WARNING: Strychnine is a highly toxic compund and should be treated with caution! Poisoning results in extremely painful muscular convulsions and often leads to death. This thread is a discussion of the nootropic potential of strychnine, and should in no way be seen as an encouragement to experiment with said substance.
Introduction
Hello. I would like to discuss the nootropic potential of strychnine, as I have come across multiple sources claiming it to have stimulant and potential mind-boosting effects. The drug has a long history of use, and I was surprised to not see any threads about it on this forum. Most people only know strychnine as a poison, and I would like to open your eyes to the possible potential of this compound. When that is said, it is of course a very dangerous substance, and noone should try to use it as a substance without rigerous research and preferrably experience in working with such toxic chemicals.
Mind you that by "nootropic effect" is meant a positive effect in cognition and/or memory. Strychnine can not strictly be claimed a real nootropic, as this definition would require it to have little or no toxicity.
What is Strychnine?
Strychnine is a colorless, bitter crystalline terpene indole alkaloid which can be found in seeds from the Strychnos nux-vomica tree. Strychnine is very toxic, and poisining can happen through inhalation, swallowing or even absorbtion through mouth or eyes. Due to it's toxicity it as been used as a pesticide and murder weapon.
Method of Action
Strychnine acts as an antagonist of glycine and acetylcholine receptors. By binding to the glycine receptors, the inhibition normally caused by glycine is reduced, thus leading to nerve impulses being triggerede by lower levels of neurotransmitters.
Historical stimulant and nootropic use
- Small doses of strychnine works as a stimulant, and was famously used by Thomas Hicks in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He used strychnine sulfate mixed with brandy to win a gold medal in the marathon.
- Strychnine was also used as an early form of doping in cycling, and was considered one of the strongest drugs in the early Tour de France.
- In 1992 a female volleyball player used strychnine to optimize her play at the Barcelone Olympics.
- S. Nux Vomica seeds are used in the 50-100 mg dosage ranges in Indian Ayurvedic Medicine, where they are commonly used to supply energy.
- Nux vomica appears in many sexual stimulant mixes found in Asia and India. It's claimed to have aphrodisiac effects. It has an effect on the sense of touch, improving tactile sensitivity.
- In rats, it produces definite improvements in maze learning and visual and spatial discrimination. [Source: Memory and emotion: the making of lasting memories By James L. McGaugh, page 60]
- Strychnos nux-vomica root extract induces apoptosis in the human multiple myeloma cell line-U266B1. [Source]
- S. nux-vomica extracts show antihyperglycemic activity in experimental animals. [Source]
[quote]"In two experiments, the effects of strychnine on the specific memory attributes of prior discrimination training were assessed in terms of subjects' performance under various discrimination reversal conditions. Mice were trained in a discrimination task with two redundant relevant cues. Immediately after their last training trial, subjects were administered an intraperitoneal injection of either strychnine (1.0 mg/kg) or saline. When both training cues were reversed (Experiment 1), strychnine treated subjects were observed to exhibit greater performance decrements than saline-treated subjects upon initial exposure to reversal conditions, suggesting that strychnine had enhanced the memory of a relatively specific stimulus-response association. When subjects were tested under partial cue-reveraal conditions (Experiment 2) strychnine treated animals exhibited treater utilization of one of the redundant relevant stimuli than the other, while saline-treated animals exhibited no preference."[/quote][Source]
Anecdotes
These are anecdotes regarding the effects of low-dose Strychnine
[quote]"Actually strychnine is SWIM's #1 favorite stimulant. Its much better than coffee. The only reason he doesn't use it often is because of its toxicity. As little as 0.5 mg of strychnine produces a really superb nootropic effect. You see better, hear better, think clearer, remember better. The stuff is amazing. It's like acid without the psychedelic part. "[/quote] [69ron, Source]
[quote]Strychnine peaks really fast, after 20-45 minutes and then it starts to fade away. You can usually feel it for about 4 hours or so.[/quote] [69ron, Source]
[quote]There is the famous in Russia reference book for the doctors before me, two-volume Pharmaceuticals by Mashkovskiy. On the page 160 of the first volume one can read that strychnine as a nitrate salt in a therapeutic dosage stimulates the CNS and the organs of the senses, sharpens a vision, taste, hearing, tactile sensibility and increases the sensitivity of retina. Strychnine is used as invigorant, roborant and tonic when one's metabolism is poor, when one becomes tired fast.[/quote] [Gennady, Source]
[quote]"I have never had the nitrate salt of strychnine. However, I have been using the tincture for many years as a part of my every day herbal/stimulant/nootropic ration"[/quote] [Gennady, Source]
[quote]
"This stuff is awsome. It was full of euphoria. My body felt so alive. I could touch things and it would send waves of senses through my body. I was like super sensitive to touch. I could not stop smiling too.
I am so excited. Nux is awsome. Why does no one know about it. It is awsome.
When I was driving I could feel all the cars around me, every detail of everything was in my mind. It is mind expanding. When I was shopping, everything just sort of popped out of the shelves and the colors were so bright. I felt energized, lots of euphoria, and my mind felt like it was a super computer. I could take in all the items on the shelf visuallly, and be aware of all the people around me at the same time.
Nux is mind expanding. I would say it is psychedelic in a way, but not trippy. Its like the mind is supercharged and taking in data from the world around you on a much larger scale.
I am fascinated how nux can be so unheard of and yet be so awesome."
[/quote] [twister, Source]
[quote]I took the nux and within 15 minutes my pupils were saucers! I then went for a walk around campus (I live a half block away from the school I go to) and walking or motion of any sort seemed to potentiate the effects. But also, moving to sit down and taking a seat felt extremely pleasurable, Unfortunately I had some difficulty sitting still in class about two hours after I ingested them and think that I was giving off a lot of energy as the people sitting around me seemed overly figity as their movements seemed to be in some way connected to mine. Soo, I don't think I will take nux to pay attention in classes, but I can see myself using it for when I'm home and studying at night after class, or for exercise as it seems to be a great stimulant that would get me more into my activity.[/quote] [shmee, Source]
[quote]I would take it for study sessions and exams; vision did seem to get sharper and i did feel hotter and with more energy and clearer thinking[/quote] [fractalyzed, Source]
[quote]
- the effects of strychnine seem to be mainly physical:
* the body gets warmer, I didn’t made measurements, but definitely elevate my body temperature.
* when taken on afternoon or later, it seems to alter sleep time, my body is usually tolerant to coffee but nux vomica can keep me ("anxiously") awake
- on the psychological side :
* I often feel an urge to "get out and walk" after taking it
* the nootropic effect is extremely hard to measure or appreciate, I've tested many other nootropics, and strychnine is the only one that I can actually "feel" ( mainly because of its physical effects), sometime I notice that my memory is slightly better when on strychnine, but that can be 100% placebo.
* a 'little bit' of anxiety, especially noticeable with high doses
* The stimulating effect of strychnine can be described as a “not enjoyable” “slightly anxiety-provoking” stimulation[/quote] [1hedude, Source]
[quote]"I’ve got to mention that SWIM noticed this effect from his nux vomica extract! He can remember everything on the days he used the nux vomica extract more clearly than the days he didn’t use it."[/quote]
[69ron, Source]
[quote]
"There are other nootropics out there. Most of the good ones are next to impossible to get though. There are many “claimed” nootropics out there that haven’t really been proven to be nootropics. Strychnine is clearly a nootropic. Thoughts come with extreme ease while on a safe stimulant dose of it, and memory is clearly enhanced.
I’d like to know if there’s a safer substitute for strychnine that has the same beneficial effects. I’ve been researching this and have yet to run across any." [69ron, Source][/quote]
Toxicity
There is a list on Wikipedia that compiles a range of studies into the toxicity of strychnine on human beings:
http://en.wikipedia....#Human_toxicity
The LD50 for adult humans seem to be around 30mg.
Drug Interactions
[quote]"One thing, avoid drinking white grapefruit juice while using nux vomica because the active stimulant strychnine is metabolized by CYP3A4 (the enzyme inhibited by grapefruit juice), so grapefruit juice will increase the potency of nux vomica"[/quote] [Source]
Antidotes
My research shows that these items might help. They are not antidotes as such though - they merely dampen the convulsions. Please seek medical attention ASAP if you experience any negative side effects.
- Kava Kava
- Vitamin C
- Benzodiazepines(?)
- Vinpocetine
The seeds from S. Nux Vomica are easy to source. Some are treated, but seeds that are sold as being viable should contain strychnine.
Strychnine seems to be longer used in western medicine.
Products containing nux vomica are available from India. The seeds in these products seem to have been treated in some way to remove the Strychnine though (Herbo-Painless did not produce any stimulant effect in me)
Strychnine is still sold as rat poison in some countries. This would be a very bad source for nootropic use though!
Extraction Method
This extraction process is only posted here because it is the least dangerous method I have found in my research. Trying to grind the seeds can lead to accidental inhalation of seed dust, which can be deadly. In no way to I encourage anyone to venture into extracting this poisonous substance, but in case somebody chooses to do so anyway, this seems to be the safest way.
[quote]
"If you’re planning to make an extract, you can simply soak the seeds in vinegar or water for 3 days in the refrigerator. You need just enough to cover them. Check on them every day to be sure they are covered with liquid. That will soften them up. You pour off the liquid but keep it (some actives go into the liquid) and evaporate it for use in for your final extract.
You take the soften seeds and slice them up into tiny pieces, and then grind them while wet using a mortar and pestle. You may need to add some lactose or calcium carbonate as a grinding aid. Lactose works really well and is recommended as a grinding aid. Use 1 gram of lactose for every 1 gram of seed. Grinding them wet is the safest way to grind them. Grinding dry seeds can be very dangerous, because it can cause nux vomica dust to go into the air. PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM OVERDOSES BY BREATHING IN NUX VOMICA DUST. So it’s always best to grind them wet. That way it’s not possible to generate a cloud of nux vomica dust.
After grinding, you can dry the ground seeds for use in capsules or extract them easily with vinegar and make a tincture out of them.
One 2 gram seed makes about 49 doses of 500 micrograms each, so one seed goes a long way."
[/quote]
[Source]
Dosage
[quote]
"The most potent nux vomica known contains 2.65% strychnine by dry weight.
The average nux vomica contains 1.23% strychnine by dry weight.
Safe adult strychnine doses are 3 mg and below. Anything above 3 mg and you risk unpleasant side effects. It has a very deep dosage curve. 2 mg is more than twice the power of 1 mg. You should consider 3 mg the limit and don't ever try taking more."
[/quote]
[Source]
[quote]"For most people, 50 mg of nux vomica seed is plenty enough.That can contain up to 1.325 mg of strychnine, but will more typically contain 0.615 mg of strychnine."[/quote] [Source]
Edited by cybe, 05 November 2013 - 05:16 PM.
