Increasing bioavailability of benzo's

[Richardg8092]

Always found that if I have a cup of Chamomile tea (or failing that, Lemon Balm tea) shortly after taking the relevant med it tends to heighten benzo effects with regards to sedation in particular.

Chamomile is a gentle herb - some people (like me) love the taste - but I know that others find it really unpleasant .
Those interested in undertaking a Glousck-like experiment with a group of 'less gentle'   herbs might like to use a Hops, PassionFlower & Valerian combo tea.

• Hops modulates the melatonin receptor and increases GABA activity.
  
• Passionflower modulates GABA/benzodiazepine and opioid receptors.
  
• Valerianic acid interacts with GABAa receptors to promote the release of GABA, inhibits the enzymatic breakdown of GABA in the brain.
  

When brewed as a tea, the effects of the Hops/Passionflower/Valerian combo would be more pronounced than those of Chamomile alone.
However, at best, I'd describe the taste of this combo as 'wretchedly disgusting'. 

A study in 2013 compared NSF-3* (which contains standardized extracts of these 3 herbs) to Z0lpidem (Stilln0x).
It found a significant improvement in total sleep time, sleep latency, number of nightly awakenings and insomnia severity index scores in both groups.
And - Hooray - no statistically significant difference was observed between the groups (basically meaning the herbs were equivalent in effectiveness to Stillnox).
Here's the link.

I'd be pretty confident that the home brewed putrid-tasting tea would only produce sedative effects (and/or enhancement of benz0med effects).
A tea would not produce the hypnotic/sleep inducing effects of the commercially produced standardized extracts in the NSF-3 product.
But for those suffering from insomnia, who find that a large pharmaceutical dose leaves them groggy the next morning, perhaps it's worth trying a moderate dose of meds swilled down with a cup of mother-earth's herbals.

*The NSF-3 product is manufactured in India; but you'll find an equivalent formula at the local Health Food or On-line store, or even in a larger Pharmacy.
A worthy product will have a label listing the ingredients and stating '...extract equivalent to dry herb standardised to contain..... '.  
Products that simply state "contains 500mg of X" are best left on the shelf.