Description:
Sceletium tortuosum, kanna or kougoed -supplied by Miller & CoSouth Africa, mood enhancer for depression. Best pricesSceletium tortuosum was used by South African pastoalists andhunter-gatherers as a mood-altering substance from prehistorictimes. The earliest written records of the use of the plant dateback to 1662 and the plant was first illustrated in 1685. Sceletiumwas an item of barter in the time of Jan van Riebeeck, and there isdocumentation of trade from the Castle in Cape Town, South Africa.The traditionally prepared dried Sceletium was often chewed as aquid, and the saliva swallowed, but it has also been made into teasand tinctures. Less commonly, it has been reported that Sceletiumused to be inhaled as a snuff, or smoked, usually with the additionof other herbs.
Sceletium elevates mood and decreases anxiety, stress and tension,and it has also been used as an appetite suppressant by shepherdswalking long distances in arid areas. In intoxicating doses it cancause euphoria, initially with stimulation and later
with sedation. Long-term use in the local context followed byabstinence has not been reported to result in a withdrawal state.The plant is not hallucinogenic, and no severe adverse effects havebeen documented.
Sceletium tortuosum was used in rural areas in very small doses asa treatment for colic in infants, added to a teaspoon of breastmilk, and this use still survives in some local communities.
Chemistry andPharmacology
Theactive constituents of Sceletium tortuosum are alkaloids, includingmesembrine, mesembrenone, mesembrenol and tortuosamine. Mesembrineis a major alkaloid present in Sceletium tortuosum, and has beendemonstrated in unpublished laboratory
studies to be a very potent serotoni uptake inhibitor.
Mesembrine This receptor-specific activity, andreceptor activities also found on nicotinic, dopamine andnon-adrenaline sites certainly validate the traditionalmood-elevating uses, and suggest additional therapeutic andwellness potential.
Clinical and Supplement Uses
Tablets and capsules of Sceletium are being used successfully by anumber of psychiatrists, psychologists and doctors with excellentresults for anxiety states and mild to moderate depression; andthey can also be used by the lay public as
supplements to elevate mood and for stress and tension.
Inaddition to Sceletium common use for the stress and mental fatigueof modern industrial living, Sceletium has been used as a naturalsupplement in:
Low mood, including grey weather syndrome
Anxiety states, including social phobia
Irritability in menopause
Improvement in libido, when lack of libido is from anxiety or lowmood Post-traumatic stress disorder, as part of a supportprogram
Inaddition to these better-known clinical uses, there is somepreliminary evidence that Sceletium may be of value as a supplementin drug addiction rehabilitation and alcohol rehabilitationsupport, as part of a formal program. Research directions for thefuture include evaluation of potential in cognitive enhancement,and the management of Parkinson''s Disease and Alzheimer''sDisease.
Doses
A typical dose is one 220mg capsule once a day, usually taken afterbreakfast and after lunch. Less commonly this can be increased to220mg twice a day, if necessary. In drug rehabilitation programs,under a physicians or psychiatrists supervision, the dose
needed may be as high as 220mg four times a day.
Side Effects
Very few people experience side-effects. The reported side-effectsinclude occasional episodes of:
Mild headache
Slight nausea, no vomiting
Soft stool or loose stool with no cramping
Transient increase in anxiety or irritability an hour afterinitiating treatment, which resolves after an hour or so
Insomnia: corrected by lowering the dose or taking the product notlater than midday
Afeeling of sedation: corrected by taking the product as a single100mg dose at night
Miller & Co (South Africa)
