Alchemica

Thanks for your interest @87_botanistShoot me a message with your address, let me know if you'd like a bit of both the Ipomoea and Convolvulus?

Thanks for the kind words @Micromegas, I'd kept fragmented parts of notes online while my energy and consciousness was so ill and fragmented, I wanted to alchemise it into something more constructive for the community. Might consider a blog but this community is my home at the moment. Hope you're well.

Hope your son and your family are doing OK @Fenris I'll add this here. I was struggling with extreme hunger and weight gain after being messed up metabolically through meds, I couldn't keep going that way, heading into dangerous territory. Basically things like anthocyanins and cinnamon seemed quite beneficial. Blueberries. Freezer section for bulk consumption therapeutics. They're delivering cognitively, for executive function-type stuff and mood wise, for weight management, on hunger levels etc. Least vicey habit I've had. On the plus, effects may persist beyond the cessation of flavonoid consumption They have really good anti-obesity/hypoglycemic/hypolipidemic and antidepressant-like effects. They tend to be insulin sensitising. Cinnamon could be beneficial to counteract deleterious dietary effects in stressed conditions. I've covered the CNS benefits elsewhere. "A Cochrane review on cinnamon states that long-term blood glucose control is essential in reducing the risk of complications associated with diabetes mellitus such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), retinopathy and nephropathy. Insulin is one of the key hormones that regulates energy and metabolism use as well as transporting sugar from the bloodstream into cells. Cinnamon has been studied as a therapy for improving glycaemic control through its insulin-mimicking biologically active properties that enhance glucose uptake and utilisation in the cell by: -modulating hepatic glucose metabolism through changes in pyruvate kinase (PK) and phosphenol pyruvate carboxikinase (PEPCK) -inhibition of intestinal glycosidase -translocation and synthesis of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT-4) -insulin receptor de-phosphorylation and auto-phosphorylation. In type 2 diabetes, higher amounts of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) are indicative of poorer control of blood glucose levels. Once haemoglobin has been glycated, its ability to transport oxygen, as well as collect carbon dioxide to return to the lungs, is lost leading to advanced glycated end product (AGE), elevated HbA1c and plasma glucose which are associated with retinopathy, nephropathy and cardiovascular disease In a clinical trial, 2g of cinnamon a day for 12 weeks alongside regular medication for type 2 diabetes, significantly reduced glycated HbA1c, as well as diastolic and systolic blood pressure compared to placebo.A recent double-blind trial reported that 3g of cinnamon significantly improved all components of metabolic syndrome such as insulin, blood pressure, antioxidant status and lean body mass when compared to a placebo" Hibiscus sabdariffa derived polyphenols are known to ameliorate various obesity-related conditions. The mechanism includes the regulation of energy metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways, transcription factors, hormones and peptides, digestive enzymes, as well as epigenetic modifications. Low doses of Roselle tea or supplements appear to be effective in reducing blood pressure, and may be anti-diabetic. Saffron also has interesting effects for metabolic syndrome and potential benefits. There's interesting stuff on harmine as an interesting therapeutic.

Thanks to @Siggor for suggesting Salvia species. Some of these have 5-HT1A/DA mediated effects. I've also used quite a lot of Salvia sclarea essential oil orally at low doses. I find it nicer than lavender. Lavender has effects in part mediated by 5-HT1ARs, likewise the linalool-type compounds in Clary sage probably do too. Clary oil was found to alleviate stress and have antidepressive effects, effects manifested by activation of dopamine pathways. The anti-stressor effect of clary oil likely involves dopamine D1/D2 and 5-HT1ARs. "Another piece of research published in the Journal of Medicinal Food found that including clary sage oil in the food of animal subjects lead to a significant reduction in dominant and anxious behavior. " https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320423.php

. I've explored a little, I might explore more. Here's some of the research I've compiled. Ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) use Acorus preferably to treat central nervous system (CNS) related diseases such as epilepsy, insanity, mental weakness, or insomnia. Calamus has been widely used internally in both Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for degenerative central nervous system disorders associated with communication, focus, memory and learning. Paradoxically, calamus has both stimulating and sedating properties. "Vacha (also known as Calamus and Sweet Flag) has been among the most revered herbs of traditional Chinese medicine and of Ayurveda, and has been one of the most renowned herbs used for mental and emotional disorders and for diseases of the nervous system. Calamus root (Acorus calamus) is a major herb for the mind and meditation, and is highly revered by yogis. Ancient yogis and seers used this herb and it is said to stimulate the power of self-expression and to enhance intelligence. Calamus promotes circulation to the brain, sharpens memory, enhances awareness, and increases communication. The yogic name, Vacha, means “speech” and refers to its action on the fifth chakra and its propensity to help you speak from your highest consciousness. According to Ayurvedic tradition, Vacha is a 'sattvic' herb which feeds and transmutes the 'kundalini' energy in its action as a stimulating nerve tonic that helps support brain functioning. As a rejuvenative for the brain and nervous system, it is used to promote cerebral circulation, to stimulate self-expression (in Sanskrit vacha literally means speaking) and to help support overall brain health and functioning. Swami Thirtha calls this herb as "one of the best of the ‘mind herbs’ [1. 2] There are some interesting initial results with it. https://planetherbs.com/michaels-blog/intranasal-calamus-oil-effective-treatment-for-down-syndrome-and-autism.html Both α- and/or β-asarone possess a wide range of pharmacological activities such as antidepressant, antianxiety, anti-Alzheimer's, anti-Parkinson's, antiepileptic, anticancer, antihyperlipidemic, antithrombotic, anticholestatic and neuroprotective activities through its interaction with multiple molecular targets. It's potent at potentiating NGF (also released/increased in love) but longer term potentially carcinogenic [https://examine.com/supplements/acorus-calamus/]. For acute ingestion, β-asarone and Acorus calamus appear to be quite beneficial and protective. Over the long term, it is potentially carcinogenic and causes organ damage. Nose-to-brain delivery of asarone for brain diseases is being studied. Asarone effectively modulates microglial morphological dynamics, this effect of asarone may functionally relate to its influence on neurogenesis. It is a promising neuroprotective agent for future prevention and treatment of microglia-mediated neuroinflammatory conditions. α-Asarone improved the quality of sleep, as indicated by an increased NREM bout duration, reduced arousal index, and decreased bout frequencies of NREM sleep and wakefulness. α-asarone treatment at low doses attenuated the depression-like behaviour during nicotine withdrawal. There are many reports of sedative and tranquillising properties of Acorus extracts and essential oil in animal models. Given that β-asarone is a major compound of the essential oil, its sedative and tranquillising activities may be due to the GABAA receptor modulating properties of this. The quantity of β-asarone in Acorus rhizome and essential oil, however, depends on the chemotype and thus varies considerably. The simple phenylpropanoid β-asarone induced the high potentiation of GABAARs. Its efficiency at a GABAA was significantly higher than that of known GABAA receptor modulators such as benzodiazepines or natural products such as valerenic acid. Anxiolytic effects of asarone were partially due to maintaining the balance between excitatory/inhibitory transmissions and attenuating neuronal hyper-excitability of excitatory neurons in the basolateral amygdala. :β-asarone produces an antidepressant effect, increases TH and could promote expression of GDNF, BDNF, and CNTF genes. β-Asarone functions as a neuroprotective effect in both in vivo and in vitro models of PD. α-asarone or β-asarone potentiated the NGF-induced neuronal differentiation. The antidepressant-like effect of α-asarone could be mediated through both noradrenergic (α1 and α2 adrenoceptors) and serotonergic (particularly, 5-HT1A receptors) systems. α-asarone effectively modulates microglial morphological dynamics, this effect of α-asarone may functionally relate to its influence on neurogenesis. α-asarone improved m1 mAChR expression and ACh levels, and attenuated the increased AChE activity in a mouse model of FXS. β-asarone antagonised Aβ neurotoxicity in vivo and improved the learning and memory ability. β-asarone might be effective for the treatment of AD As for toxicity, a study comparing the effects of lower, more rational doses of calamus (2012) reported that an “ethanolic extract of Acorus calamus (up to a dose of 600mg/kg BW) lacked any potential toxicity, as it neither caused any lethality nor changed the general behaviour in both acute and chronic toxicity studies in rats.” From http://www.herbcraft.org/calamus.html "I probably know calamus more deeply than any other plant I’ve worked with, yet in spite of that (or perhaps because of it…) I find it most difficult to capture what I know of it in a way that adequately conveys its essential nature; its medicine. Perhaps this is because calamus is not a plant that facilitates “capturing” on any level, but rather teaches us to yield to the flow of things and let go of our needs for stark outlines and delineations. Still, this plant has clearly offered itself to me not only to learn from, but to share, and so that I’ll try to do here… ...some words to describe the effect of Sweet Flag: Calming. Centering. Perspective. Joyce Wardwell once used the word “Resolution”… that’s a good one. It’s tempting to say that it instills “focus”, but focus isn’t quite the right word. “Focus” implies fixing the perception on a certain aspect of something, and Sweet Flag tends to open one’s awareness so that they’re able to take in what’s going on around them (or within them) with great clarity, without singling out any one aspect. So perhaps saying it instills clarity of perception is more accurate. I like to use borrow the concept of "depth of field" from photography... a narrow depth of field implies a narrower range of focus; broad depth of field a broader, more inclusive focus... this isn't meant to imply a purely or predominantly visual effect; I think of calamus as increasing one's perceptual depth of field. Sweet flag also seems to put your energy into balance, and get you energetically resonating as a whole. I like to say it "unscatters" energy. For this reason it excels as a treatment for panic and anxiety attacks, not only for full-fledged episodes, but for the "little daily anxiety attacks" that most of us can relate to. It is especially good when an intense/traumatic situation occurs, and you handle it excellently, but after its over you're all strung out and a nervous basketcase. I find it works best when a bit is chewed as soon as the onset of an attack is perceived... often I've heard that once the attack starts, it's not that it doesn't work as well, but that it's hard to remember to use it. Again, I think of that shuddering bitter quality; I visualize the shudder as the "freaking out" person getting a good shake: "Get a hold of yourself! Come back here, into your body! (Incidentally, I feel this affect on anxiety is the reason why it was used for quitting smoking: not just because it causes a "distaste for Tobacco" (it has been smoked with Tobacco for treating headaches; although I personally don't think the two blend together that well... like chocolate and tomatoes, if you had one, would you really want the other?). The intense anxiety associated with "Nicotine fixes" is very much like the anxiety picture that Sweet Flag is good for. However, it should not be assumed to be a magic bullet for the Tobacco habit, but rather an effective tool to supplement and enhance determination and will power. Quitting smoking requires… well, a long write up of its own.) I've used the plant quite a bit with people suffering from trauma, including post traumatic stress disorder, chewed to push away the flashbacks, quell the panic, and return to the present moment. Feelings of dizziness, nervous queasy stomach, "leaving the body", panic, looks like a scared animal in the headlights, doesn't know which way to go, frozen by fear, wants to run, but which way?, disassociated... all these are good indications. Have the person chew on Calamus and breathe deeply, fully and slowly and often the anxiety and panic will fade. It's an another option to consider alongside excellent remedies such as anemone, or indian pipe. In Ayurvedic medicine, calamus is called vacha, which means "to speak"... not only a restorer of the voice in a strictly auditory manner, it is said to connect the heart to the voice, to allow people to speak clearly, to speak truth. One client with PTSD would chew on it before or bring it with her to therapy sessions, as she felt it helped her let out things she felt she was holding in, fearing to speak aloud, to have "out there". Herbalist and Naturopath Anne Hill offers some eloquent insights: "Intuitively and thru some playing around with calamus I have come to regard it as an herb for when people are in stuck mental states, like spiritual emergence type of situations where a layer of fear becomes prominent and inflamed almost and is ready to unfurl itself and fall away so that the person can move to another working level. I think calamus helps by thinning the veil between ego and spirit as well as spirit and Universe (or ____________ please insert deity name of choice here). When one has a glimpse or feeling of universal love, that fear can be more easily released... My understanding of being in fear is that it is so all inclusive that it barricades itself in so that no new or different perspectives or information can be obtained to help one move outside of that fear." K.P. Khalsa tells a very moving story in a presentation he offered on herbal remedies for autism (that link goes to a recorded presentation; calamus is discussed at 45:45) that illustrates the immense potential of vacha: "I was talking to someone the other day whose child [is] 16... he's been essentially nonverbal his entire life. He's said a couple of things here and there, but really he doesn't communicate verbally. She was telling me that recently they were sitting in their living room watching TV and mom and dad were sitting on the sofa behind the child... he was sitting a few feet from the TV on the floor watching his favorite TV show... and he'd never said a word to them in their entire life. He had started taking calamus from their therapist about 2 weeks previously, and in the middle of his favorite TV show, he turned around, looked at both of them on the couch, and said "Mom and dad, I love you."

@MountainGoat thank you kindly for your lovely offer. I'll shoot you a PM, much gratitude. Keep up the music work, sounds awesome.

Sorry to hear things are a bit rough for you and others at the moment, please feel free to reach out anytime you need to talk @Glaukus and anyone else feeling in struggle. I'll share my vine experience. It was good in that it taught me to temporarily take a break from vicey things but on top of poor lifestyle choices, neglecting my social-emotional-spiritual needs, poor diet it just crumbled so quickly. I was rapid back in hell. It had some mild uplift and efficacy, gave me a good break free from poor self-medication and potentially gave me some direction but I wasn't fully working with it. I didn't feel connected to myself, others, heart or spirit. It was too much to ask for just a short time to impart healing by no real effort of my own. I also had some kind of degenerative process going on, I needed to go polyphenols, anti-inflammatory food and move up from there. I had to regain personal choices that were healthy again, that were empowering and loving. That's where I've found adopting self-care building very ground up basics with our less spirited allies very healing. In building basics, I found self-love. It's reset my hedonistic cravings, given me daily uplift to keep growing, lately it's picked up in that things are much improved and I'm able make healthier choices. I was seeking the quick fix in vine, I needed the personal total life-style shift. I was running on unconscious autopilot, I needed to be personally re-empowered through small steps of loving choice.

I've gone from being the most rational, analytical science person to seeing beauty in simplicity at times and healing in that too. Plant medicine is an act complete and beautiful in its simplicity and Nature abundant in it's gifts and healing. When I relate to a plant, there is only me and the plant. The rest of the world dissolves. There are no worries about the future. No dwelling on past mistakes. Healing with nature is simple I try to grow the plants when I can, tending to the sustainable future in an act of self-care and care for the ecosystem As the plant grows, a Sacred alliance builds, a spiritual connection. Mutual respect I harvest when needed the plant and relate to it, get to know it intimately I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me. I am informed by the plant, changed. This is the act of life, in one pure moment - all the complexity, pain, drama of life is a pretense, invented in our minds for no good purpose dissolves. There is only the plant, and me, converging in a healing process My spin on some words by Thich Nhat Hanh

Hi All, hope you're all well. Does anyone have experience using Ayurvedic preparations? Before I go brewing up my own Ashwagandha brew, I want a taste of something more traditionally prepared, to experience that. I've grown Ashwagandha and enjoyed using the whole plant, used various standardised extracts and whole root etc but I recently spotted a super cheap bottle on the shelves at my Indian store. Wanted to experience the way they use it. Problem is it has no dose recommendations I can read. Any ideas what might be a dose, I've done seaching and can't find info on the net - it's like a 200mL bottle of 'Ashvagandha Thailaya'? Can try and grab a picture of what's written if anyone has skills, hard to capture the writing though. Had a taste, it's an oil preparation with a mild but interesting flavour.

There are a few. They also seem to be weak, have other effects and are reversible. I've played around with selegiline but nothing really jumps out as great for natural ones... Fo-ti is one, not great. Some kavalactones are weak inhibitors. "Piperine competitively inhibited MAO-A and MAO-B with Ki values of 19.0+/-0.9 microM and 3.19+/-0.5 microM, Quercetin has also been shown to [inhhibit] MAO-A (IC50 = 18 +/-0.2 microM) and especially MAO-B (IC50 = 0.2 +/-0.02 microM) Rosiridin inhibits MAO-B at approx. 10 micromolar concentrations. IC50 (required concentration to inhibit 50% of the enzyme) for segeligine: 1.7 uM (1700 nM) for MAO-A, and 6.8 nM for MAO-B Quercertin is therefore approximately 1/30 as effective as a MAO-B inhibitor as selegiline" The IC(50) values of (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin were 88.6 and 58.9 microM, respectively, and inhibition occurred in a dose-dependent manner, as measured by the fluorescence method. The Lineweaver-Burk plot revealed K(i) values for (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin of 74 and 21 microM, respectively. Norharman IC50 hMAO-B = 4.68 μM, Ki hMAO-B = 1.12 μM Harman, harmine and their corresponding synthetic derivatives are preferentially hMAO-A inhibitors Gancaonin A IC50 rMAO-B = 0.8 μM See more (let me know if you cant get the full text): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258445594_Selective_MAO-B_inhibitors_A_lesson_from_natural_products

Can an African daisy really stop smokers' cravings? by MARTYN HALLE, Daily Mail A plant taken by African bushmen for thousands of years is turning out be a potent anti-smoking remedy. Doctors in South Africa say they have had remarkable results with Sceletium - a creeping, daisy-like plant that grows in arid, almost desert-like conditions. Consultants treating patients for addictions to tobacco and alcohol have reported success rates of 70 to 80 per cent when patients are given Sceletium tablets. The leaves and stems, when dried and eaten, have similar qualities to a group of modern drugs called SSRIs, which act on the brain to relieve depression and anxiety. But Sceletium appears to have none of the side-effects of anti-depressants such as Seroxat and Prozac, which have been reported as making some people dependent on the drugs designed to make them well. Dr Cheryl Inngs, a psychologist at Rhodes Hospital in Pretoria, says: 'Sceletium capsules lifted patients' mood and made them less anxious. 'Patients report they are much less likely to overindulge in tobacco, alcohol and other recreational drugs when taking Sceletium. 'We found that it cut out the dependency patients have on addictive substances like tobacco and alcohol and gave them the freedom to say No. We have been so impressed by the results that we are starting to use it to rehabilitate hard drug users.' Dr Nigel Gericke, a medical doctor who has helped develop Sceletium, says: 'About 25 per cent of modern Western medicines are descended from plants first used as traditional folk cures, but until recently the indigenous plants of South African folk medicine have been largely ignored.' Large-scale clinical trials conducted by the World Health Organisation, and supported by the South African government are expected to confirm the effectiveness of the plant. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-149983/Can-African-daisy-really-stop-smokers-cravings.html#ixzz4xUtxYkQn Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Lobelia cardinalis looks really interesting - bought some seeds. This contains lobinaline, an α4β2- and α7-nAChR agonist, a potent DAT inhibitor and free radical scavenger. It is being researched for neuropathological disorders that involve free radical generation, cholinergic, and dopaminergic neurotransmission such as Parkinson's disease and drug abuse [1]. It's a plant available in Australia, seeds are cheap, too. See how my friend and myself go with it.

I've been hunting for a use for dihydromyricetin - stopped being interested in it after quitting drinking. Until now, I'm re-using it at the moment. Recently, The Versatile Effects of Dihydromyricetin in Health was published. The preparation of Ampelopsis as a tea is sometimes referred to as Vine tea. Traditional Chinese Medicine has utilised Ampelopsis as a medicinal herb for many centuries. The Moyeam grows in Zhangjiajie ethnic enclaves, and is considered to be the god's gift by the Tujia minority, best known as the "Tujia God tea". Dihydromyricetin (DHM) is a kind of flavonoid natural product that has been reported to display multiple pharmacological effects. Dihydromyricetin has been demonstrated to show antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial, cell death-mediating, and lipid and glucose metabolism-regulatory activities. DHM exerts a more rapid antidepressant-like effect than does a typical antidepressant, in association with enhancement of BDNF expression and inhibition of neuroinflammation, being superior to venlafaxine [1]. It is traditionally used for treatment of alcohol hangovers. It has been demonstrated that dihydromyricetin may exhibit the protective effects against alcohol intoxication and alcohol tolerance. The molecular mechanism might be associated with competitively binding of dihydromyricetin to BZ sites on GABAARs [2]. DHM exerts antidiabetic effects without causing excessive body weight gain via inhibition of PPARγ phosphorylation. DHM might be a useful drug for use in type 2 diabetes insulin resistance therapy [3] Dihydromyricetin may reduce Aβ peptide production and restore gephyrin levels, GABAergic transmission, and functional synapses, leading to improvement of clinical symptoms in Alzheimer's disease. It is a potent neuroprotective agent for DA neurons by modulating the Akt/GSK-3β pathway and may be useful in Parkinson's disease [4] It is a potent natural NF-κB inhibitor and likely a useful therapeutic agent for inflammatory diseases While dihydromyricetin exhibits health-benefiting activities with minimum adverse effects, DHM has the potential to cause pharmacokinetic drug interactions with other co-administered drugs metabolized by CYP3A4, CYP2E1 and CYP2D6. Further clinical studies are needed to evaluate the significance of this interaction.

I have a friend who has recently detoxed from alcohol using diazepam but now the diazepam has ceased, and an 'ineffable urge to return to the drink' has returned and I'm worried. I see he's self medicating some pretty hefty issues, just worried that he's losing impulse control potentially due to neurological deficits. He's on a heavy cocktail of psych meds, that said he apparently handles psychedelics well and finds them effective for quelling suicidality (but they have a reduced effectiveness compared to the general population likely due to medication influences) We've tried naltrexone etc... He has a great addiction psychologist but it doesn't seem to be helping. Losing pregabalin seemed to be the start of this spiral into alcoholism. What I want to know is how to theoretically optimise the psychedelic experience for re-directing him to a better life path? I've seen studies going down the route of 200-800 micrograms.LSD but want to know what aspect of the psychedelic experience it is that provides the 'therapeutic breakthrough'? Psychedelic Drug-Assisted Psychotherapy (see http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/…/Sessa%20Ben%20-%20Psychedelic%20… ) seems to hint that mystical type experiences are correlated with abstinence and to be honest, from what I hear, he's not quite getting deep enough. I'm open to any help on this one. Doesn't have to be psychedelics, I'm just out of ideas;

So if you were going to plant out a labyrinth to the Heart with Australian Natives, what would be some good plant additions? Looking at compiling a list. Eremophila, Boronia, Crowea and Lobelia and small Acacias are on my list. What are some high vibrational small native plants that you'd recommend? Any input welcomed.

Thanks for that at @Northerner. Still going well for this person, alcohol free but still the addictive need to medicate issues. Social attempts to reconnect just rekindle issues trying to adjust socially, fire off so much stress. Real struggles with OCD-like anxiety, mood, attention/goal-orientated activity and tics. Trying to do it with science based TCM and functional foods currently. Somewhat successful. Your suggestion sounds good, thanks for the suggestion.

Just an update on this. If anyone's had results, let me know. It has been shown to reduce oxidative stress, inhibit genotoxicity and exert neuroprotection. p-coumaric acid exhibits antidepressant-like effects, enhances long-term potentiation and recovers scopolamine-induced learning and memory impairments [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28830814] and may inhibit hippocampal neurodegeneration via potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties. It has been recommended as a hopeful adjuvant agent against brain neurodegeneration, including in diabetics [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28573601]

p-Coumaric acid activates the GABA-A receptor in vitro and is orally anxiolytic in vivo. The increasing prevalence and social burden of subclinical anxiety in the western world represents a significant psychosocial and financial cost. Consumers are favouring a more natural and nonpharmacological approach for alleviating the effects of everyday stress and anxiety. The gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor is the primary mediator of central inhibitory neurotransmission, and GABA-receptor agonists are well known to convey anxiolytic effects. Using an in vitro screening approach to identify naturally occurring phytochemical GABA agonists, we discovered the plant secondary metabolite p-coumaric acid to have significant GABAergic activity, an effect that could be blocked by co-administration of the specific GABA-receptor antagonist, picrotoxin. Oral administration of p-coumaric acid to rodents induced a significant anxiolytic effect in vivo as measured using the elevated plus paradigm, in line with the effects of oral diazepam. Given that p-coumaric acid is reasonably well absorbed following oral consumption in man and is relatively nontoxic, it may be suitable for the formulation of a safe and effective anxiolytic functional food. Pubchem I'm trying to get the full article from the authors but if anyone has access, that would be great.

It's a risky one. Personally I love a few drops in soy milk but I'm taking an informed risk Love Acorus spiced soy milk acutely. A few drops in the milk. Tasty and 'grounding/centreing'. As it's rich in asarones, it should only be seen as a short term addition and a low dose thing, just wanted to connect and appreciate the essence of the plant. Longer term it's potentially carcinogenic [https://examine.com/supplements/acorus-calamus/]. Calamus is used as a symbol of love, lust, and affection. For acute ingestion, β-asarone and Acorus calamus appear to be quite beneficial and protective. Over the long term, it is potentially carcinogenic and causes organ damage. Remember it shouldn't be used therapeutically and is sometimes sensitising... "I probably know calamus more deeply than any other plant I’ve worked with, yet in spite of that (or perhaps because of it…) I find it most difficult to capture what I know of it in a way that adequately conveys its essential nature; its medicine. Perhaps this is because calamus is not a plant that facilitates “capturing” on any level, but rather teaches us to yield to the flow of things and let go of our needs for stark outlines and delineations. Still, this plant has clearly offered itself to me not only to learn from, but to share, and so that I’ll try to do here… ...some words to describe the effect of Sweet Flag: Calming. Centering. Perspective. Joyce Wardwell once used the word “Resolution”… that’s a good one. It’s tempting to say that it instills “focus”, but focus isn’t quite the right word. “Focus” implies fixing the perception on a certain aspect of something, and Sweet Flag tends to open one’s awareness so that they’re able to take in what’s going on around them (or within them) with great clarity, without singling out any one aspect. So perhaps saying it instills clarity of perception is more accurate. I like to use borrow the concept of "depth of field" from photography... a narrow depth of field implies a narrower range of focus; broad depth of field a broader, more inclusive focus... this isn't meant to imply a purely or predominantly visual effect; I think of calamus as increasing one's perceptual depth of field. Sweet flag also seems to put your energy into balance, and get you energetically resonating as a whole. I like to say it "unscatters" energy. For this reason it excels as a treatment for panic and anxiety attacks, not only for full-fledged episodes, but for the "little daily anxiety attacks" that most of us can relate to. It is especially good when an intense/traumatic situation occurs, and you handle it excellently, but after its over you're all strung out and a nervous basketcase. I find it works best when a bit is chewed as soon as the onset of an attack is perceived... often I've heard that once the attack starts, it's not that it doesn't work as well, but that it's hard to remember to use it. Again, I think of that shuddering bitter quality; I visualize the shudder as the "freaking out" person getting a good shake: "Get a hold of yourself! Come back here, into your body!". (Incidentally, I feel this affect on anxiety is the reason why it was used for quitting smoking: not just because it causes a "distaste for Tobacco" (it has been smoked with Tobacco for treating headaches; although I personally don't think the two blend together that well... like chocolate and tomatoes, if you had one, would you really want the other?). The intense anxiety associated with "Nicotine fixes" is very much like the anxiety picture that Sweet Flag is good for. However, it should not be assumed to be a magic bullet for the Tobacco habit, but rather an effective tool to supplement and enhance determination and will power. Quitting smoking requires… well, a long write up of its own.) I've used the plant quite a bit with people suffering from trauma, including post traumatic stress disorder, chewed to push away the flashbacks, quell the panic, and return to the present moment. Feelings of dizziness, nervous queasy stomach, "leaving the body", panic, looks like a scared animal in the headlights, doesn't know which way to go, frozen by fear, wants to run, but which way?, disassociated... all these are good indications. Have the person chew on Calamus and breathe deeply, fully and slowly and often the anxiety and panic will fade. It's an another option to consider alongside excellent remedies such as anemone, or indian pipe. In Ayurvedic medicine, calamus is called vacha, which means "to speak"... not only a restorer of the voice in a strictly auditory manner, it is said to connect the heart to the voice, to allow people to speak clearly, to speak truth. One client with PTSD would chew on it before or bring it with her to therapy sessions, as she felt it helped her let out things she felt she was holding in, fearing to speak aloud, to have "out there". Herbalist and Naturopath Anne Hill offers some eloquent insights: "Intuitively and thru some playing around with calamus I have come to regard it as an herb for when people are in stuck mental states, like spiritual emergence type of situations where a layer of fear becomes prominent and inflamed almost and is ready to unfurl itself and fall away so that the person can move to another working level. I think calamus helps by thinning the veil between ego and spirit as well as spirit and Universe (or ____________ please insert deity name of choice here). When one has a glimpse or feeling of universal love, that fear can be more easily released... My understanding of being in fear is that it is so all inclusive that it barricades itself in so that no new or different perspectives or information can be obtained to help one move outside of that fear." K.P. Khalsa tells a very moving story in a presentation he offered on herbal remedies for autism (that link goes to a recorded presentation; calamus is discussed at 45:45) that illustrates the immense potential of vacha: "I was talking to someone the other day whose child [is] 16... he's been essentially nonverbal his entire life. He's said a couple of things here and there, but really he doesn't communicate verbally. She was telling me that recently they were sitting in their living room watching TV and mom and dad were sitting on the sofa behind the child... he was sitting a few feet from the TV on the floor watching his favorite TV show... and he'd never said a word to them in their entire life. He had started taking calamus from their therapist about 2 weeks previously, and in the middle of his favorite TV show, he turned around, looked at both of them on the couch, and said "Mom and dad, I love you." http://www.herbcraft.org/calamus.html

Thank you @cristop I've done some microscope pictures, I'll work through what you've listed. Appreciate your time and help.

Today's river adventure. I'm a total novice at plant ID so excuse me. Quite a few of these, want to see if it's worth grabbing seed? First thought it could be a Celastraceae of potential medicinal benefit? Heavily in flower, the blooms are heavenly in scent. Any input appreciated. The Celastraceae at the botanic gardens have been calling me, including the Maytenus. If it is, the Celastraceae family is a source of important bioactive secondary metabolites. Among the compounds isolated from their species, triterpenes and triterpenoid quinonemethides are of great interest, due to the wide range of biological activities showed by those compounds. At the present time, great interest had been devoted to the study of the species of the family searching for new candidates or prototypes of drugs than could contribute to the fight against diseases like AIDS and cancer. The isolated compounds show mainly antimicrobial, cytotoxic, antitumoral, antiviral, antiinflamatory, hepatoprotective, antifeedant and insecticidal activities. Exciting when you start to tune to the natural world around you with curiosity and spirit, want to inspire that in people. Spotted some nice Dodonaea down at the river too.

For me, it a journey through the chakras. Dying to the ego and dominant mind, being born to the Heart. Dying to primal root chakra needs into activating higher love, spiritual love. Try and come up with some better explanations soon

Today I let cacao's spirit guide me at my first attempt at a basic ceremony bar, this is very early R&D - got busy in the kitchen instead of dreaming. 15g coconut oil was warmed on a hot water bath and 200mg cacao alkaloids (finely powdered) added. This was vigorously stirred to form a milky somewhat dissolved suspension of alkaloids in the oil. With vigorous stirring, 10g agave syrup was added followed by slow addition of 20g organic cacao powder, forming a firm, consolidated mass. This was formed into an individual serve of ceremonial grade cacao chocolate and allowed to cool to afford one bar. Verdict. It's palatable. Lacks good mouth feel though and mp isn't the best. It's pretty powdery and crumbly. Probably needs some cocoa butter or something? Improvements for adding some mouth feel and bettering this welcome! Do you have suggestions on how to form a cacao product high in flavonols, Mg, Fe from the cacao with a good sweetener and a beneficial oil? Aiming for either chocolate to distribute to disadvantaged that will be healthy (I generally won't top that up with alkaloids), or if I move into healthier oil sources a spread where it can be put in jars. Aiming for it to be a solid healthy functional food and good slow release energy source. Might fortify with vitamins. I wouldn't mind something to act as a creamer if it can be a protein source, can you think of anything like that?

Found out the hard way rate of cacao fermentation STRONGLY ∝ to cacao concentration. Damnit! Now have cacao sludge going nuclear on me and overflowing. Be careful... Like it seems you actually want to use a raw cacao that's maybe even gritty and planty and not overly fine, not the better tasting chocolate grade... first batch was fine using 200g/4L of the slightly more gritty raw organic product, this smoother chocolatey cacao isn't a good brewing one at 500g in the brew...

So I've fermented cacao, that was good according to taste testers. I had some of the alcohol free yeasted sludge from the bottom of the fermentation yesterday... it's a good healer. Watch out ayahuasca... we have a new healer in town. This ones been yeasting for a bit now... Fermented cacao solids, sans the alcohol part For me it's a friendlier intelligence to work with. More heart-centred, less crazily spirited but intelligent and healing. Tastes a hell of a lot better too. Save some of the next batches for roasting . Mmm active flavonols, phenolic acids, funky alkaloids... I bring you brewed cacao SLUDGE! Got through half that, seems sufficient. It's maybe more an integration tool, not a vision ally, returning to heart, balancing energies, settling disturbances. Definitely a nice stabilising heart-resonance, definitely healing, cognitively clear with good emotional attunement. I'd guess the spirited alkaloid constituents would carry into the ethanolic portion so that dimension wasn't overly prevalent, this remnant sludge is like the grounding, healing heart energy counterbalance. The two would be nice together. Given me good balanced healing with just this. Kind of the bit I need to work with at the moment, the yeasted polyphenol rich portion. Good relief from my issues from that, see how long it lasts. If you brewed a strong cacao sludge you could get a dense alkaloid rich solution with minimal alcohol, too. Then roast. I'll play with that at some stage. The other part of the traditional preparation involves roasting... why might that be important? First the fermentation would increase both interesting bioactive/GABAergic polyphenols, including the parent serotonergic/opioid-active flavonols, and NMDA sperimidine alkaloids but also tetrahydro-β-carbolines (maybe even TIQs from the PEAs) and decent quantities of their precursor tryptamines! On roasting, Maillard-type reactions would occur and the remaining tryptamines form more tetrahydro-β-carbolines, possibly also undergoing decarboxylation to better levels of better actives... Tetrahydro-β-carbolines We have previously reported that several foods and fermented alcoholic beverages contain appreciable amounts of two of those THβCs found in chocolates, THCA and MTCA, reaching up to several mg/kg (Herraiz et al., 1993, Herraiz, 1996-2000). Interestingly, the concentration of THCA and MTCA in chocolate and cocoa is comparable to that of alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, and liquor, which contain a relatively high amount of those compounds. The origin of these tetrahydro-β-carbolines is a reaction involving L-tryptophan and aldehydes that are present or otherwise released during the processing of foods and beverages. Its chemical formation depends on the amount of precursors, storage time, pH, temperature, and processing conditions (Herraiz and Ough, 1993; Herraiz, 1996). The same reaction is likely to occur in chocolates that suffer a fermentation from cacao beans and heating processes. Then, it is expected that serotonin, L-tryptophan, and tryptamine afford the corresponding THβCs (6OHMTHβC, MTCA, and MTHβC) through a Pictet-Spengler condensation with acetaldehyde The biological significance of tetrahydro-β-carbolines and β-carbolines is related to their potential pharmacological actions on the nervous system, playing a role as neuromodulators via effects on monoamine oxidase (MAO), biogenic amine (serotonin) uptake/release, and benzodiazepine receptor binding. Then, these compounds exogenously supplied, or hypothetically produced in vivo, might become bioactive, exhibiting behavioral and/or toxicological implications. In this regard, it is very likely that part of the β-carbolines found in the human tissues and fluids have a dietary origin. Tetrahydro-beta-carbolines, potential neuroactive alkaloids, in chocolate and cocoa. http://sci-hub.bz/10.1021/jf000508l microRNA One level cacao sludges likely work at is the epigenetic, particularly microRNA, level: on the short, non-coding regulatory RNAs. Their main, although not unique, function, consists in regulating the translation and/or degradation of so-called target messenger RNAs Numerous studies have shown microRNAs to regulate fundamental processes, including muscle, cardiac, neural, and lymphocyte development, or the regulation of both the innate and adaptative immune responses. microRNAs are changed in a number of pathologies, such as metabolic, autoimmune, cardiovascular, mental and neuro-inflammatory diseases or cancers. Strong anti-inflammatory/immunomodulating/protective/restorative effects of polyphenols found in cacao extracts have been noted with reduced levels of pro-inflammatory enzymes such as NF-kB, 5-Lipoxigenase (5-LOX), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO), and TNF. They also likely get in at (IGF)-1/AKT/rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, by reducing the expression of IGF1 and Insulin receptor (INSR) genes, reduce the levels of Ribosomal protein S6 kinase beta-1 (p70S6K), activation of pro-survival PI3K/AKT pathway. and act at the ERK1/2-mTOR pathway. The break down flavonol polyphenols are also epigenetically active, modulating PKC, reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines, reduced apoptosis, reduction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression, and attenuated oxidative stress markers. There is strong regulation of microRNAs related to the mind and things like NF-kB, AKT, and MAP kinase pathways We really don't know how deep this goes! Promiscuous Effects of Some Phenolic Natural Products on Inflammation at Least in Part Arise from Their Ability to Modulate the Expression of Global Regulators, Namely microRNAs.