Catharanthus roseus (Ibogaine)

[۩]

Alkaloids:
Vincristine,[11] used in cancer chemotherapy.
Vinblastine[11]
Ibogaine[11]
Yohimbine[11]

.pdf http://www.heronbotanicals.com/Articles/Catharanthus_roseus.pdf

I thought some of you may find this interesting...

 

[polytrip]

stuff used in cancer chemotherapy is ussualy pretty nasty and toxic. And often, how odd, carcinogenic in the long run.

So for those of you who might think this would be a good psychedelic anti-cancer health-supplement..don't try.

This vincristine stuff isn't nice.

 

[Kannamate]

some people at edot have tried smoking sounds questionable definitely start low if at all thread about it here
entheogen.com

 

[Ginkgo]

Thanks for this house, very interesting! I have already ordered some seeds.

 

[burnt]

DO NOT USE C. ROSEUS!

This plant contains very toxic alkaloids used in chemotherapy. Its a very important plant for drug development / production but it is not for amateur chemistry / recreational drug use.

Seriously DO NOT MESS WITH THIS PLANT! By that I mean don't try to extract and concentrate compounds from it. They can kill you. The plant can contain around 100 alkaloids although most in low quantities. However isolating anything like ibogaine from such a complex mixture is extremely difficult and again not for amateur chemistry.

Also the author of that article has no idea what they are talking about:

A 70% ethanol extract of leaves in an oral dose of 400 mg/kg
was shown to be 20% as effective as tolbutamide in diabetic rats, though much safer
(Chattopadhyay 1999).

400 mg/kg is not a pharmacologically relevant dose.

Safety and Dose
Traditional herbals do not specifically record toxicity of the herb, though some suggest it may
cause kidney or nerve problems. Some of these reports may only be extrapolating from the toxicity
of isolated alkaloids, which is absurd given the low quantities of any single alkaloid in the plant
.Catharanthus (90% methanol extract) was found to be mutagenic in vitro, though only after
metabolic activation (Elgorashi, et al. 2003). The relevance of this finding to use of low ethanol
extracts or teas, and whether or not the same thing would in occur in humans, is unknown.
An initial low-dose approach (0.5-1 ml three times per day of tincture) is recommended,
working up to an effective dose while monitoring for any adverse effects.

This is also a highly dubious section about safety. What kind of researcher recommends that people take this plant without recommending they do so under the supervision of a trained physician? How the hell is someone supposed to monitor for adverse effects without having medical training? I can't stand herbalists like this they really ruin the field with their stupidity.

Example he claims that extrapolating from studies on pure alkaloids is absurd because of low quantities of alkaloids but then in the paragraphs above describes how there is evidence for synergy in crude extracts. So if their is so called "synergy" (which is often claimed but seldomly proven) then that could make the plant more dangerous not less dangerous. Idiot.

The risks from poisoning from just eating a few leaves or making a tea are very low but once you start concentrating this stuff you are being very irresponsible.

 

[Aegle]

۩

Fascinating read, thank you ever so much for sharing my friend. Catharanthus Roseus is a really common plant that i have seen many times. :b


Much Peace and Understanding

 

[polytrip]

Burnt is right.
Do a little more reading on the plant and it's alkaloids.

Experimenting with it could be lethal or leave you with irreparable damage for the rest of your life.

There are plenty of other sources of ibogaine.

 

[burnt]

There are plenty of other sources of ibogaine.

Exactly.

Although the story of C. roseus is a fascinating tale of the important of natural products research and drug discovery. Its a wonderful plant but not for playing with its wonderful because of its medical potential and its a pretty house plant.