Comment · Tue, December 29, 2020 · ND Owner
Saffron Extract
Original post in this thread
420be-here-nowlsd · 13 points
Nootropics depot, anything in the works for a saffron extract??
What they were answering
[deleted] · 3 points
Personally I liked it. It's interesting. Btw, I just got the Swanson brand one. It's pleasant although maybe somewhat subtle, except at excessive doses which seem mildly anxiogenic. Like a lot of other plants, it seems to have a pretty diverse pharmacological profile; it acts as a nmda antagonist, sigma receptor agonist, benzodiazepine receptor binding site agonist (blocked by flumazenil according to several studies), it increases dopamine and glutamate release in certain parts of the brain, it is a muscarinic receptor antagonist, an H1 antagonist, beta 2 adrenergic agonist, mild acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, it's an antioxidant, etc. It kinda reminds me of a more energizing version of magnesium glycinate or taurine. I get why it would be effective for adhd. I read it also reduced opioid withdrawal symptoms in mice, although idk how true it would be for humans. I can see it increasing anxiety during them. I've heard some people compare it to a light dose of mdma, but I feel like it's definitely quite different, but in an overall positive fashion. It does feel to me like it's somewhat serotonergic although it has been demonstrated to not affect serotonin levels (same goes for norepinephrine). Definitely felt the sedative and dissociative aspects. The main negative is that the stimmy side is a little edgy and unpleasant.
Edit: I guess an ok way to describe it for…
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · ND Owner
I have been messing around with other saffron extracts since I posted that last comment. I agree that it is interesting. It kind of feels like a low dose DXM sometimes. I think that is probably the sigma and NMDA effects.