Beach Convolvulus

[Happy Cadaver]

Botanical name? Your not even a dj's bottom.

Edited April 19, 2007 by darcy

[Torsten]

what's the botanical name??

[Happy Cadaver]

I think it's Ipomoea pes-caprae ssp. brasiliensis, the Goats Foot Convolvulus. Actually, pretty sure it is.

[spaced]

I pes-caprae has been used historical by the Australian Aboriginals as a treatment for headache and marine stings, suggestive of a vasoconstrictive effect, which in light of the plants close relatives may well be due to ergot like alkaloids cf ergotamine used in migraine preparations. According to Tim Low in his book "Bush Medicine: A pharmacopoeia of natural remedies" the leaves are heated over hot sand or coals and pressed against the infected part.

Jonathon Ott in Pharmacotheon makes reference to the use of the plant in other areas to assist childbirth, once again suggestive of ergot alkaloids. Low refers to some research on the plant conducted by S Wasuwat (Nature 225, 1970:758) who isolated an active principle from the plant which he/she named IPA, describing the compound as antagonistic to jelly fish poison and also mildly antihistaminic.

I have a couple of potted specimens which seem to be doing OK in a course potting mix. They look a long way from flowering though.

[Torsten]

very low in desirable alkaloids.

Ipomoea muelleri is a much better candidate, with about 50% of the alkaloids of Argyreia nervosa. No bioassays yet though as far as I know.

[Zu]

Originally posted by Torsten:

Ipomoea muelleri is a much better candidate, with about 50% of the alkaloids of Argyreia nervosa.

When you say 50% do you mean 1/2 the potency or 1/2 the alkaloids present? Can you please tell me where you got that information?

No bioassays yet though as far as I know.

AFOAF has taken an alcohol extraction of I.M on three occasions. The seeds used were very old but definite psychedelic effects were felt. There was a little nausea but no purging.

He now has fresh seed (homegrown) and was waiting till spring to replant but may do further experiments in the meantime (boldy going where no man has gone before).

This species is now being grown in Kings Park (Perth) but it looks like they're having a hard time getting it established.

[Torsten]

Originally posted by Zu:

When you say 50% do you mean 1/2 the potency or 1/2 the alkaloids present?

There are many alkaoloids in the convolvulaceae, however there are 3 LSAs that are present in HBWR and are responsible for the effect.

Ipomoea muelleri has on all 3 alkaloids almost exactly half the amount of HBWR. Thus two Ipomoea muelleri seeds should theoretically give the same effect as one HBWR. The only thing that remains unclear is if there is a toxic priniple as well.

Can you please tell me where you got that information?

Michael Bock, in press.

AFOAF has taken an alcohol extraction

very interesting. do you think you could get me a full write up of the experiment please. would be great to put it on the site too.

I think as with HBWR, freshness is a major factor in trip quality and effect. being a smaller seed may also speed up oxydation or whatever the decomposition is.

With the above statement I just realised a small error in my previous thought. The ipomoea is half the alkaloid content by weight (as compared to HBWR). However, the I.m. seed is also much smaller. So rather than saying two Ipomoea seed should equal one HBWR, it would be more like 4 Ipomoea for each HBWR to make up for the smaller size of the Ipomoea seed.

[Zu]

Thanks for the info Torsten.

 

Originally posted by Torsten:

do you think you could get me a full write up of the experiment please.

I'll see what I can dig up. He usually tries to document eveything in case of a disaster or breakthrough.

[Zu]

Originally posted by Zu:

He usually tries to document eveything in case of a disaster or breakthrough.

But not this time

I found some meagre notes that detailed the beginings of his first experiment. The extraction was done with zippo lighter fluid and vodka. The interesting thing was the amount of seeds used. He used around 500 seeds assuming this to make two doses. He estimates the final product was around four or five doses but only two were taken.

The seeds were old and may have had very little amides left in them but I believe they are still viable for growing from.

His first taste was the most sucessful and included euphoria, body tingling, time distortion and increased music appreciation. The first effects came on relatively quickly (within 25 minutes on an empty stomach) and increased over two or three hours before subsiding with a fairly smooth comedown.

There was a little nausea but this was attributed more to apprehension than to toxicity. He did worry a lot about vasoconstriction ("do my hands look blue to you?") but no limbs have fallen off yet.

In a later experiment he combined it with a smoked salvia extract and had a prolonged and more visual (and kind of scary) salvia trip than he'd experienced before or since.