DOSE:

23 g

oral

Erythrina mulungu

(extract)

BODY WEIGHT:

138 lb

[Erowid Note: One should not attempt to perform alkaloid extractions or other home chemistry without first having an understanding of safe handling, risks associated with different solvents, procedures, and equipment. Risks include burns, cancer, lung damage, flammability, and explosion.]
Preliminary Research
Hydroalcoholic solvent worked best (acid < water < alcohol < acetone < hydroalcoholic solvent). 50% water/50% alcohol used in extract (experiments needed to determine best hydro:alcohol ratio for certain types of plant matter). pH irrelevant. Solvent sat for a bare minimum of 4 days in mulungu plant matter (point of diminishing return visible after 4th day). Extracts estimated at 8X original strength. Bark reacted to water in a hydrophobic manner but accepted alcohol readily. Hydroalcoholic solvent also penetrated bark matter but not as readily as nearly pure alcohol did.

Extract Procedure
~400 grams of mulungu bark powder was placed in a half gallon jar into which 50/50 hydroalcoholic solvent was poured. Once a small amount of the solvent was in the jar with the bark powder, a large wooden dowel was used to pound and mortar the mixture. After mortaring, more solvent was added until the mixture reached a volume of 1.75 L (roughly 1-1.5 L of solvent). Mixture was left to macerate for 4 days, being shaken violently 6 times a day. After the 4 days of maceration, the solvent was successively decanted and filtered to yield a dark red/brown solution clear of particulate. Solution was left to dry for a day to yield a tight, crumbley, dark red/brown/yellow resin of sorts (perhaps a mixture of crystalline alcoholic extracts and resinous water soluble extracts). These extracts were collected, quick frozen, and powdered to be stuffed into capsules. Remaining bark powder was re-washed with the same process explained above to collect anything missed.

Psychoactive Effect Experiment Procedure
Research on mice (Onusic et al., 2002) suggested dosages of the extract could range anywhere from 100mg/kg to 400mg/kg. Extracts were estimated at 8X potency, with each capsule weighing an average of 1g. At 65.77 kg, 6-7 capsules should have achieved greater than threshold effects. A series of dosages was planned out: first 7 capsules, 30 minutes for effects; if none achieved then 4 more would be taken. If after 30 additional minutes (T+1hr) effects were not noticed, 11 more capsules would be taken in an all-out attempt to achieve noticeable effects.

Effect Report
T-24hr. I fasted 24 hrs prior to this experiment, only eating small portions. This was to increase the likelihood of a successful experience report and to improve control of factors.
T+0 (1:00 pm). I decided to visit a friend for this to experiment with the possible anxiolytic effects of mulungu. 11 caps down.
T+15min. Possible mild relaxation (below placebo threshold).
T+30min. No confirmed feelings yet. Took last 12 capsules, 23 grams of full-spectrum extract total (4 doses by weight).
T+1hr. Effects slightly stronger. Around this time, I could feel my extremities more than before in a very light numb way, perhaps CNS related depression or stimulation (too light to tell). This feeling was particularly noticeable in the face. (still possible placebo).
T+2hr. Some level of nodding and social disinhibition felt around this time. These were as strong as the effects got, and they only slightly helped better than a placebo could in my opinion.

Since the effects were not that strong I decided to leave my friend’s house and go home to sleep. (I had stayed up the night before to study for an exam.) I went to bed soon after arriving and had no problems getting to sleep. Perhaps exhaustion played some role in the effects; however, some effects were hard to deny, like CNS stimulation/depression, nodding, and disinhibition. Some level of euphoria was noted as well.

Retrospect of Full Spectrum Extracts of Mulungu
I found that mulungu does have some some psychoactive properties. At first I disregarded them as too light, but this was still a pretty crude extract containing both water-soluble and alcohol-soluble chemicals.

I also tested out magnolia bark extract (95%+ purity honokiol & magnolol) at roughly 4 doses like the mulungu. Similar effects were noted, but even at high purity this magnolia extract only produced effects at best as strong as the mulungu, with less CNS depression, nod, and euphoria. I suspect that if a similar extract were done on mulungu to yield a high purity of erythravine-like alkaloids, the effects would be much stronger, and a pure isolation of erythravine might truly have effects similar to and as strong as valium or clonazepam at certain doses. Basically, it would be hard to get this medication by traditional and novice extracts. It might have to take a real laboratory of sorts to make a strong anxiolytic and medication from mulungu.

Citation
Onusic, G. M., Nogueira, R. L., Pereira, A. M. S., & Viana, M. B. (2002). Effect of acute treatment with a water-alcohol extract of Erythrina mulungu on anxiety-related responses in rats. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 35, 473-477.

Exp Year: 2018	ExpID: 111611
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 22
Published: Feb 23, 2018	Views: 7,745
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
Erythrina mulungu (426) : Preparation / Recipes (30), Small Group (2-9) (17)