Chinese herb: Dan Shen has benzo-like effects, anyone tried it? (Jacky...?)

[Seedy]

In the benzo strength survey, the opiophile shamen, Jacky mentioned a herb called Dan Shen containing benzo-like chemicals. I just bought some of the whole root from my local asian food store (Damn they sell some great shit...). I've chopped, boiled, strained & drank about 80g of the dried root (after doing a bit of research on toxicity, etc), and am waiting for some effects. I'll keep you updated on that but I'm just wondering if anyone else has tried the stuff.

[jacky]

I have tried it obviously, and billi has as well. now billi is a benzo hard head, the guy built opiophile practically under the continuous influence of some sort of downer......so I was not suprised when he consumed a gram of dan shen extract and didnt feel a thing. that same product would give me mild to moderate effects at just a 100 milligrams.

now I have actually seen and held, but not taken, small samples of miltirone, which is the strongest benzodiazepine diterpene that occurs in dan shen...the others, tanshinone and tanshinone 2 a are not as strong of agonists I believe. and these are non muscular benzo's, so a good majority of the effect of this herb can really be compared to valium per se....
still, the herb is relaxing. I think the best product would be a dan shen 5x extract, then fortified with miltirone isolates. there are also pretty potent tanshinone and miltirone extracts available online from a few places.

I am excited to try the miltirone in a vaporized form.

also thought this was sorta interesting.....

recently some one made the statement that mulungu and picralima nitida (kappa/mu opioid agonist containing plant) were working wonders for opiate withdrawl, I thought that was interesting. I have taken the slightly stimulating picralima alkaloids a few times.

[john_doe]

Miltirone is a benzo? And it's in Dan Shen? Interesting. Chinese medicine is interesting. I haven't tried Dan Shen or the Mulungu plant that you mentioned. What was the Picralima like? And where do you find all these rare alkaloids and plants?

[Seedy]

Cheers 4 da feedbak Jacky.

I had trouble distinguishing any effects from my root preperation. BUT... I've recently been taking a daily dose of bee's pollen, ginseng & morinda citrofolia (inspired by your post on erowid) in my constant quest to feel good all the time (as well as my 2x daily cuppa poppy seed tea :-). Today after my dose of dan shen prep I've been feeling "fucking great" (as opposed to my usual recent "great"), real energetic & enthusiastic. That's not really what you'd expect from benzo related chemicals, but I'd expect there's plenty of other compounds in the root which, in combo with my daily regimen would mask the benzo effects.

I've found a site selling the 5x extract for what seems like a damn good price considering how much you reckon is a good dose. Check it out:
http://www.ancientway.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=523&osCsid=2eec8e1c8351bb1fabe108f2a29aaec2
think I'll be ordering some!

[insanesteveo]

i just ordered 100 grams of the 5:1 extract from ancient way. i guess it should be here in a couple days. probably around the same time my next shipment of pods gets here.

so if i understand what you guys are saying, dan shen has REAL benzos in it? or do they just act and feel like benzos? will this also potentiate opiates like benzos normally do? im assuming yes, so thats a dumb question. i would also reckon that they should be taken with care when using opiates like other benzos as an OD can happen easily.

[jacky]

the compounds are natural occuring benzodiazepine agonists...but only partial in the sense that they are NOT muscular in nature...
apparently many benzodiazepines are also muscular in nature....

the whole or 5x dan shen extract is also very rich in other active compounds and the research on this plant is prolific and rather complicated....dont expect an valium like effect. the chemist who isolated miltirone claimed these compounds are more potent when vaporized.

there is one other natural occuring benzodiazepine agonist that I know of,.......valium, which can be found in certian potatoes in trace amounts. but not enough to warrent interest to us opiophiles...unless we have a genetic technician in our midst who can up the natural valium production .

when I was taking DXM with opiates on a daily basis, dan shen really helped me to calm down at night and get good sleep, otherwise the DXM would just stimulate me all day all night, and I would only sleep a few hours and wake up manic.

Ill state it again, people that are hardcore benzo heads might not even feel dan shen comparatively. but it is a valued herb in my book.

[insanesteveo]

thanks jacky!
so its not going to be a wobbly semi-drunken state? just kinda makes you feel happier and such? thats about all i would really want. i used to take alot of benzos, but havent in a long time, so im sure i will feel what little is to be felt from this herb.

my other question, does it potentiate opiates at all?

[HistoryofMadness]

Damn good conversation fellas, gotta jump in...

I've been off and on danshen for a little while, and its great. I like mulungu, but I'm still working that one out. I also think that passion flower has a similar effect, as does chamomille, but hands-down danshen is the best so far.

I will say that I feel very good on danshen, and I have a much more pleasurable opiate experience. I think the strongest tea I've made as far as getting "down" with opiates had a large amount of passion flower and a few scoops of 5x danshen... I was tripping out.

As for valium-like feeling, I actually do get that, in a mild sense, especially with my organs (mostly heart and lungs).... but I agree with jacky, that its definitely NOT a muscular experience... that's what the opies are for, right?

-H

[Seedy]

nice I'm gonna get me sum too before this thread sells them out!

[orchidfanatic]

I orded some....... priority mail I will post how they work..

[jacky]

look also for products that are called tanshinone 2 a, tanshinone and miltirone...those are the active diterpenes in dan shen. there are several places selling purified tinctures containing those isolates.

[orchidfanatic]

orderd some of that too ! thanks

[HistoryofMadness]

Here's my danshen supplier link, phytoextractum (http://www.phytoextractum.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=22), and its high-quality 5x etc etc and I've never been disappointed... I think they also supply tinctures, not my cuppa, but hey, whutever cranks yer tractor...

Yup, here are all (http://www.phytoextractum.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=danshen) their danshen and danshen-related products... easy enuf.

[orchidfanatic]

so what dosage of the danshen tincture?i t has ot has tanshinone and miltirone
i dont know how much a dropper a drop 2 droppper fulls? waaa?

[orchidfanatic]

what happend to this site it used to be very busy ..... I miss that

[Seedy]

what happend to this site it used to be very busy ..... I miss that
yeah. & I'm wanting to hear some repotrs of this stuff!

[insanesteveo]

my order should be arriving today, MAYBE tomorrow. expect me to let you know right when i get it.

[orchidfanatic]

I tried some tincture half a dropper full and I did get a nice sleep that night but stil dont know about how much to take ..

[jacky]

tried a few milligrams of purified miltirone, approx. 5-6 milligrams, more or less.....
this stuff is pink, and strange consistency, like lipstick, only goes into solution in hot ethanol...almost better to let it stay as a semi solid.

not too strong, but I am still impressed, mainly a nice mental relaxation, felt within minutes of taking the material. I took a good dose of caffiene last night and then miltirone to counteract the caffiene, the caffeine was in a 4 herb blend I got awhile back from phytos store.....anyway, I had some SEX, and with the combined herbs with buprenorphine I left my wife shaking and quaking.

so at least it doesnt inhibit sex drive.

I need to test this stuff in much larger doses.

apparently, adding a ch2-ch2 bridge to the A and B rings on miltirones chemical structure INCREASES the agonist effects 5-6 times....this compound is referred to as "analog 89".

sure would like to test out that compound with a tranny job .....

I would say that miltirone alone is good, but the whole plant extract, maybe the 5x is the best, still I would like to have BOTH, the 5x whole extract....and the different tanshinone 2a and miltirone extracts.

[orchidfanatic]

pink? I wonder if i got the right stuff he said it would be hard to dissolve but its a alcohol smelling tincture and its brown it seems to mix right in with water no problems . the label says its tanshimone 2a, tanshinone and miltirone from phtoextractum..

[jacky]

you got the right stuff....
the root of the plant is almost purple, this pink miltirone material seems at least part responsible for the color of the plants roots...
dan shen is also known as red root sage.

the tanshinone 2 A, tanshinone, miltirone complex of diterpenes is BLACK in color compared to relatively pure miltirone which is purple/pink lipstick like material....

who knows, maybe we have a new psychoactive lip balm!

back when I was taking a daily mix of codeine/tramadol/caffiene/DXM I liked to use dan shen for relaxation purposes, the stuff seemed to really mix well with DXM...also I liked to add some corydalis with this dan shen....the chinese use such combinations, I think the name for one blend is yellow bells or some other similiar moniker..corydalis might have antagonist dopaminergic effects, and it seemed to lessen some of the stimulant aspects of my complex opioid,nmda antagonist regimine...

[Seedy]

not too strong, but I am still impressed, mainly a nice mental relaxation, felt within minutes of taking the material. I took a good dose of caffiene last night and then miltirone to counteract the caffiene, the caffeine was in a 4 herb blend I got awhile back from phytos store.....

Was that the "for research only not to be taken by people or animals" 4 herb blend? What's it like? They seem to imply it's made to enhance the effects of other things. I was gonna try it on one of my dope addicted gerbils but my gerbals aren't for research!:D

[Seedy]

Well I got my 100g of dan shen in the mail today (from the address in a previous post). Started off on about 1/4 of a gram at around 3pm (very rough guess but you get a pretty good scence for divvying up powder after a bit of practice : ). I definately felt some relaxation but nothing too recreational. It's now 12am and I've probably had about a gram since my first dose. Unfortunately I didn't have the willpower to forego my usual evening routine of self medication (:rolleyes:) in the name of science but I can definately say I'm not feeling anxious or tired, I'm chilled but not particularly high. I get the feeling that this stuff (as with many natural highs I've tried) will be good to mix with stuff. Looking forwarsd to doing some more experimentation tomorrow!

[HistoryofMadness]

think about trying much higher doses... 5g or so, or more... 25g etc its different at each level, just don't do too much if you're compounding lots of shit, only because it will make your heartbeat slower etc and its nothing to be worried about unless your going way over the line with benzos, alcohol, etc. . .

[Seedy]

think about trying much higher doses... 5g or so, or more... 25g etc its different at each level, just don't do too much if you're compounding lots of shit, only because it will make your heartbeat slower etc and its nothing to be worried about unless your going way over the line with benzos, alcohol, etc. . .

Excellent! I will do just that. Thought I'd better start off light, being a responsible adult stuffed bear.

[mrklean]

I have tryed danshen 5x root extract from phyto I beleive. I really enjoy benzo's although I try to avoid them because I usually do really stupid stuff under their influence. I think danshen is probably the best option for someone who is honestly looking for releif from mild anxiety issues. Recreationally for me I don't think Danshen is really going to ever be any fun. The muscular relaxation that pharmy benzos provide is what I think we find soo fun. The heart muscle beating slower is what it's all about. But, if you are looking to potentiate opi's or releive occasional anxiety danshen is a safer cheaper seeming natural option. Danshen root extract at about 15-20grams? loosened me up a little I felt kinda like the day after a kpin binge, where you are maybe a little less inhibited but not intoxicated. It is a good herb and I will be ordering more just to have on hand and it would probably be a great thing to have if I ever find myself in WD(which with God's help I shouldn't). It would probably be best suited to help straightening out a bad psychedelic experience as long as it wasn't anything to intense.