Post by Alice on Jul 5, 2012 19:43:12 GMT -5
I feel it is extremely important to explain some basic information about dosage.
The chemical constituents of any plant are dependent upon a variety of environmental factors, including soil content, sunlight, water, and temperature.
Strawberries are sweetest if picked on a sunny day. Onions are more bitter in soil with high sulfur content and low pH.
This also applies to toxic plants such as Aconite and Datura. You may find the ideal dose of Aconite to include in a flying ointment, but the same amount of Aconite in your second batch of ointment might stop your heart because the concentration of active chemicals is wildly different.
The chemical content can even vary from one part of a plant to another. One leaf of Belladonna may be a perfect blood thinning dose, but another leaf from the same plant picked at the same time could cause severe blood toxicity.
The lesson here is, don't just pick something you found in the woods and eat it to see what happens. You need to understand the chemicals in play and how they work, and know how to be certain the dose you are consuming is not dangerous.
Above all, tolerance testing is important. Even under trained supervision the first time using a new substance, take a minute dose and wait at least two hours for signs of allergic reaction, and slowly increase dosage to achieve the desired effect. With some substances, the second dose should be taken on a later date.
Do not make the mistake of those who have consumed a handful of Datura seeds and after an hour feel nothing, so they take another handful... And then at the two hour mark remove their fingernails to banish the demons living in their nail beds.
In the words of AOZ, the dose makes the poison.
A few milligrams is the difference between enlightenment and madness.
And above all, never confuse micrograms with milligrams...
May you find what you seek,
Alice
The chemical constituents of any plant are dependent upon a variety of environmental factors, including soil content, sunlight, water, and temperature.
Strawberries are sweetest if picked on a sunny day. Onions are more bitter in soil with high sulfur content and low pH.
This also applies to toxic plants such as Aconite and Datura. You may find the ideal dose of Aconite to include in a flying ointment, but the same amount of Aconite in your second batch of ointment might stop your heart because the concentration of active chemicals is wildly different.
The chemical content can even vary from one part of a plant to another. One leaf of Belladonna may be a perfect blood thinning dose, but another leaf from the same plant picked at the same time could cause severe blood toxicity.
The lesson here is, don't just pick something you found in the woods and eat it to see what happens. You need to understand the chemicals in play and how they work, and know how to be certain the dose you are consuming is not dangerous.
Above all, tolerance testing is important. Even under trained supervision the first time using a new substance, take a minute dose and wait at least two hours for signs of allergic reaction, and slowly increase dosage to achieve the desired effect. With some substances, the second dose should be taken on a later date.
Do not make the mistake of those who have consumed a handful of Datura seeds and after an hour feel nothing, so they take another handful... And then at the two hour mark remove their fingernails to banish the demons living in their nail beds.
In the words of AOZ, the dose makes the poison.
A few milligrams is the difference between enlightenment and madness.
And above all, never confuse micrograms with milligrams...
May you find what you seek,
Alice