I’ve got a few questions. I’ve never experimented with EOs to try induce a psychedelic experience, so I gave it a go. This is how I tried, the experiment was a fail. Ingestion was 1mL of mace EO and 1.5mL of elemi EO from reputable therapeutic vendors.

For those who don’t know what mace EO is. It’s EO from the shell of nutmeg. It is approximately 66% higher then nutmeg EO in myristicin, elemicin, and safrole.

Firstly I was fasting for 24h so that no phytoestrogens had used any 17bHSD2 and the enzyme was free. This timeframe should ‘reset’ it, I’m on a vegan ketogenic (almost paleo) diet, so I don’t consume many phytoestrogens anyway. I understand 17bHSD2 catalyses the converted alcohol allylbenzenes to their respective phenyl vinyl ketones through dehydrogenation. So the enzyme is essential in the metabolic conversion process.

I’ve been dosing for three days with 500mg berberine HCl to inhibit CYP2C9, CYP2D6, CYP3A4, and 45min before ingestion two 200mg caffeine pills to inhibit CYP1A2. These CYPs (P450 isozymes) o-demethylate the allylbenzenes forming inactive metabolites.

45min prior to the EO ingestion I had a tbsp of liquid stevia for its stevioside to inhibit UGT2B7 and UGT1A3. These UGTs form inactive glucuronide metabolites with allylbenzenes.

Also 45min prior, a tea made from 5g fresh black peppercorns for piperidine. Piperidine is known to condense with the 1'-oxo metabolites of allylbenzenes to form piperidine alkaloids.

Any suggestions for next time? Where did I go wrong?

You should skip all that other stuff and just go straight nutmeg at a higher dosage you feel comfortable with. Smoke some weed on top of that and you are gonners for sure.

I dont recommend nutmeg at all though. Not a good experience.

Also what did you try to accomplish by eating all these other enzyme blockers when you just can use the nutmeg alone because it itself can overpower CYP and possible other metabolic routes.

I’ve read nutmeg EO is very different from nutmeg. I was following instructions as per http://herbpedia.wikidot.com/oilahuasca-activation

Try making a tincture using freshly ground whole nutmeg or mace and 3 times its volume of 70 - 80% alcohol. Soak for a few days or so (you're an alchemist, you know how to make tinctures!) Decant off the by now (hopefully) almost blood red liquid. Work up to a desired dose by increments. I found freshly brewed coffee to be an excellent medium for administration.

It could be that your diet has de-optimised your metabolism for this to work. Or you might be genetically disadvantaged in your enzyme expression. Or your nutmeg (mace) and elemi oils might have been allylbenzene-free (this does occur). By working with whole nutmegs you can at least attempt to ensure you're ingesting the allylbenzenes. The better nutmegs will have a reddish tinge when cracked in half, although I've found even ones with fairly sandy yellow interiors did the job (as I desired it) just fine.

A possible advantage of using tincture of whole nutmeg is that bioactive lignans and lycopene are extracted along with the aroma components. Some of these lignans have very powerful effects on metabolic enzyme expression and activity, and I've also noticed that lycopene and other carotenoids enhance the effects of nutmeg.

My experiments were aimed at achieving an antidepressant/prosocial/euphoriant level of action rather than a full hallucinogenic dose so my comments might not be valid for higher doses.

Have you ever come across the Abbess Hildegard von Bingen's antidepressant cookie recipe? I've attached an article, it's in German but hopefully it'll still be of value to you.

Thanks a lot, I will most definitely try this. But are the nutmeg toxins soluble in EtOH? That’s my worry.

We don't even know what they are, so I can't say for sure. Nutmeg tincture doesn't appear to present some of the unpleasant symptoms associated with ingesting nutmeg powder; we don't know if the horrible side-effects are due to mycotoxin contamination, either. This is why I would recommend using meticulously hand-sorted, hand-cracked nuts and making a tincture with them for effective control of the dosage.

(Hope you're well, theAlkēmist. Posting this for the general record even if you don't see it.)