Misc Sacred blue lotus?

[Polluted_Mind]

So I was just watching a documentary where they had proper archaeologists talking about the various intoxicants the ancient Egyptians used (such as marijuana, alcohol, belladonna, mandrake, and later on even opium) but one which they talked about really interested me: Blue Egyptian water lily (Nymphaea caerulea). It played a really significant role in their religious rituals and there are many carvings of it which seems to show it was highly revered and sacred. What they would do with it is place whole flowers in wine and drink the concoction.

Having looked for more info on this plant apparently it contains nuciferine and aporphine. I didn't fine much info on what effects these have, except for maybe mild sedation, but I came across an old documentary where they use test subjects to see if anything would happen, and indeed the effects seem significant. The volunteers clearly got a strong kick out of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx2AIBgnakI

My question is: has anyone else tried this before, and if so what was your experience like? Is it worth tracking down some of these?

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Haven't tried it myself, but here's an interesting paper on it from the late 70's: The sacred narcotic lily of the nile: Nymphaea caerulea

Nymphaea contains dozens of different compounds, which may have a synergistic effect, so it's hard to get a clear picture of the potential effects from the few compounds that have been studied. Aporphine and nucerifine are similar. Check the Wikipedia listings on these compounds and click on the sources referenced (*I wouldn't trust the actual Wikipedia articles, I have a feeling they're not quite correct) to get some interesting info on the animal studies. I know you're looking for personal experience but I thought you might be interested in the science too

 

[Foreigner]

I have a nice stock of blue lotus, but I don't smoke it often, and when I do I mix it with cannabis.

The effect of blue lotus reminds me of the plant itself... very watery, go with the flow, and it has that sort of opiate detachment effect to it. It also made my closed eye visuals more watery/flowy looking.

If you buy some, I would buy whatever package has the most blue flowers in it. It's a very delicate high and the flowers seem to do more for me than the stamens. My friend has tried it many times and says it does nothing for her.

It's a very subtle effect so don't expect the moon. And if you're a current opiate user you will probably get nothing from it.

 

[sekio]

Most of these lily compounds are dopaminergics (aporphine in particular) and could cause vomiting if overdosed

 

[TheAzo]

It never did jack shit for me, either as tea or in large amounts as concentrated extract. As far as I can tell, it is inactive.

 

[Foreigner]

^ I definitely felt something. My friend who doesn't feel anything said it worked for her if you dump a bunch of the flowers into wine and let it sit for a couple of weeks.

 

[jackie jones]

There is certainly an odd sedative effect when infused in wine. Not altogether pleasant, and it ruins the taste of the wine - makes it bitter.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Most of these lily compounds are dopaminergics (aporphine in particular) and could cause vomiting if overdosed

Are you sure about this? Lots of places list aporphine as a dopamine antagonist, but I can't find any good sources (that are actually about aporphine and not related molecules) that I can view without paying. It would make more sense if it is, like you said, a dopaminergic.

. . . . .

Also has anyone tried the root? Is it active too?
And perhaps the vast differences in reported effects could be due to variation between different batches of plants and differences in individual metabolism/brains/etc.

. . . . .

According to a bunch of sites, some study (that I can't find) said that Blue Lotus was assumed to contain nuciferine (1,2-dimethoxy-aporphine) like Nelumbo nucifera, but this does not appear to be so according to the study. Aporphine and Apomorphine (6a-beta-aporphine-10,11-diol) were also excluded. However it's possible the sample used in the study could have been the wrong plant, harvested at a bad time, had less than optimal growing conditions, etc.

Different sources attribute the psychoactivity of Blue Lotus to all sorts of different compounds. The most sane thing I read was that essentially no one knows what exactly causes the effects of Blue Lotus. All we really know is that many people do report effects from taking it. Seed extracts and flower extracts can be consumed orally with or without alcohol, while dried flowers can be soaked in alcohol or smoked. Subjective effects reported seem to range from nothing, to mild sedation, to a supposedly fairly strong narcotic and almost psychedelic state.

I am fascinated by plants, ancient Egypt, and mysteries so I am intrigued by this plant