Kava-kava potentiators

[wOrship]

Swim read a while back now that grapefruit juice also works as a potentiator for the effects of kava, he has been able to find no scientific data to back this up but he tried it and it certainly appears to him that it actually works quite well.

Swim now always drinks at least half a pint of red grapefruit juice about half an hour before his kava, it's not that kava is exactly probititively expensive, just that grapefruit juice is cheaper, and his kava seems to stretch a bit further, which swim supposes is the very reason for potentiation in the first place...umm

He chose the red variety purely for palatability - swim hates grapefruit juice, in fact swim far and away prefers the taste of the kava, still, needs must...

Swim finds that the grapefruit juice comes in particularly handy when he is on holiday, he tends to return to a country where the legality of kava is a little hazy, not outright illegal as far as he can tell, but he likes to play it safe. Swim takes 84% kavalactone liquigels in a health food store kava extract bottle for legal status deniability should he need it at customs (never yet), then potentiates the liquigels to make them last, he also finds them not as effective as good root, or even paste, so the grapefruit helps.

Swim has also read that skullcap works as a potentiator for kava, but this is something he has yet to try for himself but probably will soon, he is wondering if anyone else has tried the combination? Swim is interested that skullcap also appears to have anxiolytic effects.

Some skullcap blurb below, if interested...

Pharmacological and Clinical Findings

A recent study showed that scutellarin and ikonnikoside, two compounds isolated from dried skullcap

(Scutellaria lateriflora) extract bind to the serotonin 5-HT(7) receptor in the brain. This receptor may be involved in neuronal activity linked to hyperalgesic pain and neurogenic inflammation. The 5-HT(7) receptor is thought to play a role in both the pathogenesis and preventive treatment of several disorders, including migraine, depression, and cardiovascular disease. Therapeutic agents (not derived from skullcap) such as migraine prophylactic 5-HT receptor antagonists also bind to the serotonin 5-HT(7) receptor. This suggests that at least some of the pharmacological activity of skullcap may involve serotonin processing and neurotransmission.
In animal studies, extracts of S. lateriflora produced anxiolytic effects in test animals, apparently due to
the presence of a flavonoid, baicalin, and its aglycone, baicalein, in the extract. GABA, the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter that promotes muscle relaxation, sleep, and analgesia, was also identified in water and ethanol extracts of S. lateriflora. In other in vitro studies, both baicalin and baicalein were found to bind to the benzodiazepine site of the GABAA receptor. In a double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, skullcap produced anxiolytic effects in healthy volunteers. The results of this study and preclinical investigations strongly suggest that S. lateriflora has clinical benefits as a relaxing nervine

Adverse Reactions

Few side effects of Baical skullcap have been reported. No side effects were reported in liver, kidney, or medulla regions in a 60-patient study of IV Scutellaria compound. 37 Isolate isoscutellarein from S. baicalensis leaves produced negligible toxic effects in mice. 36 A combination product including S. baicalensis may have potential to cause cardiovascular and other negative estrogen-like effects

Reputation Comments on this post:

useful post

[enquirewithin]

Skullcap and kava sounds interesting! It might be rather relaxing.

[Bajeda]

Emulsifying Kava in lecithin is supposed to help increase potency, but swim can't vouch for it personally.

Funnily enough, swim has been looking at Kava potentiating other substances, rather than the other way around -----> Kava As Potentiating Agent Due To Inhibition of CYP450 Enzymes?

Maybe there is potential for excellent synergy if fyou could get some cross-potentiation going on (if thats possible), lol.

[jux]

kava and kratom are a good combo...the euphoric side of both are enhanced...or so swim tells me

[enquirewithin]

^SWIM says it's OK but kratom tends to overpower kava.

[jux]

i suppose it depends on finding the right dosage, timing, etc...in swims experiance, the kava tends to add euphoria and smooth out the stimulant effects of the kratom...but then again, everybody's body reacts differently to different substances, so this may be a combo that just works for swim

[enquirewithin]

Originally Posted by jux

i suppose it depends on finding the right dosage, timing, etc...in swims experiance, the kava tends to add euphoria and smooth out the stimulant effects of the kratom...but then again, everybody's body reacts differently to different substances, so this may be a combo that just works for swim

Quite right. SWIM sometimes uses kava to get himself to sleep after kratom, but it only seems to work well if he didn't take too much kratom. The combination can be good-- kava is very smooth and adds an ethereal quality to kratom.

Don't think kratom is really a kava potentiator though.

[jux]

Originally Posted by enquirewithin

Don't think kratom is really a kava potentiator though.

thats true...i dont think it could be classified as such either

[imyourlittlebare]

im not sure the validity of this claim but i believe to increase the potency of the kava. you may want to invest in a paste. now, you have possibly experienced your mouth "numbing" if you will. this leads swim to believe it passes through membranes easily and quickly acting on calcium channels (sorry little bit of neuroscience) if you invested in a paste and perhaps put it under your tounge after perhaps ingesting a normal dose of kava i believe you would find it very intense. swim has tried it and liked it.

as for the kratom/kava swim says try it. swim found it absolutely amazing. just have a higher potency kava. i recommend shopping around for a reasonably priced large amount of kava containing 85% kavalactones. those are the active ingredients.

a suggestion for mixtures

try kava and lions tail
kava and poppy tea
kava and california poppy
kava and lotus

enjoy

[wOrship]

Swim has used 84% Kavalactone paste a few times, he thinks it is good stuff to carry around in your pocket for boosting if out and about but other than that he finds it not economical.
Swim thinks a good grade root from a decent supplier is far superior for day to day use and way cheaper to boot.

Swim has had some very good experiences mixing Kava with Lotus and Cannabis, it is actually pretty much swims favourite (anytime) combo.

Swim is unsure of the OD potential of mixing Kava with poppy tea, he thinks this is something he would personally avoid doing due to Kavas various liver enzyme inhibiting capabilities. Just a matter of choice I suppose, swim has come unstuck a few times in the past and they are experiences he would rather not repeat!

[imyourlittlebare]

swim got very very tired when using kava and poppy tea. it actually seems to kill poppy buzz. so swim doesnt do it anymore.