Sceletium Tortuosum

Kanna or Sceletium, Africa's oldest natural mood enhancer and anti-depressant. This remarkable herb is considered to be at least 10 times more effective than St John's wort as an anti-depressant. Sceletium tortuosum has been used by hunter-gatherers and shepherds as a mood-enhancing substance for millennia, and is far more effective and rapidly acting than the well-known European plant Hypericum (St John's Wort). The mood-elevating action of sceletium is caused by a number of alkaloids including mesembrine, mesembrenol and tortuosamine which interact with the brain's dopamine and serotonin receptors.Sceletium elevates mood and decreases anxiety, stress and tension. Mesembrine has been demonstrated to be a very potent serotonin-reuptake inhibitor. Intoxicating doses can cause euphoria, initially with stimulation and later with sedation. Sceletium is not a hallucinogenic. Sceletium Tortuosum is a small groundcover plant native to Southern Africa. For hundreds of years the Hottentots of Southern Africa used Sceletium tortuosum as a mood enhancer, relaxant and empathogen. It is also known as Kanna or Kauwgoed, Kougoed and Canna.