I've recently become very interested in strychnine and its analogs. Contrary to their reputation as poisons, they're considered to be a powerful medicine in Asia.
Strychnine and brucine although being toxic in nature have remarkable therapeutic action.[1]
I've even come across several reports that compare them to LSD:
In fact, I loved lsd as a stimulant so much that I probably wouldve continued using it if I hadn't found out that strychnine is also a stimulant, and its effects are extremely similar to a non-hallucinogenic dose of acid.
Its my favorite stimulant […] it's my favorite nootropic, and it works wonders as far as the potentiation of psychedelics.
Viṣakaṇṭha, Nov 23, 2013,
post-11972780 &
post-11973074
It also has effects that are mind expanding, much like LSD has, but it's not hallucinogenic at all. It makes you see clearer, hear better, improves your sense of touch, things smell stronger. Sex is better. It makes you more aware of things around you. It improves your memory and concentration.
69Ron, Jan 31, 2010,
https://drugs-forum.com/threads/nux-vomica-how-to-use.116031/#post-757000
At the right dose sharpens the senses, visual and aural acuity, clarity of thought and speech, colours are brighter more ease to do complex mathematics.
Ze Baboon, Jul 26, 2009,
https://drugs-forum.com/threads/herbs-that-are-energizing-stimulating.354918/page-2#post-638158
It makes my vision seem amazingly clear, a sunny day is just breathtaking. 69ron's descriptions really hit the nail on the head, it is sort of like a very very minor, "nootropic" dose of LSD. Nothing psychedelic but with the sensory enhancement.
rawbeer, Apr 29, 2015,
https://drugs-forum.com/threads/nux-vomica-how-to-use.116031/#post-1601575
It did give me heightened senses, colors really popped out visually and I felt like I had a much more intuitive sense of spacial awareness.
i_am_hathor, Aug 7, 2015,
reddit
My field of vision expanded noticeably. Every object seemed more sharply defined, with deeper shadow variations and color vividness. I also felt like I could zoom in on far off objects. This was like going from 360p to 720p.
Strychnine: my experiences. Aug 6, 2015
Unlike LSD, they have inherent pain-relieving effects:
Nux vomica seeds extract has been used in various analgesic preparations of traditional Chinese medicine. Using tail-pressure, hotplate and acetic acid-induced writhing tests models, the intraperitoneal administration of crude alkaloid fractions (CAF) and processed alkaloidal fractions (PAF) of nux vomica seeds extract exhibited antinociception potential in mice; however PAF showed stronger antinociception than CAF.[37] Using the same models, the transdermal administration of modified total alkaloid fractions (MTAF) containing low strychnine and high brucine was significantly improved the analgesic activity in compared to the total alkaloidal fractions (TAF).[38] Strychnine possessed little antinociceptive property; however brucine and brucine N-oxide showed strong antinociceptive potential.[39] It has been also demonstrated that the transdermal absorption of brucine of MTAF was significantly higher than brucine alone, which might account somewhat for the higher antinociceptive potential of MTAF. Therefore, it has been postulated that antinociceptive potential of nux vomica seed extract might be due to a synergistic effect of low level strychnine with brucine and brucine N-oxide which might attributed by the inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) and monoamine oxidase activities.[38,39]
In a recent studies, oral administration hydro-methanolic leaves extract of nux vomica also showed promising dose dependent (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) analgesic activity in various animal models and the extract dose of 400 mg/kg showed highest analgesic potential which was comparable to that of the standard analgesic drug, diclofenac (100 mg/kg).[27] This pharmacological activity of the leaves extract was due to the presence of strychnine, brucine, brucine N-oxide in association with analgesic flavonoid compounds. The postulated mechanisms of this activity might involve peripheral analgesic (inhibition of COX and/or lipoxygenases) and central analgesic (inhibition of central pain receptors) effects of these compounds.[27] (Antinociceptive)[2]
Alkaloids of nux vomica seeds such strychnine, brucine and brucine N-oxide were reported as primary active compounds exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity. Brucine and brucine N-oxide showed higher anti-inflammatory potential than that of strychnine; since brucine N-oxide was found to [be] more active than that of brucine.[38,39] (Anti-inflammatory)[2]
And as you can see, contrary to its reputation as the flagship chemical, strychnine's analogs show more promise, and in Asia they prefer to process the seeds to reduce the strychnine content and increase the analog content:
Ayurveda strictly recommend the use of this drug in therapeutics only after proper Shodhana (purificatury procedure)[3]
From these data, it can be deduced that strychnine and brucine are converted into the N
-oxide derivatives at high temperatures. A study carried out in mice has demonstrated that the toxicity of strychnine N
-oxide is only approximately 1/15 of strychnine, while that of brucine N
-oxide is only approximately 1/10 of brucine (Ma et al., 1994). Therefore, the processing mechanisms that convert strychnine and brucine to the N-oxide derivatives decrease the toxicity of Nux vomica.[4]
On the other hand, in China, S. nux vomica is still used, generally after processing (such as parching in a sand bath) to reduce its toxicity. […]
This crude alkaloid fraction seemed to be about 1000 times more potent than morphine (Cai et al., 1996).[5]
It would seem bizarre that a drug such as strychnine, so entrenched in the mind as a deadly poison, would ever be seen as a tonic and pick-me-up, yet that is precisely how it was viewed until the beginning of the twentieth century. The title character, Dr. Griffin, in H. G. Wells’s novel The Invisible Man, “found strychnine to be immensely beneficial,” as Wells writes: “Griffin had a little breakdown. He started to have nightmares and was no longer interested in his work. But he took some strychnine and felt energized.
The benefits of strychnine seemed endless: Psychologist Karl Lashley found that strychnine enhanced the ability of rats to learn their way around mazes; it helped marathoner Thomas Hicks achieve Olympic Gold in 1904; medical students used strychnine as a pick-me-up while studying for examinations; and even Adolf Hitler was reputed to have taken a strychnine tonic after the loss of German soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad.
A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them. Neil Bradbury, 2022. Part 1: Biomolecules of Death / 3. Strychnine and the Lambeth Poisoner
Strychnine was even briefly marketed as an aphrodisiac in the 60s.[6]
It's not like it was rumored that peyote and LSD contained strychnine for no reason:
Strychnine's association with peyote and LSD
I've also tried nux-vom extract, myself, recently, and see potential, but you do have to be careful with the dose.
Strychnine was once extremely popular as a stimulant. If it wasn't so easy to OD on it, it would still be popular. The downside is its potency. It's just way too potent. You can feel 100 micrograms of it. It's nearly as potent as LSD is. It also has effects that are mind expanding, much like LSD has, but it's not hallucinogenic at all. It makes you see clearer, hear better, improves your sense of touch, things smell stronger. Sex is better. It makes you more aware of things around you. It improves your memory and concentration. It doesn't have the edginess of caffeine. It's one of the best stimulants there is, but also the most toxic. That's the downside.
If there was a stimulant as nice as strychnine is that was not as toxic, it would be SUPER POPULAR. The problem with strychnine is that a good dose is 500 micrograms. A large dose is 3 milligrams. A deadly dose is about 30 mg or so. 10 times more than a large dose and it can be fatal. That's a MAJOR problem. When it was popular, too many people would OD on it. As little as 5 mg can cause unpleasant effects. It's just too dangerous for the average person to buy at the local store. Too many people like to overdo drugs and not follow the directions on the box. With strychnine, you cannot take it like it's caffeine. You have to be very careful about taking accurate doses or you'll be in for it.
I think if people capped it at 1 mg, and never took more than 1 mg, it would still be available. Too many people abuse these kinds of things thinking things like, "if 1 pill is good 10 should give me much more energy!", so they would take ten 3 mg pills, and then die shortly after (or just have painful convulsions if they were lucky).
69Ron, Jan 31, 2010, https://drugs-forum.com/threads/nux-vomica-how-to-use.116031/#post-757000
1. TLC Determination of Strychnine and Brucine of Strychnos nux vomica in Ayurveda and Homeopathy Drugs. Rathi A, Srivastava N, Khatoon S, Rawat A. Chromatographia 67(7):607-613, Apr 2008. DOI: 10.1365/s10337-008-0556-z
2.
Strychnos nux-vomica: A poisonous plant with various aspects of therapeutic significance. Maji, A. K., & Banerji, P. (2017). Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacy, 8, S087-S103 (Scroll down for the full HTML version and the PDF)
3.
Mitra, W., Shukla, V. J., & Acharya, R. (2012). Impact of Shodhana (purificatory procedures) on Kupeelu (Strychnos nux-vomica Linn.) seeds: A pharmaco-analytical study. Journal of Research in Education and Indian Medicine, 18(2), 65-71
4. Botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicity of Strychnos nux-vomica L.: A review. (2018). Guo, R., Wang, T., Zhou, G., Xu, M., Yu, X., Zhang, X., Sui, F., Li, C., Tang, L., & Wang, Z. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 46(1), 1-23. DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X18500015 (Detoxification Methods)
5. About the toxicity of some Strychnos species and their alkaloids. Philippe, G., Angenot, L., Tits, M., & Frédérich, M. (2004). Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology, 44(4), 405–416. DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2004.05.006. 2.7. Medical and other uses of tetanizing alkaloids
6.
Following this trend in France, a company in Miami during the 1960s learned of strychnine’s supposed sexual benefit from the medical writings of the Victorian era. The company, All Products Unlimited, hoped to seize upon the sexual revolution of the 1960s for financial gain by selling an aphrodisiac pill they called Jems. The pill, marketed as a “sex energizer pep tablet for married men and women,” contained a small dose of strychnine.
Following the release of Jems to the general public, All Products Unlimited was sued for mail fraud. The suit was, in fact, not focused toward the inclusion of strychnine in the pill’s formula, but instead was focused upon the false claims of Jems being able to provide sexual benefit to consumers. Upon facing the charges in court, the company decided not to fight it and was swiftly indicted.
[Reference: Kang L, Pedersen N. Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything. New York, NY: Workman Publishing; 2017.]
Fun Fact: What Benefit Did Victorian Era Physicians Believe Strychnine Could Provide?. Alana Hippensteele, Pharmacy Times, Nov 12, 2020
