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Torsten

Psychoactive Saffron (Crocus sativus)

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That sounds like some complex chemical activity T!

Are you aware of any other psychoactive cartenoids?

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Thanks fpr the warning about opiate potentiation Torsten, Ive got some comming in my order and could have had some troubles if I didnt know about that. Muchly appreciated!

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That sounds like some complex chemical activity T!

Are you aware of any other psychoactive cartenoids?

Probably not that complex really. Safranal binds to the serotonin receptors and hence probably interferes with other serotonergic drugs affecting them. I'd like to make a list of drugs saffron interferes with, so please send in reports. Who knows, maybe saffron could be used to terminate LSD trips or MDMA overdoses.... at the very least clever parents could really spoil their 15 year old raver kid's weekends by making an exotic dinner :P

Neither safranal nor crocin are carotenoids, but rather oxidative products of a carotenoid. Sorry, don't know of any others, but then again the carotenoid itself probably isn't psychoactive.

You could always try burning a carrot :P

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sid loves the stuff......... :wink:

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Has anyone tried regular commercial saffron? I don't see why it wouldn't work.

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sid loves the stuff......... :wink:

hm yes

i would definitely not be taking saffron to terminate LSD

various gnomes suggest there is noticeable synergy

that saffron is good shit ^_^

inebriating and dissociative yet still lucid

hm such things do seem to synergise with sid - Nos and now saffron

i wonder what K and sid do

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Funny, I was about to bump this thread myself.

It seems there is indeed an upside to waking up at 5:30am to go to the airport.

The upside is mother coming back from Iran with rather large amounts of high grade saffron.

Extremely colour rich, very very easy to stain, and absolutely no yellow whatsoever.

This herb is known to my father used in a tea as "makes you laugh until you die" at doses of about a teaspoon of high grade stuff. Mother claims the herb has calming effects. So maybe some traditionally used dosage info there :P

I think the saffron situation in Iran is similar to the kava situation in Fiji, the good stuff generally stays in the country and the not so good stuff gets shipped off.

Will post back soon with bioassays.

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Mother brought back even more saffron than I originally realised, several different brands.

One of them had some writing in the back and I asked her to translate (I can speak but not read Farsi).

Moderate doses cause 'happiness'/'highness'

Good for the stomach

Using saffron with honey removes kidney stones

Saffron increases appetite'

It also seems saffrons psychoactivity has been known for a long time. Oh yeah, and mother didn't seem to agree about the appetite enhancing properties, but she did say there is an old Persian saying about saffrons use as an aphrodisiac.

EDIT: Oh yeah, one of the brands she brought back came with a pack of cardamom seedpods, mother indicated some "dual use" or synergy. Arabic lore indicates cardamoms use as an aphrodisiac (think Arabian Nights).

Edited by apothecary

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cardamom

shit yes

Ill alway remember lebanese coffee at the quiet waters

think turkish or greek coffee with a cardamom pod in it

and some first class baklava

drooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

i love spice ;)

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Saffron tastes yummy B)

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wow, I saw lots of Saffron when I was in the Egyptian markets but they'd trick customers (especially white people like me) and put the mostly inferior and worst coloured saffrons in view, whilst the best stuff would be hidden. When a white guy asks to buy saffron they pull out the worst stuff and try and sell it for a really expensive price but if you knew the going rate for locals I think you could get the good stuff for a very cheap price. So are the effects of saffron kind of like opium? and visuals?

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Neither safranal nor crocin are carotenoids, but rather oxidative products of a carotenoid. Sorry, don't know of any others, but then again the carotenoid itself probably isn't psychoactive.

You could always try burning a carrot :P

Oh god, smoking carrots, dont give americans ideas :P

Ever tested Bixa orellana (annatto)? Or more specifically the orange-red paste covering the seeds?

Crocin (saffrons pigment) is the digentiobioside of crocetin... and bixin (annattos main pigment) is the monomethyl ester of the crocetin derivative where a -CH=CH- was added on each end between the carboxylic acid and the rest of the chain.... its a long shot but worth looking at (especially because annatto is quite cheap).

Might even be good for you, annatto is a hypocholesterolemic. Just dont forget that its a potent diuretic in some people (wheres a uncontrollable-urination smilie when you need one).

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WOW, I can't believe ppl r using this as an ethnogen.

I'm deff getting sum of this top qual saffron, but I couldn't bare to do anything else with it other than cook with it, oh damn, I've never even heard of saffron this good, can't wait to see how much it colours and flavours my rice.

U rule T

:ph34r:

MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmm

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I tried about 50 threads the other evening and was plesantly suprised!

Very relaxing, non-stimulating mdma type feeling (although MDMA makes me sleepy most of the time anyway) that lasted about an hour until I started to get a very nice sedation and then sleep. almost opiate like but without the intense warmth and muscle relaxation..

Its started to burn my tongue a little bit after about 5 mins but nothing to uncomfortable, jst need to move it around a bit. Im now a big fan.

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my question is what do you look for when finding good quality saffron.

there alot of shops in my area that sell saffron, some places really cheap.

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i experimented with the stuff from the supermarket...

first trial=nothing.

today maybe 25 strands= some calming and inebriating effects, and a little bit of head stone.

material was kept in the mouth as long as possible without chewing much.

i can tell it affects my writting, but it's nothing strong.

maybe dosing up would produce stronger effects, but i will not do so as i havent eaten anything since 40hours.

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you got effects from 25 threads of store bought stuff hey PH, keep trying wiht it mate, the standard dose we have been using on the Sargol from SAB is 40 threads, so try that many next time and let us know how you go.

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where we were just staying in victoria there was a sign up for 'saffron pickers' and a friend said he had a backyard full of crocus, also a lady at the markets was selling crocus bulbs labelled as 'saffron'..

is there any chance the strains being grown in australia are any good?

or is it wishfull thinking?

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The plants themselves are probably fine E, the quality comes from growing methods/locations/harvesting time and so on.

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the australian stuff is ridiculously expensive. I've already asked.

re quality: I am not saying that supermarket saffron CAN'T be potent. It is just unlikely to contain much safranal as this is volatile and I noticed serious reduction in aroma and more importantly in potency with saffron I had left lying in an open dish for a few days. The idea of tincture is a good one and I will try this soon.

Crocin should not be affected by supermarket packing methods. hence the effect of most supermarket stuff will likely be different and ultimately inferior to our product. I explained the reasons for this in the first post.

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I also experimented with masterfoods stuff from the supermarket

I held a pinch of around 50 threads in my mouth for as long as possible it produced only very mild effects

I will try agine with 50 and then maybe 70 as well as getting some of sabs stuff to compare

I also noticed it stained the inside of my mouth orange so that’s maybe something to watch out for if your experimenting with it

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So no ones tried swallowing a capsule yet? I'm surprised not to here any reports.

I'll try a capsule tonight with prob just under a teaspoon. :shroomer: Any word on oral dosage? Like when taken orally you'll need ? times as much as sublingualy.

And torsten have you noticed any depletion of serotonin the day/s after a big sargol sesh?

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From a culinary standpoint, Masterfoods has by far, the WORST saffron available in Australia! It's dry, flavourless and $6 here for 0.5g, Get fycked masterfoods! I even called them and complained it is that bad! Occasionally I can get a mexican brand, got this red, corrigated stuff inside a plastic container. This is the best stuff I have found until I got a 5g vile of top grade from SAB. My rice is bright yellow/orange, It tastes incredible (very sweet). Most other saffron I've tried only mildly colours the rie and imparts very little flavour. This is certainly, TOP grade stuff.

P.S. I've heard of N.Z. growing saffron too, so maybe check out there prices. Prob still be too high though, with minimum wage and all that.

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