The kappa-opioid receptor seems to be a strange thing to me...
This is probably because it is not completely understood.
But it looks like kappa opioid agonists/antagonists could be perhaps useful for opioid withdrawal.
Wikipedia:
The kappa receptor seems to "regulate" some mu-opioid-receptor effects.
I don't know why this is so. Maybe the plant has the property to alleviate withdrawal and maybe it is the psychedelic effect that gives the bad feeling. Tripping while feeling mentally bad (as during withdrawal) is not advisable...
But I am not really sure if a kappa agonist helps during withdrawal or makes it worse because it is said that it antagonizes some of the mu-opioid effects that every heroin user wants. I don't know what a selective kappa agonist really does. Maybe a kappa antagonist would help better during withdrawal..?
If was not able to collect enough information on that question.
The opioid anatgonist nalorphine can be used to treat opiate overdose but while it agonizes mu-receptors, it antagonized kappa-receptors.
Wikipedia on Nalorphine:
Clinical studies prove that the kappa receptor has effects on appetite regulation. Menthol is a kappa receptor agonist and peppermint tea is said to increase appetite. Maybe there are some other ingredients in peppermint that are responsible for that. But maybe it has something to do with the kappa opioid receptor.
All I can say is that peppermint tea helped me during my last influenza and really increased my appetite again.
Peppermint tea is not the same as peppermint tea...
I don't know how it is in other countries but at least in Germany there are two different types of peppermint tea: Food grade peppermint and medical peppermint.
The common and cheap food grade peppermint tea is nearly ineffective. It tastes like peppermint but there is only very few menthol in it. The expensive one is sold as medicine in pharmacies. The German and the European pharmacopeia contain peppermint monographs and there it is said what minimum amount of menthol the plant has to contain when it is sold as medicine.
I sometimes drank a cup of peppermint tea during my last heroin withdrawal. I did not know that menthol is a kappa receptor agonist but I realized that the tea helped me with nausea.
Real peppermint oil has a high menthol content and is not really expensive. You can buy it nearly everywhere. Has anybody tried it for withdrawal?
Will it decrease or increase withdrawal symptoms - or would have no effect? Any experiences with mint oil or some other kappa-agonists/antagonists during withdrawal?
This is probably because it is not completely understood.
But it looks like kappa opioid agonists/antagonists could be perhaps useful for opioid withdrawal.
Wikipedia:
The kappa receptor seems to "regulate" some mu-opioid-receptor effects.
Pan ZZ (1998). "mu-Opposing actions of the kappa-opioid receptor". Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 19 (3): 94–8.
Salvinorin A is probably known to most users here because it's the active principle of Salvia divinorum. I read that salvia shall be able to alleviate opioid withdrawal. But on the other hand, I also read that it made withdrawal worse for some people.
I don't know why this is so. Maybe the plant has the property to alleviate withdrawal and maybe it is the psychedelic effect that gives the bad feeling. Tripping while feeling mentally bad (as during withdrawal) is not advisable...
But I am not really sure if a kappa agonist helps during withdrawal or makes it worse because it is said that it antagonizes some of the mu-opioid effects that every heroin user wants. I don't know what a selective kappa agonist really does. Maybe a kappa antagonist would help better during withdrawal..?
If was not able to collect enough information on that question.
The opioid anatgonist nalorphine can be used to treat opiate overdose but while it agonizes mu-receptors, it antagonized kappa-receptors.
Wikipedia on Nalorphine:
Clinical studies prove that the kappa receptor has effects on appetite regulation. Menthol is a kappa receptor agonist and peppermint tea is said to increase appetite. Maybe there are some other ingredients in peppermint that are responsible for that. But maybe it has something to do with the kappa opioid receptor.
All I can say is that peppermint tea helped me during my last influenza and really increased my appetite again.
Peppermint tea is not the same as peppermint tea...
I don't know how it is in other countries but at least in Germany there are two different types of peppermint tea: Food grade peppermint and medical peppermint.
The common and cheap food grade peppermint tea is nearly ineffective. It tastes like peppermint but there is only very few menthol in it. The expensive one is sold as medicine in pharmacies. The German and the European pharmacopeia contain peppermint monographs and there it is said what minimum amount of menthol the plant has to contain when it is sold as medicine.
I sometimes drank a cup of peppermint tea during my last heroin withdrawal. I did not know that menthol is a kappa receptor agonist but I realized that the tea helped me with nausea.
Real peppermint oil has a high menthol content and is not really expensive. You can buy it nearly everywhere. Has anybody tried it for withdrawal?
Will it decrease or increase withdrawal symptoms - or would have no effect? Any experiences with mint oil or some other kappa-agonists/antagonists during withdrawal?
