There has been some interest in a dream pill being advertised on the internet.
Here is a little information about the contents of the pill.
Red Spider Lily (Lycoris radiata) extract - Galantamine HBr, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor for improved dream recall and more vivid dreams.
Galantamine 4mg.
Choline - A precursor (required nutrient) to the body's production of the beneficial neurotransmitter acetylcholine. 100mg
Vitamin B5 - A cofactor (helper nutrient) to the body's production of the beneficial neurotransmitter acetylcholine. 50mg
Melatonin - A naturally occurring hormone in the body that promotes restful sleep and REM (dreaming) sleep. 5mg
Spider Lily is known as galanthamine, a natural herbal extract from the bulb of the Lycoris radiata plant, native to China and Japan. Galanthamine naturally boosts dreaming activity, supports memory function and also enhances nicotinic receptor activity, an effect long known to benefit memory and intellectual ability!
Galanthamine is a processed from the Spider Lily, a member of the Dafodil plant.
Galanthamine total synthesis concerns the total synthesis of galanthamine, a drug used for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease [1].
The natural source of galantamine are certain species of daffodil and because these species are scarce and because the isolation of galanthamine from daffodil is expensive (a 1996 figure specifies 50,000 US dollar per kilogram, the yield from daffodil is 0.1-0.2% dry weight) alternative synthetic sources are under development by means of total synthesis. One recent publication details the enantioselective organic synthesis of galanthamine and also that of morphine from a single precursor.
This information is from the Wikipedia free Encyclopedia, so be suspect of everything you read there. Not all the information contained in this free reference encyclopedia is correct. It turns out that anyone can access this free reference and make their own personal corrections. Professors at Universitys in Indiana discovered that many University students were useing it as a reference book and getting it ALL WRONG! Don't use it. However, in this case about the Spider Lily, the information appears to be generally correct.
Because of the extreme expense of the Spider Lily extract, there is very little
in the pill being advertised. It is hard to say if the dosage of Galantamine is accurate or if there is any in the pill at all. No way to know short of sending some to a lab.
B5...........Pantothenic acid, or vitamin B5 is sometimes called the antistress vitamin and there are indications that it may be helpful in treating depression and anxiety. Some physicians, in fact, will recommend that patients suffering from chronic stress take supplemental doses of pantothenic acid.
What else does Vitamin B5 do? Pantothenic acid is needed to make hormones and healthy red blood cells, convert carbohydrates and fat into energy, aid in the formation of antibodies, and is reputed to be a stamina enhancer.
There is also some evidence that an enzyme converted from Vitamin B5, coenzyme A, is used by the body for detoxification and removal of harmful herbicides, insecticides and drugs.
However, it is important to note that, unlike other B vitamins, pantothenic acid is not added to processed foods. Also, a lot of pantothenic acid is lost when foods are canned, frozen, or processed.
What can happen if you have a B5 pantothenic acid deficiency? Possibly fatigue, difficulty sleeping, headache, nausea, and stomach discomfort as the result of adrenal atrophy. But getting extra B5 is as easy as taking a supplement. Oral B5 supplements usually contain a form of pantothenic acid called calcium pantothenate, and are available in tablets or capsules
Choline..........What is Choline?
Choline is a B-vitamin that not many people recognize, especially since the average American diet supplies plenty of the body’s daily need. This vitamin is often produced by the body from another substance in the American diet, called Lecithin. This nutrient is found in many plant and animal foods, such as eggs, peanuts, soybeans and wheat germ, and also many processed foods that require an emulsifier, such as chocolate, ice-cream, margarine or salad dressing. Lecithin does not always contain choline and the sources that do, only provide about 10-20% of the body’s daily need for choline. Fear not! Choline is plentiful in many foods, such as cabbage, cauliflower, egg yolks, grape juice, liver, peanuts and soybeans.
Melatonin.......Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain.
Melatonin has a rapid, mild sleepiness-inducing effect. Because of this trait, properly timed melatonin supplements may help people adapt to changes in sleep-wake schedules, as may occur after jet travel across many time zones or in shift work. The effectiveness of melatonin for relieving insomnia is uncertain. Many concerns remain about melatonin's safety, especially for
long-term use.
Don't count on melatonin to make you live longer, improve your sex life, cure cancer, or lower your cholesterol. There is little scientific basis for sensational claims for melatonin's health benefits reported recently in the popular press. These claims are based on anecdotal reports ("I tried it and it worked"), animal research - some of it flawed - and pure speculation.
This fact sheet, prepared by the leading organization of scientists working in the field of light treatment and biological rhythms, aims to set the record straight. The answers to the most frequently asked questions about melatonin come from controlled studies of more than 500 people in the past decade. The information contained here should not be used as a substitute for your physician's advice.
How does melatonin work?
The secretion of melatonin follows a daily rhythm governed by the body's master clock. This clock is located in the brain and is synchronized by regular exposure to the 24-hour cycle of darkness and light. Melatonin secretion may serve as a biological time cue.
Although its natural secretion in the body peaks at night, melatonin does not control sleep. If it did, night workers would not be able to sleep in the daytime when melatonin levels are low. Although most people sleep longer and more deeply at night than in the day, melatonin most likely is only one of many factors accounting for the superiority of nighttime sleep.
How much melatonin does the body produce?
Healthy young and middle-aged adults usually secrete about 5 to 25 micrograms of melatonin each night - at least 80 times less than is in the commonly sold 2 milligram (mg.) tablet or capsule. The amount of melatonin the body secretes tends to decline with age, a possible link with an age-related rise in difficulty sleeping
Can melatonin help people fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly?
Melatonin induces sleepiness and lowers body temperature slightly, perhaps a further aid to sleep since temperature normally falls around the time sleep begins.
Several small studies of individuals suggest that some people with trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep may benefit from taking melatonin at bedtime. However, there have been no large-scale controlled studies as yet. Responses vary considerably between individuals. Again, one should start with the lowest possible dose, and monitor responses and increase doses, if necessary, under a physician's supervision.
People who have trouble falling asleep at a conventional bedtime - often staying awake until 3 a.m. or later - but then sleep well may have a disorder of sleep timing called the delayed sleep phase syndrome. Taking melatonin two hours before their current bedtime may help them fall asleep earlier. They would gradually move back the hour they take melatonin until they reach their desired bedtime.
Other people have the opposite problem. They cannot resist falling asleep earlier than a conventional bedtime: 9:00 p.m., for example. They then may awaken fully alert around 3 a.m. and be unable to fall back to sleep. Some people with this problem, called the advanced sleep phase syndrome, benefit from taking melatonin if they awaken between 2 and 5 a.m.
Persons who are totally blind (lack all light perception) may notice cyclic trouble staying alert during the day and sleeping at night. Because synchrony of daily rhythms ordinarily requires daylight exposure, their melatonin secretion pattern may not be anchored to the normal 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. rest period. In experimental studies, tests of blood, saliva and urine have been used successfully to track the melatonin rhythm, determining when it is in synchrony with the desired bedtime. With this information, blind persons may be advised to take melatonin at bedtime from then on to keep their body rhythms in line. One impressive study of a series of cases of totally blind children with irregular sleep patterns, including daytime sleep, found major improvement when they were given melatonin at bedtime.
People who live in at a northern latitude and/or spend most of their time indoors with little daylight exposure also may suffer from a disturbed sleep/wake rhythm. Elderly persons who live in nursing homes or other institutions may be most susceptible to this problem. Taking melatonin at an appropriate bedtime may help provide stability, but concerns about possible interactions with other medication, especially in the elderly, demand caution. As yet, there have been no studies testing the effect of melatonin in demented elderly persons.
For healthy young adults with normal sleep, there are probably no benefits from taking melatonin, but there may be dangers in long term use.
Insomnia is a symptom of many disorders, including neurological and other medical disorders and psychiatric problems, and requires evaluation by a physician. Melatonin may not be an appropriate treatment.
I HOPE THIS HELPS YOU REGARDING THE LUCID DREAM PILL. FROM WHAT I CAN SEE THERE IS NOTHING IN THE PILL THAT CAN HURT YOU BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY MEDICAL PROBLEMS AND ARE TAKING MEDICATION, YOU SHOULD BE AWAYRE THAT Galanthamine MAY INTERACT OR INHIBIT YOUR MEDICATION FROM WORKING IN THE WAY IT SHOULD. CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR.
The Lucid Dream pill is expensive (see internet advertisement: google + dream pill) so you might want to split up the expense with friends who are also interested in LD and publish your results here on the board.
Good Luck.
Rob
