Acorus

[Tomer Corymbosa]

all the articles i've read talking about Beta-asaron appear in ROOTS of the plant.

and what about the leaves(blades) ? is there any asaron or another interesting active material?

thanks.

[Gunter]

The leaves are fragrant suggesting some oil content that might prove interesting.

[Auxin]

Question, Asarum europaeum is the dominant plant source for pharmaceutical asarone- yet no one seems to talk about european wild ginger as a potential entheogen. Why? Come on Torsten, I know ya have a thing for gingers Is it because european wild ginger wasnt featured in the (over rated) book "Legal Highs"?

[Torsten]

Dr Duke lists mainly teprpenoids, a few aldehydes, and 'gamma-asarone' (2,4,5-trimethoxy-3-propenylbenzene?) in the (aerial?) plant parts and lists asarone as just being in the rhizome.

I did a search on duke and it only lists A.calamus.

From the taste I would think the leaves contain similar components as the roots.

Question, Asarum europaeum is the dominant plant source for pharmaceutical asarone- yet no one seems to talk about european wild ginger as a potential entheogen. Why? Come on Torsten, I know ya have a thing for gingers Is it because european wild ginger wasnt featured in the (over rated) book "Legal Highs"?

LOL. It's not actually a ginger, but I am nonethless very interested in it. Problem is I can't seem to source it. I am also not sure if it would do well in the subtropics. I appears to prefer cooler climates. I do have a LOT of other Asarum and related species because I was expecting asarone to be present in some of these as well, but so far not a lot of luck.

[Gunter]

I am looking for seeds of Asarum europaeum thanks to it being mentioned, it should grow well where I am.

I may find it in a local nursery. I was aware of it as a groundcover but had no idea it was a plant of potential ethnobotanical utility.

[Tomer Corymbosa]

found it somewhere:

Calamus is a big, smelly plant with sword-shaped leaves and small, yellow/green flowers. Lives near swamps and banks in europe, asia, and north america.

"USAGE: The roots are collected in late f-all or spring and washed, the small hairs are removed and the root is dried at low temperature. The root could be chewed or chopped and prepared as tea. Dosage is from 5-25 cm of the root. The material decomposes and is inactive after one year. Must be stored cool and dry.

"ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: Asarone and beta-Asarone

"EFFECT: A piece of 5cm (thick as a pen) is stimulating and evokes cheerful mood. A 25cm piece may lead to altered perception and hallucinations. Calamus is also an aphrodisiac, especially when used as an additive in your bathing-water.

"SECONDARY EFFECTS: Calamus should not be used with MAO-inhibitors! Some aboriginal tribes chew the roots as stimulant and for mouth-hygiene. No secondary effects were reported. Some experiments seem to indicate that extreme amounts of calamus oil lead to a higher risk of cancer in rats. No similar effects are reported for humans.

"VARIETIES: There are three types of calamus, of which the one sold in Germany does not contain beta-Asarone. The amount of essential oil differs from 1.7% to 8.7%. The amount of beta-Asarone differs from 0-96% of the oil. European, asian and north american types show different compositions, asian calamus is considered to be more sedative, north american more stimulating. The calamus sold in Germany is not psychoactive; this is why J. Ott suspects other unexpored substances in the north american types."

"MISC.: The BTM-Kurrier reports in issue 1/95 that Calamus is a better carrier for hemp than tobacco. The toxic ingredients are better compensated, for example the sedative effects of mediocre or bad hash are removed. Calamus was often used in absinthe."

"better carrier for hemp than tobacco"???

did u try this combination guys???

it sounds interesting.

[Torsten]

that post doesn't even once mention gramineus....

[Gunter]

8 1/2 years ago I ate a signifigant quantity(14grams+) of dried american calamus, no effect. I have about 2kg of it gathering dust but I don't know the source of what I have.

[foolsbreath]

At a time, i used to chew regularly when walking, often with little real effect. One day I did chew a large amount of A. gramineus.

No real effects that day, But half way through a three hour walk the next day (quite strenuous), I noticed some considerable change in perception. It was very windy and gave a quite forboding feel to the rest of the walk, felt like i was emotionally connected to the weather.

[ergoamide]

I'm pretty sure asarone is inactive, the main interest for it was for TMA-2. Shulgin assayed asarone up to 200mg i think wiht no effect so i think its safe to say asarone has little if anything to do with any activity noted form it.

[Torsten]

I am quite confident that the activity of acorus species is not related to beta asarone. The best indicator for this is that the endurance herb traditionally used in north america is Acorus calamus var americanus which has consistently tested as being free of asarone or containing no more than traces. Yet, it is more active than the asian/european form, which is very rich in asarone. I am certain that the activity of all calamus species will be traced back to allylbenzenes.

[Gunter]

I am quite confident that the activity of acorus species is not related to beta asarone. The best indicator for this is that the endurance herb traditionally used in north america is Acorus calamus var americanus which has consistently tested as being free of asarone or containing no more than traces. Yet, it is more active than the asian/european form, which is very rich in asarone. I am certain that the activity of all calamus species will be traced back to allylbenzenes.

What might be a way, in theory, to prepare dried american calamus?

[Torsten]

What might be a way, in theory, to prepare dried american calamus?

an alcoholic or acetone extract would concentrate any allyl- and propenylbenzenes.

[Gunter]

Could heat cause some components to vaporize and disperse while others remain?

[ergoamide]

an alcoholic or acetone extract would concentrate any allyl- and propenylbenzenes.

Asarone is a propenyl-benzene, wouldnt be much point in concentrating it if it is without activity. Not very versed in isomers but asarone is the trans isomer and beta asarone is the cis isomer. gamma-asarone is the allyl isomer of asarone, but it exists in very minute quantites any of the acorus genus. gamma-asarone is also found in the oil of xixin (wild ginger).

[Torsten]

Could heat cause some components to vaporize and disperse while others remain?

many things will vaporise below the bp of allylbenzenes (>230 degC)

[Torsten]

Asarone is a propenyl-benzene, wouldnt be much point in concentrating it if it is without activity.

You are unlikely to find a simple method that will separate the allylbenzenes from the propenylbenzenes, hence the suggestion to simply extract all of them.