I'm considering working with Silene Capensis ("African dream root", "white ways" ) again. I worked with this teacher for a week-long stretch in the past, and the results were profound (far more so than my workings with Calea Z). There are a few factors I was hoping for some input on, though:

1. I've heard it said that if you take Silene Capensis consistently for 3 months, it will permanently alter your dreams. This is very intriguing to me, somewhat appealing, and also a little terrifying. I was wondering if anyone who's worked with the root could elaborate on what exactly this means. In what way were you permanently altered?

2. Contraindication - I've seen it hypothesized here on the nexus that Silene Capensis contains an MAOI. I'm currently taking Zyprexa (Olanzapine), and I know that combining this with an MAOI can be fatal. How concerned should I be about taking the dream root whilst still on Zyprexa? Other than the postulation of it containing an MAOI on this site, I can't seem to find much to indicate that there's an MAOI there, and it appears that this is not accepted fact. Also, the last time that I worked with Silene, taking it once in the morning and once at night for a week, I had no ill effects, and I was on Zyprexa at that point in time as well. This seems to indicate that I should be fine, but still, better safe than sorry. What do you think?

I've known people who used it daily for 3-6 months, not one of whom got permanent effects.
Until seeing evidence to the contrary I'm assuming the original report of it having lasting effects were in reference to the effect of systematic dream work training that was centered around silene capensis use, rather than a drug effect alone. And that will work. Just keeping a dream journal will have 'permanent' effects after 3 months.

Keep in mind nexians see MAOI's everywhere.
*nexian sees a dog*
"is that an MAOI in his mouth!?!"

But seriously, the only reference a casual search of literature produced was a extremely amateurish patent which proposed an unfounded blind guess that there might be MAO inhibiting effects.
So its an entirely open question, really. But there are not any supporting adverse drug combo reports that I know of.

I actually just ordered an ounce of this & it should be here Thursday. There is actually a member on this board I believe who took it faithfully for 3 months & 5 months in he's still getting 3-4 dreams a night that are very vivid & detailed & he stopped using it after 3 months so everyone is different I guess.

The idea of it being permanent could be frightening if you ever decide it's too much.

Thats encouraging to hear

Totally!
I won't be even surprised, if reading this thread exerts MAOI-like effects. Like 0.528 nM.

OK, so since that post, I've utilized Silene Capensis in the following manner:

8-day long working in which I consumed about two teaspoons of the plant, mixed with cold water and agitated, as well as smaller additional amounts chewed at length and swallowed, twice daily, before bed and upon waking. This was followed by several more days of taking a greatly reduced dose chewed and swallowed before bed.

In addition, as stated in a previous post, I have worked with this plant before, much in the same way as above, for about 7 days.

In both trials I was on Zyprexa (Olanzapine), which acts, in part, as an inverse agonist of 5-HT2A serotonin receptors, which, if I'm not mistaken, means you do not want to mix it with an MAOI.

In both trials I received positive effects. Upon taking it at night I would encounter a paradoxical sense of calm and heavy sedation combined with a clearheadedness and alertness, followed by mind expanding qualities, a sense of spiritual awareness, the familiar sensation of black rooms having the darkness "filled with light", and the sensation during hypnagogia of bright white light behind closed eyes (during the first trial I at one point awoke from being almost asleep to turn off the light, only to find that the room was dark). In dreaming consciousness, dreams seemed imbued with especially symbolic significance, and dream recall greatly improved, particularly in the sense of remembering more dreams than usual in any given night. This is powerful medicine, indeed.

Yet, at no time did I experience any negative physical or mental side effects. At no time did I experience any of the symptoms of serotonin syndrome, save perhaps for some minor muscle twitches in the hands during the second trial which were most likely unrelated.

Other drugs consumed during trials: tobacco (habitual), kava kava (one night a while before bed, during second trial), Lamictal [Lamotrigine] (nightly)

***
QUESTION:
Given this, do you think it is safe to say that Silene Capensis does not contain an MAOI?

I have four questions:

1) What is the LD50 for Silene Capensis?

2) What are the symptoms of a Silene Capensis overdose?

3) What are the active alkaloids of Silene Capensis?

4) What is it's mechanism of action of Silene Capensis? I have seen it suggested that it may be an MAOI, but not with certainty.

The LD50 is unknown. A common dose is around a third of a gram or less either beaten to a froth in water with the froth eaten, or the dry root powder swallowed entirely. There are no records of lethal doses of Silene capensis.

I've never heard of an overdose, though I have heard of people getting nausea particularly from higher amounts and I think I remember someone reporting headaches, but I may be mistaken.

The effects are not believed to be from alkaloids. Its most likely from a saponin aglycone, a saponin aglycone colonic metabolite, or some sort of terpenoid constituent. Unlike Calea zacatechichi, no clinical trials have been done to verify an active constituent.

The mechanism of action is unknown.

Thank you so much for your reply

Wow that’s a little unsettling since I took it for awhile in 2007ish. I guess I was a little more impulsive back then.

In regards to being permanantly altered by the root, in my experience the thing that comes into factor is that after spending so much time trying to make your dreams more lucid/vivid, it can be hard to then not pay attention to them. An unforseen side effect was essentially getting no rest because when I should have been doing that I was flying away from dinosaurs running around in dream universes. Lucid dreams were and still are awesome but sometimes whatever it is that creates those dreams can get way out of control, far far far left field.