9 replies to this topic

[Pereise1]

So being from California, "The land of fruits and nuts", I have always been enamored with Redwood trees. I grew up in the city of Redwood City, CA if that should be any indication. Recently, after a trip to Jedediah Smith State Park in the north of the state, a moist, cool rain forest, I noticed that after being there for a few hours, all my stress had melted away. My mental fog stemming from Narcolepsy and other issues seemed to be temporarily lifted and my mood returned, if ever so briefly, to my preillness state. That day, my wife and I hiked 14.5 miles and I hadn't felt so good in years. Being a sincere, if undereducated, student of the human mind, I immediately became curious as to what could have caused this experience.

 

I scoured the internet for a scholarly analysis of the Redwoods themselves, as I haven't gotten this feeling from other types of forests I've been in. The only two sources I could find was this abstract from Iran, which only examined the leaves:

 

Journal:   IRANIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS   2002 , Volume - , Number 18; Page(s) 23 To 42.   Paper:  COMPARISON BETWEEN OIL COMPOSITION OF SEQUOIA SEMPERVIRENS FROM TISSUE CULTURE AND MAIN SAMPLE     Author(s):  SEFIDKON F., MESHKIZADEH S., SHAHRZAD SH.   *   Abstract: 

Sequoia is a very big and ever green tree with 45-90 meter height. It is native to the side of Atlantic Ocean, Which is also cultivated in Iran. The plant materials were collected from one of the Sequoia trees from Rezvanshahr Garden in August. The height to this tree was 40 meter and it was 30 years old.
For preparation of tissue culture samples, the end part of shoots in 1-2 centimeter length has been cultivated.
The leaves from main tree and also tissue culture sample were hydrodistilled for their essential oils. The oils were analyzed by combination of capillary GC and GC/MS.
72 Compounds were identified in the leaf oil of main tree and 37 compounds were characterized in the leaf oil of tissue culture sample. The main components of the oil from main tree were b- phellandrene and limonene (13.30%), a- pinene (6.83%), terpinene -4-o1 (6.47%), g-teroubebe *5.44%) and germacrene B (4.17%), while the major components of the oil from tissue culture sample were a- pinene (26.30%), a- terpinenyl acetate (14.40%), sabinene (13.60%), g- terpinene (7.10%), germacrene D (6.90%), b-phellandrene and limonene (6.60 %) and p-cymene (5.00%). Althoug these components were found in both oils, but the higher percentage of some useful compounds in the oil of tissue culture sample, gave it more effective character.

  Keyword(s): SEQUOIA SEMPERVIRENS, ESSENTIAL OIL, α- PINENE, LIMONENE, α- TERPINENEY1 ACETATE, SABINENE

 

 

 

 

Aside from that, I found a really old (1912!) study from Berkeley regarding an analysis of the essential oil compounds: https://archive.org/...verich_djvu.txt

 

I know there's more involved though. I'm aware the bark is highly antifungal, and as I've had mold exposure in the past, this might have helped with any leftover mold in my body. However, besides Pinene, I'd really like to know what phytoconstituent is capable of giving that mental clarity amongst the moist trees, the fern undergrowth, and the bed of leaf pelt covering the floor. Anyone have any idea? Does anybody get a similar feeling from being out in a specific forest setting? 

[AlephNull]

Not redwoods specifically, but evidently there's a reasonably decent body of evidence that suggests that being out in nature for a couple of hours at least once a week is really good for your mental well being. Other studies have shown that a week of camping is supposedly quite good for doing things like resetting your circadian rhythms and the like.

 

For more information, you might check out the book "Last Child in the Woods" which is basically dedicated to this topic.

 

https://www.amazon.c...ing=UTF8&btkr=1

 

[Pereise1]

Not redwoods specifically, but evidently there's a reasonably decent body of evidence that suggests that being out in nature for a couple of hours at least once a week is really good for your mental well being. Other studies have shown that a week of camping is supposedly quite good for doing things like resetting your circadian rhythms and the like.

 

For more information, you might check out the book "Last Child in the Woods" which is basically dedicated to this topic.

 

https://www.amazon.c...ing=UTF8&btkr=1

 

I'm not surprised it's been evidenced that spending time in nature is directly good for our mental health. I've been curious in what way though, are we "grounding" ourselves electricity wise? I found this thread to have a bit of psuedoscience as well as some interesting possibilities as far as the effect of grounding on our mental health: http://www.longecity...thinggrounding/

 

It may just be what resets our circadian rhythm as well. As a person with narcolepsy, I found that detail interesting, although it could also have a lot to do with, when camping, we usually tend to get waken up by the sun more so than sleeping indoors. In either case, thanks for the book recommendation, I'll be sure to check it out!

[YOLF]

Have you tried Rosemary? It's a much smaller plant, so you're unlikely to notice it among all the other stuff in the forest compared to the amount of actives being released by a Redwood, but it has some very potent cognition effects and it's readily available for cheap.

[Pereise1]

Have you tried Rosemary? It's a much smaller plant, so you're unlikely to notice it among all the other stuff in the forest compared to the amount of actives being released by a Redwood, but it has some very potent cognition effects and it's readily available for cheap.

 

I have tried Rosemary, and it produces positive results as well. However, the mental sharpness it gives isn't exactly comparable to the calming clarity I get in the forest. I've tracked the components down to mainly a mixture of Sabinene, Pinene, Phellandrene, Terpinene, and Limonene. Out of those, Pinene, Terpinene, and especially Limonene are quite common. I'll have to check other oils for Sabinene and Phellandrene content but I'm curious if some of the components of the bark are involved in the effect. The volatile oil constituents I've gotten mainly from the following study:

 

http://www.academia....dophytic_stages

 

 

The heartwood seems to contain the following:

 

https://link.springe...0490-014-0017-4

Early analyses of S. sempervirens heartwood extracts quantified several broad classes of compounds. The composition of a typical water extract of green S. sempervirens heartwood was summarised by Anderson ([1961]). The major compounds were condensed tannins (Buchanan et al. [1944]), several cyclitols (Anderson et al. [1968]) and unidentified polyphenolics. Other unspecified components, carbohydrates (mainly arabinose) (Smith and Zavarin [1960]) and colouring matter (Sherrard and Kurth [1933b]) are present as minor compounds. The composition of a typical water-insoluble heartwood extract was reported to consist of about three quarters phlobaphenes and the remaining quarter contained similar amounts of native lignin, phenolics, fatty acids, waxes and neutrals (Anderson [1961]).

 

 

Which doesn't tell me a whole lot. It seems that a certain bacteria on the bark produce a certain substance called "Sequioatones", which probably has an unknown impact.

 

I did finally find a study on the bark resin: http://linkinghub.el...031942200858859

 

The volatile components are mainly a-pinene (77%) and Limonene (21%). However, the bark resin is 90% resin acids, of which levopimaric/palustric acid seems to be the active component. Sigh... a lot of information to investigate, but it does make me curious about all the possible clinical and neurological applications all these different components could have. Well, I'll try updating when I find out more.

[YOLF]

Well orange essential oil is great for mood and cognition, perhaps it's just a good combination? I don't particularly remember any cognitive improvement other than simply from being in beautyful California myself... I did visit a Redwood grove... there was that other evergreen that grows around them in Cali with the giant pine cones. Perhaps that was it? I want to say they were spruce, but I can't say I remember. Might have been douglas fir.

 

Here's a description of the Douglas Fir essential oil:

Aromatherapy Properties: (Uses) The Douglas Fir is a tall, attractive, evergreen tree native to west coast of the United States. It is commonly cultivated for Christmas trees. The essential oil is strongly antiseptic and the most complex of the firs. Diffused, it is an excellent environmental disinfectant and room freshener. Fights respiratory infections. Supports the immune system. Relieves congestion and coughs due to colds, flu, and bronchitis. Helpful for muscle aches and pains and poor circulation. Psychologically, it Relieves anxiety and stress and Uplifts. Douglas Fir Releases energy blocks and Increases intuition. This Essential oils can be used in a variety of methods of application and/or inhalation. Massage, bath, diffusion--there are endless opportunities for using it. Douglas Fir is also used as a fragrance in soaps.Blends well with: Lavender 40/42, Lemon, Marjoram Sweet, Pine White, Galbanum, Rosemary, and other firs. History: Douglas fir was often employed medicinally by various native North American Indian tribes who used it to treat a variety of complaints.

https://smile.amazon...ential+oil&th=1

 

Edited by YOLF, 20 April 2017 - 04:23 AM.

[Pereise1]

 

Well orange essential oil is great for mood and cognition, perhaps it's just a good combination? I don't particularly remember any cognitive improvement other than simply from being in beautyful California myself... I did visit a Redwood grove... there was that other evergreen that grows around them in Cali with the giant pine cones. Perhaps that was it? I want to say they were spruce, but I can't say I remember. Might have been douglas fir.

 

Here's a description of the Douglas Fir essential oil:

Aromatherapy Properties: (Uses) The Douglas Fir is a tall, attractive, evergreen tree native to west coast of the United States. It is commonly cultivated for Christmas trees. The essential oil is strongly antiseptic and the most complex of the firs. Diffused, it is an excellent environmental disinfectant and room freshener. Fights respiratory infections. Supports the immune system. Relieves congestion and coughs due to colds, flu, and bronchitis. Helpful for muscle aches and pains and poor circulation. Psychologically, it Relieves anxiety and stress and Uplifts. Douglas Fir Releases energy blocks and Increases intuition. This Essential oils can be used in a variety of methods of application and/or inhalation. Massage, bath, diffusion--there are endless opportunities for using it. Douglas Fir is also used as a fragrance in soaps.Blends well with: Lavender 40/42, Lemon, Marjoram Sweet, Pine White, Galbanum, Rosemary, and other firs. History: Douglas fir was often employed medicinally by various native North American Indian tribes who used it to treat a variety of complaints.

https://smile.amazon...ential+oil&th=1

 

 

I did look into Douglas Fir, looking at buying it when I get my next paycheck. Both my wife and I have a tendency to wake up mysteriously congested so it might help with our sleep as well. I found the following 2 studies on a-Phellandrene, I think I know why the Redwoods might help me more so personally. As a person with Narcolepsy, studies have indicated that there's probably an abnormal level of TNF-a and IL-6 in my brain. Guess what Phellandrene helps with?

 

 

Life Sci. 2016 Sep 1;160:27-33. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2016.07.008. Epub 2016 Jul 20.

α-Phellandrene, a cyclic monoterpene, attenuates inflammatory response through neutrophil migration inhibition and mast cell degranulation. KEY FINDINGS:

In all the tested doses, α-phellandrene prevented carrageenan-induced neutrophil accumulation (P<0.05). As detected by intravital microscopy, α-phellandrene also inhibited leukocyte rolling and adhesion, as well as significantly inhibited the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6. Moreover, the degranulation of compound 48/80-induced mast cells was also inhibited by α-phellandrene (P<0.001).

 

There's definitely something neurological going on though, as it seems to have an antinociceptive effect:

 

 

Antinociceptive activity of the monoterpene α-phellandrene in rodents: possible mechanisms of action Abstract

Objectives  The aim of this work was to investigate the antinociceptive property of α-phellandrene (α-PHE) in experimental nociception models and possible mechanisms involved.

Methods  Mass spectrometry was used to evaluate the purity and molecular mass of α-PHE. Macrophages from mice peritoneal cavity were used in an MTT test. Rodents were used in tests of chemical and mechanical nociception. In the study of the mechanisms, the animals were treated with pharmacological tools and then submitted to the glutamate test.

Key findings α-PHE purity was 98.2% and molecular mass 136.1 Da. α-PHE did not show cytotoxicity. In the writhing and capsaicin tests, α-PHE promoted the antinociceptive effect in all evaluated doses (minimum dose 3.125 mg/kg). In the formalin test, α-PHE (50 mg/kg) was effective in inhibiting both phases. In the glutamate test, the monoterpene (12.5 mg/kg) decreased the nociceptive response. In carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia, α-PHE (50 mg/kg) decreased the hypernociception index. In the study of the mechanisms involved, pretreatment with naloxone reversed the α-PHE antinociceptive effect, the same occurred with glibenclamide, l-arginine, atropine and yohimbine. α-PHE did not show muscle relaxant activity or central depressant effects in open field and rota rod tests.

Conclusions α-PHE has an antinociceptive effect and it possibly involves the glutamatergic, opioid, nitrergic, cholinergic and adrenergic systems.

 

 

 

Now, what that indicates in general as far as binding affinities and overall pharmacology, I'm not 100% sure. 

[YOLF]

 

 

The α-phellandrene isomer can form hazardous and explosive peroxides on contact with air at elevated temperatures.^[4]

So being below the canopy looks to be a good place, but I wonder if redwood groves poison the birds above them into becoming fertilizer on hot days... Are they giant venus fly traps? I don't think I saw many birds if any in the grove. These nature walks usually have pretty docile animals expecting to be fed an the expense of buying bird food... didn't see any of that...

[Pereise1]

 

 

 

The α-phellandrene isomer can form hazardous and explosive peroxides on contact with air at elevated temperatures.^[4]

So being below the canopy looks to be a good place, but I wonder if redwood groves poison the birds above them into becoming fertilizer on hot days... Are they giant venus fly traps? I don't think I saw many birds if any in the grove. These nature walks usually have pretty docile animals expecting to be fed an the expense of buying bird food... didn't see any of that...

 

 

Do you know at what temperature it changes into a gas? I found it quite interesting that the canopy is the richest area of the Redwood forest, while the ground level tends to be quieter. NPR did an interesting interview about it a few years back: http://www.npr.org/t...storyId=9713486

 

This is good to know either way. I ordered the essential oil of Angelica Root as it's supposed to have high concentrations of a-Phellandrene. I'll make sure not to heat it 

[YOLF]

I don't know what temperature that happens at.

 

Good read though, now they need to build an ewok staircase and tree bridges in the crown or build a ski lift to it so you can take tours up there.