Noscapine

[dopamimetic]

Just got a box of these when asking for DXM. I was curious about this one for longer since wikipedia says it is a primary ingredient of opium, a sigma agonist and while it's pretty scarce today so there are next to no reports online but apparently noscapine was abused in past centuries and I even read about similarities to DXM - which happens to hit sigma too yet the effects of this receptor strangely remain to be poorly defined. Some say just sigma has no effect at all but does interact.

One pill contains 15mg, they tell to take 1-2 of them every 6 hours. So guess I'll start with 3, wait an hour and take another 3 if nothing happens? I already have some DXM (120mg ER) in my system so I'll go slowly - don't see reasons for bad interactions tho.

Any dosage guidelines or even first hand reports about this alkaloid?

 

[thegreenhand]

I can't find much info at all about it's psychoactive properties. You might have to Shulgin this one for us brotha

 

[G_Chem]

Just got a box of these when asking for DXM. I was curious about this one for longer since wikipedia says it is a primary ingredient of opium, a sigma agonist and while it's pretty scarce today so there are next to no reports online but apparently noscapine was abused in past centuries and I even read about similarities to DXM - which happens to hit sigma too yet the effects of this receptor strangely remain to be poorly defined. Some say just sigma has no effect at all but does interact.

One pill contains 15mg, they tell to take 1-2 of them every 6 hours. So guess I'll start with 3, wait an hour and take another 3 if nothing happens? I already have some DXM (120mg ER) in my system so I'll go slowly - don't see reasons for bad interactions tho.

Any dosage guidelines or even first hand reports about this alkaloid?

Oh man I was just hunting for reports on this one not long ago, as you said they are scarce. Please dive in and give us detailed reports.

With my experience of full spectrum poppy alkaloid extracts I’ve definitely felt what to me resembled NMDA activity. It was obvious because it was really there in the beginning of chronic pain management use but quickly faded after about a week, which would make sense given how fast tolerance rises for drugs of that nature.

Excited to hear what happens.

-GC

 

[polymath]

Didn't find any data about its binding to GABA-A, GABA-B, 5-HT1A, glycine, adenosine, calcium channel or sodium channel receptors which could explain the reported sedative effect. It does affect bradykinin receptors in some way, but it's unclear what the effects of bradykinin ligands on CNS are. It has a protective effect against hypoxic brain damage; maybe Nature put it in opium to make it safer in overdose situations.

 

[sekio]

There have been multiple tests demonstrating noscapine’s low toxicity to organs and tissues. With very high doses, the side effects have only consisted of nausea and abdominal discomfort in a small percentage of patients. A study done by Dr. Lasagna at Johns Hopkins University in 1961 treated terminally ill cancer patients; noscapine was administered at doses up to 3000 mg daily and only 20% of patients experienced side effects, which were limited to mild sedation and abdominal discomfort
from this review.

also Dr. Lasagna lol

 

[dopamimetic]

I'm not sure yet as there were too many unknowns involved but I'd say that noscapine is indeed not psychoactive - on its own. You know what it does? Modulating NMDA activity.

The sigma-1 receptor modulates NMDA receptor synaptic transmission and plasticity via SK channels in rat hippocampus

The sigma receptor (σR), once considered a subtype of the opioid receptor, is now described as a distinct pharmacological entity. Modulation of N-methyl--aspartate receptor (NMDAR) functions by σR-1 ligands is well documented; however, ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Sigma-1 and N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptors: A Partnership with Beneficial Outcomes

Sigma-1 receptors (σ-1R) are interorganelle signaling molecules, which have been implicated in synaptic plasticity, primarily by enhancing the function of N-methyl--aspartate receptors (NMDARs). On the other hand, excessive influx of calcium via ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I took the remaining 270mg yesterday, first 150mg and 2h later the remaining. Didn't notice anything but when I went out to buy some things I noticed a remarkable lowering of my usual heavy inner tension and anxiety. Went for the first long walk in ages and actually enjoyed it a bit. Now in the morning the withdrawal from kratom was barely noticeable when I usually would wake up pretty stressed.

As I've been experimenting with CBD in the last 2 days too and took 60mg DXM XR in the evening, things aren't so scientific as they should be but I'd say that it is synergistic with CBD which sounds reasonable given that both sigma agonists as CBD do some negative modulation at NMDA. The lowered withdrawal might be from the DXM but again, they will be synergistic if I'm right. 60mg XR barely touch NMDA and wouldn't even take SNRI withdrawal usually. (Intent was to take a full disso dose but as I only got one pack of pills and they registered my name etc 'for my own safety because it's addictive' - thanks, hadn't I known that you can use this stuff, now I'd, and then I didn't want to mess with my still pretty relaxed state).

I found one (non-scientific) site saying that noscapine was indeed a drug of abuse and listed effects similar to dissociatives like hallucinations, sedation, vertigo, nausea so either they used much higher doses back then in the many gram range, don't know if this would even have an increased effect or if my dose already hit most of the receptors. Or it was combined with something else.
The mechanism is intriguing and if the relaxation was really from noscapine then it is remarkable alone - and might offer novel treatments for people with irritability / disso tolerance - but I hoped it to be stronger.

So, this calls for a new iteration I'd say.

 

[dopamimetic]

Would say I am pretty sure about it now as I took the same like yesterday just with only 60mg noscapine (somehow I didn't realize that I left them in the box) and the relaxation is less pronounced. Will be subtile to almost unnoticeable to people who don't suffer from anxiety but it's there.