ALKALOIDS: MOTHER NATURE'S MEDICINAL AND STIMULATING SUBSTANCES
Alkaloids are active substances found in plants and animals. They can be very healthy, but can also make you spackle. Well-known examples of alkaloids are caffeine, cocaine and nicotine. The psychoactive substance that makes you trip from magic mushrooms and magic mushrooms is also an alkaloid: psilocybin. Read everything you need to know about these natural products here.
What are alkaloids?
Alkaloids are found in all kinds of plants and animals. These substances can have various effects, from psychoactive to toxic. Some poison frogs also contain this substance. A few alkaloid species are highly toxic and can be lethal even in small doses.
There are different types of alkaloid compounds. For instance, some help transmit brain signals, such as the happiness substance serotonin.
Alkaloids as medicine
For centuries, alkaloids have been used to make medicines. Some alkaloids are strong painkillers, such as morphine and codeine. These two substances are both extracted from poppy, which is also the source of opium. Other alkaloids, such as quinine from tree bark, were formerly used against malaria. In modern medicine, alkaloids are used to fight infections and autoimmune disorders.
Tripping and getting high: the best-known psychoactive alkaloids
Many alkaloids cause you to get high, energise or trip. From your daily cups of coffee and tea to those lines at the weekend and your microdose protocol. In all of these, the active ingredient is an alkaloid.
Caffeine
The best-known alkaloid is caffeine. You can find caffeine in coffee, tea, chocolate and energy drinks. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, which can lead to increased alertness, concentration and energy levels.
Cocaine
Cocaine is an alkaloid. We now know it purely as a recreational drug, but did you know that it was once developed as a drug? In 1884, it was marketed as a local anaesthetic. Something you can't imagine now....
Psilocybin: the alkaloid in truffles and magic mushrooms
Psilocybin is the alkaloid in magic mushrooms and truffles that makes you spike. How fast you go depends mainly on how much you ingest. Be sure to read up on how to take the right dose of magic truffles or magic mushrooms. Read here how much psilocybin a fresh or dried truffle or magic mushroom contains.
Mescaline
Mescaline is the collective name for a few cactus species that make your trip, such as the San Pedro and Peyote, and it is the name of the alkaloid responsible for that effect.
Cathinone: qat or khat
Qat is not well known to us, but in Africa and some Arab countries it is an important source of energy. Other effects include euphoria, feeling more like socialising and appetite suppression. So in that respect, it is quite similar to other well-known pep drugs. Qat (a.k.a. khat) owes its uplifting effects and its name to the alkaloid cathinone. You use this energy booster purely naturally; you chew the leaves, swallow the released juice and eventually spit out the remnants of the leaves. You can also make tea from the dried leaves.
DMT
DMT, short for Dimethyltryptamine, is a drug that can cause a very short but intense trip. In half an hour you can go on a complete space journey, meet your ancestors and see the most colourful visuals. DMT is also the name of the psychoactive alkaloid responsible for this effect. This substance can be found secretly in all kinds of plants and animals. For instance, you can find it in the robust plant canary grass.
LSD
LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) is an invention of the famous chemist Albert Hofmann. He created this drug in the lab. From a grain fungus, he synthesised alkaloids. Thanks to him, we can now go whole days out of our minds on just a little seal or drop of flavourless liquid.
Kratom
Kratom, like qat, is made from leaves. In countries like Thailand and Malaysia, tea is drawn from it to provide more stamina. And going forward, it also just makes the day more enjoyable. Indeed, in the right quantities, kratom can give you a nice high. There are different varieties of kratom. Some make you relax more, others give you a bit more energy.
Dream herbs: lucid dreaming with alkaloids
Some alkaloids, like those in dream herbs, can make your dreams a whole lot more intense. With these 'leaves of the gods', you awaken lucid dreams, in which you have more control over what you dream.
