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Medicinal uses & biological activity of Argyreia speciosa (HBWR) - An Overview

Migrated topic.
I found this line regarding use of the seeds as a hallucinogen pretty funny:

"It caused psychic effects very different from those of LSD but similar to the effects of scopolamine."

Ha. I wonder if they've ever taken HBWR or if they even looked in the pharmacological properties of the ergot alkaloids in HBWR.

I find it a little odd that there isn't much discussion of the use of seeds in the medicine. I wonder if this is due to the seeds not being used much or are they trying to avoid discussion of the seeds.

One interesting thing is that most Indian strains of HBWR have lower concentrations of psychotropic ergotamides, so it shouldn't be too difficult to use them medicinally in low doses. And ergotamides have a wide variety of potent actions that should have been very apparent to ayurveda practitioners.
 
Lol similar to scopalamine..? Really?

Seriously where do these ignorant people dig up their facts? Scopalamine is basically a date rape drug that is extremely toxic and turns people into zombies. People will literally help you rob their own stuff and load it up into a truck while influenced on scopolamine. Is that what HBWR does? I think not. Not even close lol.
 
Kash said:
People will literally help you rob their own stuff and load it up into a truck while influenced on scopolamine.
Well this is actually a bit of misinformation itself. It is at least sensationalized in my opinion. The amount of scopolamine needed to produce total delirium will also leave you largely incapable of performing such complex tasks.

And scopolamine is not just some toxic substance. It has medicinal value that is not only recognized in herbalism, but also in modern medicine. At low medicinal doses scopolamine is even approved for daily use in some situations. It is perhaps the best motion sickness drug in existence according to some things I've read.

Even at slightly higher doses it isn't as dangerous as common notion would have you believe. The danger of scopolamine mainly lies in the fact that it is somewhat difficult to dose in a natural form and that most people who try to use it "recreationally" do not properly research it first.
 
The idea that the seeds are used as a medicine is simply misinformation. I've come across two particularly good sources that say the root, specifically, is what is used. As for the idea that the roots might contain ergoline alkaloids, here's a quote from one of the sources:

--
T.L.C. of methanolic extract of the roots on precoated silica gel G plate using methanol - chloroform (20 : 80) showed a blue fluorescent spot under UV (365nm) along with number of other spots of very weak intensity. Due to the presence of very negligible amount of alkaloids in the roots these could not be isolated.
--
(From the second source mentioned below, page 17)

The alkaloids mentioned might not even be ergoline alkaloids.

I say that these two sources are particularly good because one of them is based on sanskrit (and the sanskrit text is included in the book) and the other one was produced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India.

The Materia Medica of the Hindus, 1877, Udoy Chand Dutt, Sir George King Download
Sourced from The materia medica of the Hindus /by Uday Chand Dutt ; with a glossary of Indian plants by George King. : Dutt, Udoy Chand. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
A. nervosa entry is on page 207.

The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, part 1, vol. 5. Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Ayush Download
Sourced from http://www.ayurveda.hu/api/API-Vol-5.pdf
A. nervosa entry is on page 16.

The digital page numbers are different than the printed page numbers: 225 & 30


The first book has an entry for "Argyreia speciosa"; the second entry indicates both A. nervosa and A. speciosa, stating that the two are synonyms. Christian Rätsch lists A. speciosa as a synonym for A. nervosa at the start of his A. nervosa entry in the Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005). At the end of the A. nervosa entry, there's a note that says that A. speciosa is "probably only an African
variety or race of Argyreia nervosa"

NOTE: Most of the references found in this post can be found in my morning glory seed information archive: archive of information on morning glory seeds - LSD, LSA, LSH - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus


PowerfulMedicine said:
One interesting thing is that most Indian strains of HBWR have lower concentrations of psychotropic ergotamides, so it shouldn't be too difficult to use them medicinally in low doses. And ergotamides have a wide variety of potent actions that should have been very apparent to ayurveda practitioners.

Rätsch and Eckart Eich both indicate that A. nervosa is not native to Hawaii.

The baby Hawaiian wood rose is found throughout India and on Sri Lanka at altitudes of up to 900 meters. It is common in Uttar Pradesh (India), both in the wild and in cultivation. The plant is part of the indigenous flora of Australia and also occurs in Africa. It is now planted in all tropical regions as an ornamental or an inebriant (Bartels 1993,214*). Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005), p. 64, Distribution

Eich states the following on page 583 of Solanaceae and Convolvulaceae: Secondary Metabolites: Biosynthesis, Chemotaxonomy, Biological and Economics Significance (a Handbook), 2008

The scientific name of the species in bold (for authorities see text and tables) may be followed (in brackets) by a frequently used though invalid synonym and/or a common name if existent

And the A. nervosa listing on page 586 has "Hawaiian baby woodrose" in brackets.


Here's some information that indicates that A. nervosa was brought to Hawaii by humans:

A native of Ceylon and India, the baby wood rose has achieved commercial importance by virtue of its use in floral decorations. The sepals and seed capsules are not susceptible to wilt or seasonal non-availability, and substantial acreage in the Hawaiin Islands is devoted to the cultivation of the plant for this purpose.

McJunkins SP, Thornton JI, Dillon DJ (1967). Identification Notes on the Tropical Wood Rose. J Forensic Sci Soc. 1968 Oct;8(2):121-4


The islands of Hawaii are famous for the attractive plant materials shipped to the mainland of the United States and to the rest of the world to be used in dried flower arrangements or as seeds in jewelry.

William Emboden, Jr. Narcotic Plants (1972)


There are loads of species of convolvulaceae (morning glory) plants that contain ergoline alkaloids.* Morning glory plants contain ergoline alkaloids as a result of contamination with fungi related to ergot.** Eich lists 14 Argyreia species that have tested positive for ergoline alkaloids and Rätsch† lists 12. The selling of Argyreias by geographical names (e.g. Ghana, Madagascar, India, and Hawaii) is erroneous and people don't know what they're getting. Eich indicates that some of those Argyreias contain clavine alkaloids only (a subtype of ergoline alkaloid) -- no lysergamides.

*Comprehensive collection of all the current data on ergoline alkaloids in morning glory plants: pages 225-227, 231-236, & 238 in Solanaceae and Convolvulaceae: Secondary Metabolites: Biosynthesis, Chemotaxonomy, Biological and Economics Significance (a Handbook), 2008
**Eich provides an overview of this and there are five studies on the topic in my MG seed information archive.
†Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005), p. 66


Here's a report by someone who claims that the "Madagascar-origin" seeds he tried were just as potent if not more potent than the Hawaiian ones:

I tried Madagascar HBW seeds on 3 or 4 occasions. I've also used HBW of Hawaiian origin many, many times. The Madagascar seeds were as potent, if not more potent than some Hawaiian HBW seeds I tried. I've heard that India and Ghana have very weak, shitty HBW. Dunno anything about Tahiti seeds.

The Wizard, 16-12-2007,
Code:
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/258723-The-Big-and-Dandy-HBWR-MGS-LSA-Thread-(Archive-start-4-14-2008)?p=5586226&viewfull=1#post5586226
 
PowerfulMedicine said:
Kash said:
People will literally help you rob their own stuff and load it up into a truck while influenced on scopolamine.
Well this is actually a bit of misinformation itself. It is at least sensationalized in my opinion. The amount of scopolamine needed to produce total delirium will also leave you largely incapable of performing such complex tasks.
No, it's not. There is a tv special on it with interviews from people around the drug scene in Peru, and it is used exactly for that purpose. It only takes a small amount of dust in a drink or blown in the face off a peice of paper in front of the individual, and they lose all will power reportedly.

That is far from what HBWR does. And I find it really funny how the article automatically labels the seeds as misused if they are eaten, clearly they havent heard about spiritual medicine for the soul.
 
Kash said:
PowerfulMedicine said:
Kash said:
People will literally help you rob their own stuff and load it up into a truck while influenced on scopolamine.
Well this is actually a bit of misinformation itself. It is at least sensationalized in my opinion. The amount of scopolamine needed to produce total delirium will also leave you largely incapable of performing such complex tasks.
No, it's not. There is a tv special on it with interviews from people around the drug scene in Peru, and it is used exactly for that purpose. It only takes a small amount of dust in a drink or blown in the face off a peice of paper in front of the individual, and they lose all will power reportedly...

Columbian Devil's Breath.
idk if it is sensationalized, but there is the video.

Datura anyone? and additional info.
 
Impressive information regarding Argyreia Speciosa! I've always had an interest in this plant for its wide-ranged effects. Look forward to experimenting with this plant as a nootropic, tonic and psychoactive in general. May return back to here to share results and outcomes.

:thumb_up:
 
Cognitive Heart said:
nootropic

A. nervosa roots are historically said to "improve the intellect", as indicated by my first source in my above post. Interestingly, a modern study was conducted in India, going off that premise, where they tested A. nervosa roots as a nootropic (they used that word).


Hanumanthachar J, Navneet K, Jyotibala C, 2007, Evaluation of Nootropic Effect of Argyreia speciosa in Mice. Journal of Health Science, 53(4) 382–388


I'm using the title, Argyreia nervosa, because Convolvulaceae Unlimited lists Argyreia speciosa as "not accepted": Argyreia speciosa
 

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Thank you for the PDF! Very interesting results from A.speciosa. It certainly has potential in the field of neuropharmacology. I am aware of A.nervosa roots having historical nootropic properties. Quite a nice delight of a plant to have not only psychedelic properties in its seeds, but also nootropic effects from its roots. Clearly A. speciosa shows some good evaluations and promotes some clarity to healing cognitive health problems. Truly gifted plants!


:d
 
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