not worth my time. I did write the scientist in Iran that first researched this specific species of salvia...but never heard back from him. there is some opioid effect with at least one variety of this species....there is chemical data that suggests mu opioid agonist activity. but nothing has come from my research of the plant. the discussion of this salvia plant became pretty heated. people were selling plant materials, and some people were making claims that this plant was already an out in the open, proven psychoactive. imagine the intensity of the first vaporized salvinorin a trip!!! I dont know if the first isolated salvinorin a bioassay is recorded anywhere...but it sure must have been a heavy revelation. a substance so powerful that most people misuse the plants power. I have felt so many wonderful effects, and horrible effects from salvia divinorum. what I find is that the lower doses seem to be more euphoric. some people just dont get that if the extract is too potent, that the raw leaf might still have very euphoric and interesting effects if used in lower doses. my experience with salvia officianalis is that it can have ALOT of thujone in it....and also has some somatic effects that wormwood doesnt. be careful with overdosing on salvia o tinctures or "sagesinthe" as it can really give you some powerful and sometimes toxic effects when consumed in too high of amounts. the statement that most salvia species are active is a nice thought...but I think its hardly correct. and out of the hundreds of species known...there is the chance that at least one of them could be very toxic.