calea zacatechichi extract attempt

[dfar]

so i have a large calea zacatechichi plant i've been growing for about a year now and harvested a fair amount of leaves the otherday so i decided i'd try to extract any goodies that might be hidden inside...

for those of you that are not familiar with the plant.. this except is taken form wikipedia:

Calea zacatechichi, also known as Dream Herb, Cheech, and Bitter Grass, is a plant used by the indigenous Chontal of the Mexican state of Oaxaca for oneiromancy (a form of divination based on dreams.) The plant naturally occurs from southern Mexico to northern Costa Rica. It has been scientifically demonstrated that extracts of this plant increase reaction times and the frequency and/or recollection of dreams[1] versus placebo and diazepam. It is also employed by the Chontal people as a medicinal herb against gastrointestinal disorders, and is used as an appetizer, cathartic anti-dysentery remedy, and as a fever-reducing agent.

more info can be found on erowid...

so i took roughly 15g of dry calea leaf and did three pulls with 99% isopropanol. The first pull i shook the leaf in the isoproponyl for 1min, the second pull for 5min, and the third pull i left in for roughly 2 hours. I strained the liquid through a small wire grate and then pantyhose and then let it sit/evaporate in large Pyrex dishes

From the first pull (1min) i ended up with a small black (hashy) looking ball

the second pull (5min) was lighter in colour and powdery

the third pull was very green and i decided to throw it out, knowing that i would not try inhaling due to to mush chlorophyll.



leaf, isopropanol, and screen, and pyrex dish



calea zacatechichi leaf



first pull



first pull left, second pull right



first pull evaporated



second pull evaporated



first pull top, second pull bottom

I haven't tried the extract yet because i can't risk it having a negative effect on me as of yet... so hopefully i'll have a trip report at a later date

[whatchamacallit]

It isn't really supposed to make you trip, it's just supposed to give you more vivid dreams. Some report some more vivid dreams, but lots report very little, if any, effects from it. Any idea of what the active is? Couldn't be sure that one is pulling out the actives with alcohol, without knowing what type of compound it was.