Blackbear

************************************************** ************
This Message Is Reprinted Under The Fair Use
Doctrine Of International Copyright Law:
_http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html_
(http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html)
************************************************** ************
FROM: THE MONTREAL GAZETTE NEWSPAPER
_http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/insight/story.html?id=cb19b63a-52f
a-42d8-b84f-ed88ab8a9804_
(http://www.canada.com/montrealgazett...f-ed88ab8a9804)
Modern Scientists Are Taking A Careful Look At Ancient Remedies








JOE SCHWARCZ, Freelance



Published: Sunday, February 05, 2006

When you think of pharmaceutical research, images of white-coated scientists
in laboratories filled with petri dishes and rodents pop into mind.
But these days many major drug companies employ researchers whose work may
take them out of the laboratory as far as the plains of Africa, the mountains
of Mexico or the forests of the Amazon. Their goal is to probe the traditional
use of plants by shamans and medicine men and investigate whether these have
any components that can be useful in modern medicine.
Humans have long sought substances that provide a brief escape from reality.
Five thousand years ago, Chinese Emperor Shen Nung described cannabis as a
"heavenly guide." Ancient Indian scriptures like the Rig-Veda speak of soma, a
sacred hallucinogenic beverage, which probably owed its effects to the
amanita muscaria mushroom.
Archeologists exploring a 2,000-year-old Mayan grave have unearthed enema
paraphernalia with remnants of tobacco juice, psilocybe mushrooms and morning
glory seeds. Apparently, ancient shamans discovered that introducing the active
ingredients into the body in this fashion induced a trance more quickly than
oral hallucinogens. Many a witches' brew in the Middle Ages contained
extracts of the belladonna plant to induce the sensation of flying. Natives in what
is now the southern U.S. and Mexico have a history of using the peyote
cactus in religious ceremonies for its mind-altering effects. During the Crusades,
nutmeg was used as a hallucinogen and in the 1960s, hippies smoked it with
banana peel, getting mostly indigestion instead of enlightenment.
Obviously, compounds in plants can have a physiological effect on humans. But
why? How is it that ingesting a curious little brown mushroom (genus
Psilocybe) can cause people to have hallucinations? As it turns out, some chance
chemistry is at play. These mushrooms produce two compounds, psilocin and
psilocybin, which happen to have a molecular structure that closely resembles that
of naturally occurring compounds in the body. Serotonin, an important
transmitter of nerve impulses in the brain, has the same basic molecular framework
as psilocin and psilocybin. It triggers impulses by interacting with special
protein molecules in cells known as serotonin receptors. Apparently, the
mushroom chemicals also fit the same receptors but cause altered messages to be
sent.
Serotonin, though, is not the only compound found in the body that resembles
psilocin and psilocybin. Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an even closer cousin,
albeit a more mysterious one. It is produced in small amounts during normal
metabolism, but its function is unclear. Some research indicates it may play a
role in dreaming, as well as in mystical states such as the "near death
experience."
There is even speculation the illusion of having been abducted by aliens
stems from unusual DMT activity in the brain. It is also possible overproduction
of dimethyltryptamine is linked to mental diseases such as schizophrenia, and
underproduction can lead to depression. It isn't surprising then that
compounds found in nature that resemble DMT should produce some interesting
sensations. Especially in light of the fact DMT itself occurs in nature and we have
plenty of evidence of its mind-altering effects.

Dimethyltryptamine is found in the Psychotria viridis plant of the Amazon.
But ingesting the leaves of the plant has no effect on the mind. That's because
the compound is rapidly broken down in the gut by an enzyme known as
monoamine oxidase, so it never makes it to the brain.
But amazingly, shamans of some tribes in South America have found a way to
solve the problem of DMT being broken down in the gut. They brew a foul-tasting
tea called ayahuasca from the Psychotria plant to which they add a vine
called Banisteriopsis caapi, which contains harmine, a chemical that is an
effective inhibitor of the monoamine oxidase enzyme. When the enzyme is
inactivated, DMT can be absorbed, and can trigger a reaction in the brain. It may be
that the sacred tea chemistry developed by shamans in the Amazon will lead to
novel treatments for depression.
Another plant generating interest is Salvia divinorum, a member of the mint
family that grows in Mexico. It has long been used by the Mazatec people in
their religious ceremonies to induce a hallucinatory state. They either smoke
or chew the leaves of the plant.
The active ingredient, a compound knows as Salvinorin A, turns out to be the
most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen, with less than one milligram
capable of triggering hallucinations.
Recent research has shown Salvinorin A carries out its effects by interacting
with opiate receptors in the brain, a finding that may eventually lead to
the design of more effective pain killing drugs. Salvia is not a controlled
plant, meaning it can be legally sold. And, of course, numerous Internet
companies have capitalized on this, promoting it as a "legal herbal high." But just
because it is legal doesn't mean it is safe.
Indeed, for many people the hallucinatory experience is an unpleasant one.
The vivid imagery produced can be frightening and the dissociated state
produced very disconcerting. Salvia is not to be fooled around with.
Neither is Hawaiian baby woodrose. Just ask the teenager who purchased a
dozen seeds of the plant on the Web after hearing it produces a great "natural
high." He ended up in a hospital with dizziness, blurred vision, rapid heart
beat and auditory hallucinations.
Not surprising, given that the seeds contain lysergic acid amide, a molecule
that bears a similarity to serotonin, and is a close relative of the
notoriously powerful hallucinogen, LSD. That compound was originally synthesized in
1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, who had became aware of the
hallucinogenic properties of naturally occurring lysergic acid derivatives and hoped to
make some analogues that were pharmacologically useful. He discovered the
hallucinogenic effects when he accidentally ingested some LSD, and warned
against casual use of the substance.
Incidentally, on Jan. 11 Albert Hofmann celebrated his 100th birthday!
Joe Schwarcz is director of McGill University's Office for Science and
Society _www.OSS.McGill.ca_ (http://www.oss.mcgill.ca/)
He can be heard every Sunday from 3-4 p.m. on CJAD.
joe.schwarcz@mcgill.ca
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006

__________________
Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.

bahnisiain

i have read about this stuff.

__________________

yooperbear

I've read about it too. It's about time scientists checked it out!

Privateer6

I read something similar a while back. The Jesuit missionaries wrote a very detailed work on Native American pharmacology in the 1700s. I actually had an 1890s copy of the book in my hands while an undergrad. The book was interesting because the left pages were in Latin, while the right pages were translated into English. From what my prof said, the English colonists didn't want to use the book because 1) it was written by Catholics, and 2)their attitude was "what do Indians know about medicine?" It was a very interesting read.

bahnisiain

i had taken a workshop last year on native herbals. Cotton Mather was amazed at the Native American healing knowledge.

__________________

little bird

BB! Yes, it's kind of interesting how they think it's all "brand new" stuff.

__________________
"Riches from the heart can not be stolen."