5 replies to this topic

[Galaxyshock]

I've started looking a bit "outside the box" when it comes to herbs that have effects on brain health and would like to hear if you have any to share.

 

Mulungu (Erythrina mulungu)

 

Wikipedia on traditional uses:

 

"Several Erythrina tree species are used by indigenous peoples in the Amazon as medicines, insecticides, and fish poisons. Tinctures and decoctions made from the leaves or barks of Mulungu are often used in Brazilian traditional medicine as a sedative, to calm an overexcited nervous system, to lower blood pressure, and for insomnia and depression.

 

Commercial preparations of Mulungu are available in Brazilian drugstores, but is not very widely known in North America and almost unknown in Europe, appearing mostly as an ingredient in only a few herbal formulas for anxiety or depression."

 

Erythravine (active alkaloid):

 

Erythravineis a tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid found in the plant Erythrina mulungu and other species of the genus Erythrina.

Biological activity
Some laboratory research has investigated the biological activity of erythravine, but the relevance to effects in humans is unknown.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor
It has been shown to be a potent nicotinic receptor antagonist in animal models with an IC50 of 6μM at the α7 site and 13 nM for the α4β2 receptor.[1]

Anxiolytic
It appears to have anxiolytic effects in animal models of anxiety. Further studies suggest that the anxiolytic effects are only reproducible with the whole extract of Erythrina mulungu but not with the pure alkaloids.[2][3]

Anticonvulsant
Erythravine inhibited seizures evoked by bicuculline, pentylenetetrazole, and kainic acid as well as increasing the latency of seizures induced by NMDA. Treatment with erythravine prevented death in all the animals tested with the four convulsants except a few of those treated with kainic acid.[4]

→ source (external link)

 

Other info / anecdotes:

 

https://drugs-forum....-brazil.344652/

Hello! I've been out for awhile so I would like to introduce myself again, I'm a independent researcher (not certified or anything) and a Psychonaut, like lot's of people here 

So let's get to the point, I've been studying and looking for plants from my country which aren't well documented yet, and not famous internationally, they are native from Brazil and have great value ranging from medicinal use and recreational.

Erythrina mulungu :

I've been looking for a healthier lifestyle and I found traditional native medicine to be quite good to treat pain and a good choose, let me present this plant which I've been testing, reading about and using, documenting it's effects.
First of all, this plant is legal and it's called here as "Mulungu", the bark of this plant contains erythravine which hasGABAergic, nicotinic receptor antagonism, NMDA antagonism, painkiller and narcotic effects.

The tea of this plant has a very curious pharmacological profile, the molecule ressembles me some kind of opiate, barbiturate, it's anxiolytic, works great for social anxiety! The effects which I documented at mild-strong tea dosage, from bark are : muscle relaxation, strong body high, euphoria, dissociation, motor coordination loss, feeling of well-being, sleep improve, sleep induction, painkilling, tingling, and deshinibition!

Erythravine molecule :


So I looked up about studies and found national studies using the extract of the plant Mulungu! You can take a look clicking here!

By now, this is everything I know, I'll be posting experiences with this plant soon, which has a great medicinal value for those who have social anxiety and since it's a GABAergic plant it could help with benzodiazepines withdrawal! It's well-known here that people use this plant to detox from alcohol!

It isn't difficult to obtain this plant since it's widely available and legal in all countries, I have great expectatives for the uses of this plant I'm getting great benefits from it my partner too, by now, this is all available about the Mulungu pharmacology!
If somebody know this plant or ever tried it, please tell in this post, or have anything to add to the post feel free to say! 
- Sickodamus

 

Edited by Galaxyshock, 11 March 2026 - 08:27 AM.

[Daniel Cooper]

Have you tried Mulungu?

 

 

[zorba990]

The Hallucinogenic Mushroom That Makes You See Hundreds of Tiny People
https://nhmu.utah.ed...eds-tiny-people


"Specifically, it was reported that those affected would experience lilliputian hallucinations — a rare, clinically defined psychiatric syndrome (named after the tiny people in Gulliver's Travels) characterized by the perception of numerous little people autonomously moving about and interacting in the real-world environment. One elder tribesman in Papua New Guinea describes this effect, explaining how “he saw tiny people with mushrooms around their faces. They were teasing him, and he was trying to chase them away."

[Galaxyshock]

Have you tried Mulungu?

 

Not yet, but I am definitely curious. It could have therapeutic properties but not sure how effective it is in practice. I managed to find a vendor in Finland that sells the raw Mulungu bark so perhaps I could make some kind infusion out of it. Commercial extracts don't seem to be available here but perhaps I can find an European vendor.

The Hallucinogenic Mushroom That Makes You See Hundreds of Tiny People
https://nhmu.utah.ed...eds-tiny-people


"Specifically, it was reported that those affected would experience lilliputian hallucinations — a rare, clinically defined psychiatric syndrome (named after the tiny people in Gulliver's Travels) characterized by the perception of numerous little people autonomously moving about and interacting in the real-world environment. One elder tribesman in Papua New Guinea describes this effect, explaining how “he saw tiny people with mushrooms around their faces. They were teasing him, and he was trying to chase them away."

 

Damn, that's a mushroom that could make a boring day... fun? 

[adamh]

I tried molungu powder years ago. I may still have a bag of it if I haven't tossed it out already. It had a mild sedative effect, not enough to put me to sleep. Since it didn't work for that I basically abandoned it. The taste wasn't that bad but you had to eat a considerable amount. 

 

There are tons of herbs like that out there. The ones with strong effect and no bad side effects are already known except for a few really rare ones. Lemon balm, is another mild herb that has effects like this

[Galaxyshock]

I tried molungu powder years ago. I may still have a bag of it if I haven't tossed it out already. It had a mild sedative effect, not enough to put me to sleep. Since it didn't work for that I basically abandoned it. The taste wasn't that bad but you had to eat a considerable amount. 

 

There are tons of herbs like that out there. The ones with strong effect and no bad side effects are already known except for a few really rare ones. Lemon balm, is another mild herb that has effects like this

 

Ok thanks for sharing your experience with Mulungu. Yeah it may be quite hard to find some exceptional herb out there but I'll keep digging  . Catuaba was surprisingly effective stimulant herb and that returned my enthusiasm to botanical substances.