Comment · Tue, October 25, 2016 · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
Polygala Tenuifola Acute vs. Chronic Effects?
Original post in this thread
Luchadorgreen · 12 points
TL;DR: What is the relationship between effects of acute and chronic Polygala Tenuifolia administration?
So I recently received this noot from ND, and it is so effective it is scary. I noticed a decrease in brain fog and a small increase in motivation and mood, which I severely needed. I am able to put in hours of study time in, even after work, which normally leaves me close to brain-dead. Can someone smarter than I explain these effects to me?
I saw a couple studies that indicated that it could provide significant cognitive benefits dosed several times a day for a few weeks. However, it is my understanding that most substances with awesome acute effects rarely offer long-term benefits. Why wouldn't there be some sort of down-regulation mechanism curtailing the benefits of long-term administration? Has anyone seen studies on administration going past four weeks? Is there anything that should indicate that I should cycle it? Also, does anyone know how it might interact with bacopa?
Sorry to ask you guys to do the legwork in explaining this, I just don't have time to become a neurochemistry expert and there is still a lot I don't know about the brain and about this herb.…
What they were answering
samlljc · 3 points
I seem to recall someone describing polygala as a tricyclic antidepressant based on its MOA in previous posts in this sub. I think that poster also said that this TCA-like activity is why people shouldn't take polygala chronically.
Like you, however, I lack the expertise to assess whether this claim is accurate, and thus also the risks of chronic polygala administration.
Perhaps someone much better versed in the literature could chime in in this. Paging /u/MisterYouAreSoDumb
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
It's much more complicated than that. It does possess triple monoamine effects, but it also is an AChE inhibitor, anti-inflammatory (due to NF-kB inhibition), adenosine A-2A receptor activator, and inhibits amyloid precursor protein and amyloid beta. The thing about most triple monoamine re-uptake inhibitors is that they are not specific enough, and have some minor affinities for the 5-HT, DA, NE, and histamine receptors themselves. This causes them to have side effects and be tolerated less. Polygala has very specific triple re-uptake inhibitor, without any of the other direct receptor affinities. So you get the good without the side effects. It also has beta-carboline compounds in it that are also found in Panax ginseng. It also contains β-carboline itself, which is a benzodiazepine receptor inverse agonist. More studies are needed to understand just how much of a role they are playing in the effects.