potential Gaba A agonists

[GK77]

Rhodelia Rosea 8% (1/2) tsp
gunpowder green tea
3.5 g Valerian rootbpowder
Chamomile
There are plenty off non herbal alternatives but I am in search of additional botanical materials.

I have hear Mongolia root is helpful too.

Any anecdotal input from the community?

[Nikola]

Kava kava? I'm probably way off though.

[GK77]

Overlooked kava. Duh.

[Koda]

Kava kava
Magnolia
Happinesss Tree bark & Flower
Chamomile
Valerian
Theanine (Guayusa/White/Green teas)
Ashwagandha
Betel nut
Gotu kola in a sense, not specifically an agonist but increases gaba synthesis
Holy basil

[Element187]

Mulungu and magnolia bark are the two most potent/enjoyable IMO with kava coming in a close 3rd.

Speaking of which it's almost impossible to find mulungu. I think I see only one place in the US that carries it.

[catfish]

Holy basil contains chavicol and methyl chavicol, both of which act as potentiators, along the same lines as hordenine.

[Tha Wizard]

I will have to try Magnolia & Mulungu, soon, as so many forum posters, friends of mine, & so much research make them look like promising, relaxing, healthy, non-addictive Sedatives. Of GABA-A Agonist Plants in Nature that I've tried, I, too, would rank quality Kava the highest. Isa Tudei, Vanuatu & Fiji varieties, I have particularly liked. Kavasseur.blogspot.com & the Kava Forum found there are wonderfully informative, in depth sources of valuable Kava information. I honestly have no idea why someone listed Rhodiola, Betel nuts, Green Tea, or Gotu Kola as GABA-ergic...Green Tea has the tiniest, insignificant amounts of L-Theanine in it, surely not enough for a significantly calming, noticeable GABA-ergic relaxation.

Pure L-Theanine powder, though, at .5-2 grams or more can be QUITE calming/relaxing the Sedative. Just make sure to only eat L-Theanine when you've fasted for 2-3 hrs (esp. staying away from Proteins) & take Vitamin B6 (or more ideally P5P) if you want L-Theanine to efficiently absorb into your bloodstream.

For L-Theanine fans, if you want some more relaxant/sedative recommendations that are Nutritional Supplements try: Taurine, Niacinamide, GABA, Magnesium Glycinate, L-Glutamine, Agmatine, 5-HTP/L-Tryptophan, Melatonin (though I think Rozerem is garbage).

Glad to see Chamomile, Valerian, Magnolia, Mulungu, Kava, & Holy Basil have all been recommended here as helpful GABA-ergic Relaxants. I will add to this list: Salvia miltiorrhiza, Scutellaria, Salvia guarinitica, Passion Flower, Hops, Lemon Balm, Lavender. Granted, I'm not sure if Hops, Lemon Balm or Lavender relax via the GABA pathways at all..lol.

1 thing I fail to understand about Nature is why, though it has designed dozens of plant sources of GABA-A Agonists, we don't find plants containing GABA-B Agonists. This makes me wonder if GABA-B Agonism, long-term, basically goes against our natural brain wiring. I am very opposed to the notion that long-term daily use of Phenibut, GHB, Baclofen, GBL, etc (all GABA-B Agonists) is healthy...

I've a feeling that by far the healthiest GABA-ergic Nature has provided us is good ol' Kava. It's so healthy that rather than causing a tolerance from daily use, it causes a REVERSE tolerance (thus you get more & more sensitive to its psychoactive effects). So, Kava isn't physically addictive at all & overdosing on it is generally very benign (picture going into a deep sleep and/or your limbs are temporarily heavy/relaxed/paralyzed).

By the way, I wanted to give you guys a helpful, neat tip on how to potentiate your favorite GABA-ergics & lower your tolerance to them, via the right NMDA Antagonist drugs. Using a highly bio-available form of Magnesium (Magnesium Glycinate/Taurate/Citrate, etc), L-Theanine, Agmatine, or Memantine.

Oh & if anyone vaguely recommends my Username...that's because I am the same Wizard, who went by the name "The Wizard" for many yrs on the old E-Dot, where I tried to be quite the helpful, outgoing, educational, open, honest forum poster & ethnobotanical information resource. I stumbled upon this, the new version of Entheogen.com a couple yrs ago, but didn't get around to finally creating an account & making my 1st post until this week. I don't expect that I will be able to ever get back my old The Wizard account, but if I can, it sure would be awesome. It feels great to be back, folks, & I'm glad to still see a few familiar faces here from back in the day, like Catfish!

It's been many, many yrs since I lasted posted anything to E-Dot & I've learned a great deal about Ethnobotanicals, Herbalism, Nutritionism, Pharmacology, Psychiatry & Psychology since then. I will gradually share my latest Ethnobotanical research findings on these, here, fine forums. Can't wait to hear back from you, guys.

The Wizard,
signing off for now.

[GK77]

Good to see you back. Agreed with the majority of the above. Carefull with Mag Citrate, could lead to a "messy" situation

[kill_blind_elite]

I've heard great things about mulungu and yes I know way better non herbals than what you listed , you might want to look into nootropics

[Element187]

Out of everything listed on this thread, is there a consensus on the best?

I've tested a lot of these mentioned. So far magnolia bark and mulungu is the most potent, especially when combined

Kava (the actual tea prepared like the Hawaiians) is interesting, but I have found it causing a rebound effect on me.

Someone mentioned NMDA antagonism. By antagonizing NMDA it lowers your tolerance to just about everything that touches your neurotransmitters, be it GABA, Dopamine, Serotonin, mu-opioid receptor, etc.

Magnesium is the most basic.... Just don't buy the magnesium oxide it's complete junk at only 3-4% bioavailability. It's such a scam for supplement companies to sell this knowing full well it basically does nothing but acts as a laxative, yet it's found in 99% of magnesium supplements on the shelves, probably because it's the cheapest to produce... Chelated, orotate, citrate are the most bio available magnesium supplements, and it's worth the extra money to pick these up. The vast majority of the population on earth have a magnesium deficiency and don't even realize it. It's a weak NMDA antagonist but it is the most basic that everyone should be aware of.

I believe magnolia bark also contains a NMDA antagonist as well if I'm reading this article on examine correctly. I could be mistaken.


Stronger NMDA antagonism comes from dissociative's and they will probably be the most effective in lowering your tolerance..... But most are illegal/dangerous. Does anyone have a list of the strongest botanicals that are NMDA antagonist? Besides the obvious Ibogaine, which is illegal at least here in the USA.