Alchemica

Back to playing with essential oils... There's some new papers Exploring Pharmacological Mechanisms of Essential Oils on the Central Nervous System A Review of the Potential Use of Pinene and Linalool as Terpene-Based Medicines for Brain Health The main oil I've been diffusing is Eucalyptus because it's not only cheap but it seems to have some neat benefits on paper. Also fond of lavender still. 1,8-cineole can elevate synaptic 5-HT levels by increasing the releasable synaptic pools of 5-HT, exocytosis and levels in the synapse and is a novel therapy for treating depression [1] It has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. It is proposed to be a NMDA antagonist and AChE inhibitor [2] with plasma 1,8-cineole concentrations correlated with cognitive performance [3] Increases in dopamine release with exposure to 1,8-cineole and eucalyptus oil were 241 ± 29% and 182 ± 16%, respectively [4]

There's initial human studies on some of the probiotic strains used in commercial kombucha's eg Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 Clinical studies showed that consuming BC30 helped alter the gut microbiome by increasing the numbers of beneficial bacteria, and ex vivo testing of blood from elderly humans who had consumed BC30 for 28 days showed increased anti-inflammatory cytokine responses. Results from a recent clinical trial suggest that the consumption of BC30 supports exercise performance and helps reduce exercise-induced muscle damage. Cell walls from the live B. coagulans GBI-30, 6086 strain have demonstrated immune modulating and anti-inflammatory effects in vitro. The immune-modulating effects of the BC30 strain were associated both with the cell wall fraction and with the metabolites produced by the live bacteria in vitro. It has shown benefit in IBS and rheumatoid arthritis

You fiend, sounds like something I would have done. Can't suggest it's good practice to bypass such a safety measure. Normally amine drugs are absorbed onto cationic ion exchange resins with sulfonic acid groups to form : "cation exchange resins contain acidic functional group capable of removing cations from basic solutions. The use of ion exchange resin to prolong the effect of drug release is based on the principle that positively or negatively charged pharmaceuticals, combined with appropriate resins yield insoluble polysaltresinates. Ion exchange resonates when administered orally, they are retained in stomach for two hours in contact with an acidic fluid of pH 1.2 and then move into the intestine at a slightly alkaline pH. Towards the large intestine, desorption from resins and absorption into the body may be slowed due to low fluid content and poor absorption in colon" Here is acidic release in the stomach: Ref I would have thought you could likely do a strong acid eg HCl wash of the resin to liberate the amine.HCl salt into solution but maybe strongly basic conditions to liberate the free amine is the way to go.

Wondering if anyone has ever stumbled across literature on the phytochemistry, toxicology or any use of the Corydalis that seem to be widely available and widespread in Australia? The ones I mainly see are hybrids like C. flexuosa x elata I'm growing it simply as it's attractive with it's blue flowers and as a shade-loving plant but curious if it is otherwise useful? Despite not finding any analysis for flexulosa or elata (other than the anthocyanins in the flower) there is one mention "Those species which grow in China, including C. flexuosa, have been included in the Chinese herbal pharmacological choices for pain relief." [1] One thread here states the types commonly used in Chinese Medicine are: Corydalis yanhusuo, C. turtschaninovii, C. ambigua, C. repens. The most extensive alkaloid breakdown of Corydalis species I can find is unfortunately in a different language and doesn't seem to list any details for flexuosa etc Tetrahydropalmatine for example has been isolated from: C. cava C. decumbens C. intermediata C. ochroleuca C. saxicola C. sempervirens C. solida C. yanhusuo C. ambigua C. caseana C. tashiroi C. lutea C. pallida C. solida C. tashiroi It seems to list some therapeutic Corydalis as: Corydalis ambigua Cham. & Schlatdl Corydalis bulbosa Pers. Corydalis decumbens (Thumb.) Pers. Corydalis chaerophylla DC. Corydalis incisa Pers. Corydalis koidzumiana Ohwi Corydalis longipes DC. Corydalis meifolia Wall. Corydalis pseudoadunca Popov Corydalis ramos Wall. Corydalis saxicola Bunting Corydalis speciosa Maxim. Corydalis turtschaninovii Besser

Has anyone added medicinal Amaryllidaceae to their garden? It's been briefly discussed here over the years here but has anyone found a practical Amaryllidaceae with favourable toxicological properties to grow? I've been interested in them for a bit as garden additions. The first one that got my interest was Boophone disticha whose crude ethanolic extracts and some alkaloidal phytoconstituents possess potent SERT/5-HT1A mediated [One article states triple reuptake inhibition of 5-HT/NE/DA] antidepressant and anxiolytic effects [1] That said, it seems to have some scary toxicity too (unless you like deliriums) and is not broadly available (and $$$) Then there's things like Narcissus pallidulus and Narcissus cv. Hawera. Having to deal with the toxicity of lycorine being present in cv. Hawera sounds unpleasant so Narcissus pallidulus sounds most interesting personally Narcissus cv. Hawera biosynthesizes Sceletium-type and Amaryllidaceae alkaloids [mesembrenone, galanthamine and lycorine as major alkaloids], while The Narcissus species from section Ganymedes (N. triandrus L., N. pallidulus Graells, Narcissus lusitanicus Dorda & Fern. Casas, and N.iohannis Fern. Casas) have been found to biosynthesize mainly mesembrenone (over 70% of all alkaloids). Narcissus pallidulus accumulates only Sceletium-type compounds [mesembrenone and 6-epi-mesembranol]. [2] Mesembrenone represented 64.1 % of the total alkaloid fraction extracted from leaf of Narcissus cv. "Hawera" [3] The highest galanthamine content was identified in Narcissus cv. Sundisc (69% of TIC) and Narcissus cv. Waterperry (67% of TIC)

Sorry @bob-bob just missed out, thanks to all who requested seeds. All sent and out of seed.

I've got quite a few of these going from seed, small seedlings now, but if anyone missed out (note: state restrictions still apply) and has a SERIOUS actual interest in the plant let me know and I'll try and gift you a small plant once they're a bit bigger, otherwise they get donated to the dark-side of aesthetic flower appreciating grandmas Traditional use: Root infusion for worms, rheumatism; leaf infusion for colds, fever; root poultice for sores Constituents [1]: Aerial parts: alkaloid lobinaline Hairy root culture: diacetylene triol lobetyol + glucosides lobetyolin and lobetyolinin Leaves: anthocyanin cyanidin-3-O-[6-O-(4-O-E-p-coumaroyl-O-α-rhamnopyranosyl)-βglucopyrano]-5-O-β-glucopyranoside See more: https://www.cargocultcafe.com/tag/plant-identification-lobelia-cardinalis/ Some initial bioassays [2]: Positive "when it comes to stimulation, cardinalis is more like nicotine. Seems to give stimulant effects similar to mild nicotine. Seems to have mild aphrodisiac properties. Slight mood lift present it also seems to have anti depressant properties. ...the anti-depressant effects cannot be compared to anything - because you just feel better, it's not anything like pharmaceutical anti-depressants. ...it's painkilling potential is huge. powerful muscle relaxant and really potent painkiller..." Less positive: "L. inflata is far more effective than L. cardinalis and L. siphilitica in my opinion." [1] http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicines5040121 [2] https://drugs-forum.com/threads/lobelia-cardinalis.213716/

Let them ripen on the plant. split them up then dehydrated at low temp. Worked for my other corns, hopefully these too. Hope you've been enjoying yours!

I had a hard time finding a viable seed for purple corn. Tried Morado Pitch Black etc and no luck. I eventually settled on Thai Hybrid F1 Purple Corn. Enjoyed growing those. If anyone wants me to put some free seeds in an envelope just let me know. Not sure what it will revert back to as it's a hybrid but hopefully something purple Once again, sorry, No WA/Tas

-just trying my best to be legit without even knowing what I have to technically be legit about... if it's not an issue I still have a few seed pods on their way and can plonk them to where permissible. From what I've heard TAS is pretty strict on even seed

Thanks for the interest, have three people!

I've been interested in this Lobelia as a potentially superior (?) alternative plant to L. inflata. 'The Penobscot people smoked the dried leaves as a substitute for tobacco. It may also have been chewed'. Lobinaline caused a significant, dose-dependent increase in dopamine release and preclinical and clinical data exist that support nAChR-based ligands as promising therapeutic agents for the treatment of depression, alcohol and drug dependence. The alkaloid has been proposed as a treatment for Parkinson's and psychostimulant abuse [1]. Lobinaline appears to be distinct from nicotine and lobeline in terms of its selectivity and functional effects at nAchRs and is a DAT inhibitor. Compared to other plant metabolites, such as nicotine and lobeline, lobinaline is relatively non-selective with respect to α4β2- and α7-nAchRs Lobinaline displays appropriate pharmacokinetics and low mammalian toxicity in mice relative to lobeline, the most widely studied Lobelia alkaloid. Haven't bioassayed myself but if anyone wants to grow it (say first 3 replies in this thread and PMs) let me know. Seed was collected from the plant pictured. No TAS/WA sorry. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27105955/

The latest study Antidepressant Potential of Mesembryanthemum cordifolium Roots Assisted by Metabolomic Analysis and Virtual Screening Depression is a common mental disturbance that can be categorized as mild, moderate or severe. Mesemberine alkaloids, the main recognized phytoconstituents of some plants belonging to family Mesembryanthemaceae, are well-known as serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the antidepressant activity of the alkaloidal fraction of Mesembryanthemum cordifolium L.f. (Aptenia cordifolia) roots, family Mesembryanthemaceae using forced swimming test, assisted by metabolomic analysis and in silico ligand-based and structure-based screening. Results showed that the alkaloidal fraction displayed an antidepressant activity superior to imipramine hydrochloride, a standard antidepressant agent. Nine alkaloids were annotated from the metabolomic analysis. Interestingly, among the dereplicated constituents, mesembrane (5) displayed strong binding affinity to SERT protein, which is slightly higher than the antidepressant drug venlafaxine. In conclusion, the alkaloidal fraction of the M. cordifolium (A. cordifolia) root exhibits an antidepressant activity which can be attributed in part to mesembrane (5).

This year, I moved on to some new patches at home along with my own medicinal herbs and culinary stuff: For the herb beds I used Red Clover and Self-Heal as edible living mulch and focused on plants like Chamomile, Moldavian Dragonhead, Lemon Balm, Yarrow, Mexican Tarragon, Roselle, Tulsi, Marshmallow, Echinacea etc The other things were - A bee and butterfly and flower garden (even has a bee motel) - A 'medicinal weed patch' The Bee and Butterfly flower garden has things like Rose, Yarrow, Chamomile, Anise Hyssop, Mexican Tarragon, Lemon Bergamot which are useful medicinally, but primarily this is also a place away from consumption where I make room for and nurture the feminine in life. It is a place I appreciate beauty, sensuality and healthy sexuality I find rather than being something you need to consume from the garden, often it's connecting with the moment and multi-sensory enrichment via nature that is more therapeutic. It's also good to have a dynamic of novelty/new elements coming into play so each day you get to notice something. It's a 'Positive Vibes Garden' with a free plants box still. I tried to incorporate elements that to me are useful to day-to-day boost mental well being, particularly that encourage contact with the moment and a sense of connection. To me, those beneficial aspects include multi-sensory enrichment and company from 'friends'. I know it makes my day when something like a cool insect comes to visit. It provides sensory enrichment with vibrant bold colours (sunflowers, Cosmos etc) and diverse plants, tastes and smell. It tries to draw in nature - particularly winged creatures. The Medicinal Weed Patch has Dandelions, Wild Chicory, Crystal Ice Plant, Milk Thistle There's also purple carrots, chamomile etc spread between it It's a patch where I reflect on our need to love the unloved aspects of both ourselves and others to heal. Where we have to not fight with the darkness within and around us but accept and grow beyond it. Where when we nourish the darkness with mutual kindness, care, compassion and respect, it can lessen it's hold and be food for healing where we don't fight the old but focus on building the new of better, more loving ways It teaches us we can take the unloved weeds of life and through loving them, nourish health

I've generally thought Tulsi Vana was 'clove basil' ie O. gratissimum while the other Tulsi were the O. sanctum/ O. tenuiflorum but could easily be wrong? From The Medicine of Basil post O. gratissimum The plant exhibited various biological activities including antidiabetic, muscle relaxant, anthelmintic, antinociceptive, antihypotensive, antileishmanial, antioxidant activity, anticonvulsant and anxiolytic activity. O. gratissimum contains a high quantity of essential oil (3.2-4.1%), ocimol, gratissimin, β-sitosterol, flavonoids, linolenic acid and polyphenolic compounds and is a strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory with neuroprotective effects [1] The chemical analysis of essential oils showed eugenol and 1,8-cineole as principal compounds and trans-caryophyllene as a sesquiterpene in higher proportion [2]. The essential oil anti-convulsant, sedative and anxiolytic properties and leaves of O. gratissimum contain constituents which possess anticonvulsant and anxiolytic-like activities [3] [1] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/13880209.2010.506489. [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20559750 [3] http://www.phcogres.com/article.asp?issn=0974-8490;year=2010;volume=2;issue=1;spage=36;epage=40;aulast=Okoli O. sanctum/ O. tenuiflorum O. tenuiflorum is used for treatment against a headache, constipation, kidney infections, cough, cold, and diarrhoea. The medicinal properties in Tulsi are mainly due to the presence of a variety of phenolic acids such as caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid, flavonoids, and essential oils. Chavicol methyl ether (estragol), linalool, eugenol, 1, 8-cineole, and methyl cinnamate are the main compounds responsible for the typical aroma in the basil plant. Leaf extract enhances specific cognitive parameters in healthy adult volunteers [1]

Did you ever get far on this @LikeAshesWeFade? While I think you can do a lot medicinally with Salvia officinalis and that should be more widely appreciated medicinally, showing potent modulation of CNS receptors [1], AChE inhibition etc with cognitive and mood-enhancing efficacy [2], I'm interested if the White Sage is even more useful for cognition and mood - as you've highlighted, as far as we know, the biological properties extracts from S. apiana aerial parts were limited to the screen of the cannabinoid or opioid receptors activity (It showed moderate CB1 activity and some constituents opioid activity) [3] S. apiana is particularly rich in phenolic terpenes. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31196061 [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5318325/ [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28025900 Full thesis on the topic including extraction etc : http://thesis.honors.olemiss.edu/622/1/Taylor Hayes Thesis.pdf

For rapid result tasty microgreens during the warmer weather while waiting for other plants to mature, sunflowers have become a definite favourite. A couple of dollars gets you a HUGE bag of birdseed (attract some birds while you're at it). Just wash, soak overnight, super densely plant out in soil and harvest in a couple of days... and repeat From experience, birdseed is a little too unclean to try sprouting in a jar even after washing but is fine done as microgreens Sunflower microgreens, contrary to many of the greens I have, have a super pleasant, mild sweetness that would be enjoyed by most They are high in protein and minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron and a source of good fats. They demonstrate numerous beneficial effects [1] including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, wound-healing and cardiovascular benefits. The antioxidant capacity of H. annuus was also much stronger than other microgreens and a proposed to be beneficial for metabolic disorders and diabetes [2]. [1] https://dx.doi.org/10.1186%2Fs13065-017-0328-7 [2] https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf300737y

I've been revisiting this, switching caffeine for Alpinia galanga Ended up fermenting a non-alcoholic galangal beer (similar to ginger beer) with 25g/L dry A. galanga (found a nice pungent powder) and some fresh rhizome. Several attempts have been made to develop another natural product which has similar effects as caffeine without producing adverse cardiovascular and nervous system side effects. Of the galangal extracts, the aqueous extract of A. galanga was found to be the most efficient in enhancing the mental alertness which was further assessed by a well-designed clinical study in the human population: it was "more efficient compared to caffeine to maintain the mental alertness without inducing the caffeine-crash like symptoms" It has actions of inhibiting dopamine reuptake leading to an attention-enhancing effect with additional AChE inhibition and has neuroprotective effects. [1]. [1] https://m.scirp.org/papers/86091 I modified the recipe from [2] and did a quick ferment using (for a 5L batch): 300g grated fresh galangal 125g dry galangal 1tsp cinnamon powder Tsp of cloves 250g sugar (added a non-fermenting sweetener to taste) 5 L of water 3 lemons Got a brew I enjoy but my taste buds are fried so be warned - a family member who had never had galangal didn't like it. You'll want to filter the majority of the galangal out after making the tea if you don't want a thick mess

An experiment in 'Plant Spirit Art' Do you feel plants have a spirit? If nothing else, they have an personal, often unconscious imprint of how you relate to them which you can seemingly tap into through things like art. Been trying Plant Spirit 'Art', art purely for the process, not the outcome, where I take a moment to sit with the plant and actually connect. Taste a bit, maybe make a tea, smell it, see what feelings and memories it brings etc then quickly as possible without letting my analytical judgement get in the way, paint with the plant and it's 'energies' Some are quite intense energies that inspire a depth of feeling and connection, others are more subtle This is probably the most 'in the moment with the plant' and connected I've let myself be and it's in a way liberating and nourishing, even though super simple For example, tried to create a piece of succ-y art. Wanted to see what would happen if I shut my thinking off and just 'became one with the succulent' - what would happen merging the succulent spirit with paint, in the moment? Painted 100% with succulent, connecting with the spirit of the plant and just totally going with it. It succs but what do you expect? Feel it's an interesting way to explore the space and spirit of a plant, if I actually had artistic ability

Complimentary plant material - PM me. Not intended for therapeutic use or otherwise consumption - if anyone has TLC plates or anything, love to see something like that M. crystallinum (lots) or D. bosseranum (less) aerial parts, dried not fermented.

Cheers @Micromegas Pretty confident it's the one that gets used as a green for culinary purposes, game enough to have a taste anyway after checking with a few places. Being not a coastal person, haven't spotted it myself but haven't been looking Interestingly. the Garden of Eden states it contains "large quantities of oxalic acid" as sodium and potassium salts so it's odd it's finding such wide use in culinary circles without much mention of any risks.

Can anyone confirm that this wild find in fields of mallow is what I'm after? Edible: The crystal ice plant can be used steamed, stir-fried or blanched and is a great complement to seafood dishes. Medicinal: Aside from the above findings: May be a "promising functional food for the prevention of diabetes" [1,2] and have anti-obesity effects [3] It also has beneficial dermatological effects [4] [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31089648 [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24374864 [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26390196 [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25592948 If so, happy to offer dried research material etc

How is your attunement to the spirits of the skies going? I've been exploring this, more as feather finding. It's a really nice (and 100% free) flow state searching for feathers and you really attune and connect to the environment around you - I feel you can interpret your 'feather findings' psycho-spiritually, in a more spirited way than reading tea leaves... I find I often find feathers that are in some way deeply relatable to life. I like to make little objects out of them. For example, yesterday's feathers to me are a reflection of my current struggle between lower and higher energies, learning to re-integrate shadow aspects, embrace dark and light and coming to a greater peaceful unity between the opposing duality to a greater whole Today, this one found me: To me, this is the feather of 'spirit triumphing over darkness'. Even when life is beating you down, there's a glimmer in the spirit to overcome the darkness.

For reference: From a reputable source, the seeds of M. crystallinum gave seedlings with expected glistening bladder cells

This is a new start for me. I got a mandala mindfulness mug started by a woman and finished it. It's simple art for me but it's a personally big step I used to gaze at women with the eyes of fear, now I'm finding I can gaze into theirs with eyes of love and healing. They are my mystery angels and medicine women. How can I love them better? Having a bit of trouble sleeping as for once, I have those divine beings called women running wild in my mind