Posted by samplemethod on June 5, 2003, at 23:34:01
In reply to Re: Larry/Anybody......Natural Lithium replacements? » McPac, posted by Rick on June 5, 2003, at 23:02:40
WOW, that Ashwagandha sounds really good doesn't it. More tests and action analyses would be great... I might try it out. Though I dont usually like herbs with wacky properties where they dunno what is actually goin on. I wonder about the long term affects of taking those herbs, and seem to question the "cleaness" of the drug. Manufactured drugs seem so much more reliable and clean.
Anyway in terms of a substitute for lithium I have recently been directed towards Glycine.Taken from http://www.internalhealth.com/l_glycine.htm
Useful in the treatment of manic (bipolar) depression. Clinical studies with individuals during acute manic attacks, calmness and cessation of the manic episode occurred within one hour. Patients taking lithium for depression have shown an increase in plasma glycine. Glycine is also effective for treatment of hyperactivity. Having too much within the body can cause fatigue, but the correct amount produces energy.
----
Now I havent looked into journal reports yet... Im especially interested in the study that they are apparently referring to.I have ordered some glycine and I'm gonna try it out. It's pretty damn cheap too.
Cheers
sampleM
> This Medline abstract suggests that Ashwagandha (scientific name Withania somnifera) may have mood stabilizing properties -- although I'm not sure they're using the term "mood stabilizer" in the usual sense. It's a classic Ayurvedic herb that's widely available in health food stores.
>
> Phytomedicine. 2000 Dec;7(6):463-9.
>
> Anxiolytic-antidepressant activity of Withania somnifera glycowithanolides: an experimental study.
>
> Bhattacharya SK, Bhattacharya A, Sairam K, Ghosal S.
>
> Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. salil@banaras.ernet.in
>
> The roots of Withania somnifera (WS) are used extensively in Ayurveda, the classical Indian system of medicine, and WS is categorized as a rasayana, which are used to promote physical and mental health, to provide defence against disease and adverse environmental factors and to arrest the aging process. WS has been used to stabilize mood in patients with behavioural disturbances. The present study investigated the anxiolytic and antidepressant actions of the bioactive glycowithanolides (WSG), isolated from WS roots, in rats. WSG (20 and 50 mg/kg) was administered orally once daily for 5 days and the results were compared by those elicited by the benzodiazepine lorazepam (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) for anxiolytic studies, and by the tricyclic anti-depressant, imipramine (10 mg/kg, i.p.), for the antidepressant investigations. Both these standard drugs were administered once, 30 min prior to the tests. WSG induced an anxiolytic effect, comparable to that produced by lorazepam, in the elevated plus-maze, social interaction and feeding latency in an unfamiliar environment, tests. Further, both WSG and lorazepam, reduced rat brain levels of tribulin, an endocoid marker of clinical anxiety, when the levels were increased following administration of the anxiogenic agent, pentylenetetrazole. WSG also exhibited an antidepressant effect, comparable with that induced by imipramine, in the forced swim-induced 'behavioural despair' and 'learned helplessness' tests. The investigations support the use of WS as a mood stabilizer in clinical conditions of anxiety and depression in Ayurveda.
>
poster:samplemethod
thread:231734
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030604/msgs/231815.html