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[Radium]

Our laws do not allow the shipment of any plant material (except seeds).
So if I grow an interest into something (Kratom, Khat, etc) I must grow it myself, and from seeds (no cuttings allowed).

I've read that Khat and Kratom need several years to mature for harvest, and also Kratom doesn't grow so well from seeds.
So at best, these two are considered long-term remedies for me.

Do you know any other plants suitable as depression remedies, that are:
- reaching harvest time relatively fast
- easy to grow from seeds
- able to grow in containers

[modern]

Caapi, Passiflora, Syrian Rue any maoi plant will remedy depression. They are also considered 'safer' then prescription mao due to being reversible. Many people suggest the maoi diet however I've eaten yogurt and cheese after dosing Rue and caapi on multiple occasions without any complications. I believe that the diet restrictions are only for non-reversible mao medication.

Exercise, meditation, healthy diet and enough sleep are also easy remedies for depression. Even tending to plants and 'playing' with dirt has proven to aid depression relief. Depending on plant material works short term but you may become dependent and unless you have a lot of plants may not have enough to use daily.

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[plantlight]

I don't have any seeds but have you considered Hypericum Perforatum (St. John's Wort)? 
http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-st-johns-wort.html

[doublebenno]

as modern said...

Caapi 

[TBM]

Be sure to do research about any potential drug interactions with any Rx from your doctor that you may already be taking, especially regarding MAOI interactions!!! Any plant based maoi will likely interact similarly to how Rx maoi interacts with drugs. MAOI drug interactions can be fatal!

Also, as with any Rx drug, plants taken medicinally can have unwanted side effects. I had to stop taking a St. John's Wort tincture I got from the store because I was becoming overly sensitive to light, I would get headaches from being outside during the brightest part of the day, that side effect started after about a month of taking as per the directions on the label

[LIBERTYNY]

Papaver S
Kanna
Valeriana
Albizia julibrissin

TBM could not be more right do your research

[mj]

text has been removed. regards mj.

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[danzick]

Low dose Salvia divinorum.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2721268/

Seed availability would be an issue, but they seem to be more and more available. 

Dosing would require some trial and error, but the good news is no one dies from salvia.     Also, it apparently works by a completely different mechanism from the classic antidepressants, so none of the nasty side effects associated with those.

[Mangrove]

Radium...

Have you thought of bringing up these issues regarding depression with the doctor who prescribes you ritalin? I'm sure they would be more than happy to listen to your concerns/qualms/problems/etc. and script you other meds which may be effective in treating depression (IME, and according to a good chunk of online literature, lamotrigene can do wonders for treatment of BDD/MDD and does not have any documented DDIs with any of the sought-after drugs/plants commonly used by psychonauts/seedians). I would suggest you bring up any issues you are currently having regarding depression with your Dr. and ask iif you could be tried on lamotrigene (brand name Lamictal) for help with any issues related to depression. Unfortunately, by the time any seeds have born antidepressant fruit/leaves/branches/etc. you or a loved one may already be dead and long-gone from depression-induced/related suicide. If you are already being prescribed (and hopefully taking AS directed) two psycho-stimulants (Methylphenidate AND buproprion)  by your physician, as you stated in a previous thread, I would suggest bringing up any newfound issues with any depression/depressive symptoms you may have with your doctor(s) the next time you meet with them, as manifestation and worsening of depressive symptoms are a common side effect of both of those stimulants, especially when used together on a daily basis. It may be that your current meds and/or lifestyle/living environment could be causing/exacerbating said depressive symptoms, or that you may need to switch/stop/add-on more meds to your stack in order to effectively deal with any issues with depression which may have arisen within you. Again, I must emphasize that I am not physician YET, and that my advice is not to substitute for that of your own personal physician. That being said, I would recommend you mention any depression & med related issues with the Dr. writing your meds, see what they think about the situation/circumstances of said depression, hammer-out a plan to try to tackle these symptoms whilst still effectively managing any other neuro/psycho/physiological issues you may be having to take meds for, see how the change in med regimen affects you, re-consult with them, and, if ineffective, try a new combo and so on and so forth. Whatever you do, please keep your doctor in the loop. More often than not herbs tend to harm rather than heal/treat clinical depression. While I'm not entirely ruling out the possibility of you wandering out into the desert and/or bazaar to seek depression relief from p. harmala seeds, I think it would be wise to run these issues by your doctor before senselessly self-medicating yourself with whatever "great" "all-natural" ideas some screwball seedian suggests you blindly take without prior medical consultation beforehand.

Be careful, my friend. Death's door is always open. Don't climb on through just yet. Get help. See a doctor. Talk it out with someone close to you in order to get a better understanding as to the root cause of said depression. Above all, I hope you Get better.

Selah,
-Mangrove

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[Mangrove]

I don't have any seeds but have you considered Hypericum Perforatum (St. John's Wort)? 
http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-st-johns-wort.html

Be sure to do research about any potential drug interactions with any Rx from your doctor that you may already be taking, especially regarding MAOI interactions!!! Any plant based maoi will likely interact similarly to how Rx maoi interacts with drugs. MAOI drug interactions can be fatal!

Also, as with any Rx drug, plants taken medicinally can have unwanted side effects. I had to stop taking a St. John's Wort tincture I got from the store because I was becoming overly sensitive to light, I would get headaches from being outside during the brightest part of the day, that side effect started after about a month of taking as per the directions on the label

St. John's wort is a super-strong CYP3A4 inducer, which may interfere with other meds he's taking, reducing their efficacy. Would not advise without consulting physician beforehand.

For Allah's Akbaring sake, man, just TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT THIS STUFF. WE'RE PLANT GEEKS. NOT MED GEEKS

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[Hummingbird]

The topic is very obscure and you will get many many different answers, and opinions. Online there's mostly random articles, also contradicting each other, and so on.

What's most important is to decide what is needed from a "anti-depressant". Some herbs offer depressant-like effects, for example Valerian.
It's sedative and induces sleep, symptoms which might go hand in hand with general depression. On the other hand, St. Johns Wort has showed anti-depressant qualities.
Well, not trying to promote any of the two plants at the moment, the point is to try to find EXACT effects you are looking for. Some are anxiolytics, some (anti)-depressants, etc.

The next step would be to research the available info. Since I did research some plants quite extensively, my suggestion is to look for scientific studies, as the only source of information that's been consistent with the results and suggestions.

For example:

I'm looking for an anti-depressant plant species.

Found a study researching anti-depressant effects from some common herbs in rats (not humans, but pretty close, right?)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/44572521_Antidepressant-like_effect_of_Salvia_sclarea_is_explained_by_modulation_of_dopamine_activities_in_rats

Results suggest that Salvia sclarea has the best properties for that purpose.

The next step would be to find out WHY and HOW it happens, and if it would be of any use to you.
Essential oils are mostly the "active" components of these aromatic herbs, so maybe find a profile for the plant in research:
http://ijagcs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/828-831.pdf

The most abundant component of the oil seems to be Linalyl acetate, so the next step would be to research if it's the molecule responsible for the effects,
and if it is, find some other plants containing it.

It is a lot of work, but for me was the only sure way to find out what I was looking for. I saved tons of material on the same topic (plants and essential oils that affect GABA and other receptors), but now I got way too much material to research. When I'm finished hopefully, I can compile it and share.

And yes, some herb components react with medications and other stuff, which should be thoroughly researched also, before doing and experiments

Also - while we're on the topic, I don't buy the whole "professionalism" in the medicine field. They suggest us to use chemically-derived products, which have been proven to have serious side effects or haven't been used by human population long enough to know how it affects us long-term, while at the same time keeping a blind eye on the research of the plants components which might be just-as-effective, if not more effective. If they do find such an effective, naturally occurring alternative, they will try to synthetitize is and add a bunch of other stuff to it, then present it to you in a "professional" and "scientific" way which will make you trust it more then your own instinct and ideas. If the common goal was to cure disease, I would trust the pharmacy and doctors, but I don't think that's the case to full extent.

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[plantlight]

By the way,  although my post was brief and only asked whether St. John's wort was considered, the link I provided discusses both the warning to consult a physician and the warning about light sensitivity.   The link again: http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-st-johns-wort.html

And the warnings from the link:

Side Effects

Not to be taken together with the contraceptive pill, anti-epilepsy treatments and a number of other medications including anti-depressants. If you are taking any medication consult your doctor before starting St John's Wort. It should not be taken together with foods that contain tyramine i.e. cheese, red wine, preserved meats and yeast extracts.

Both oral and topical forms of St. John's wort may make unprotected skin more sensitive to sunlight or artificial light in sun tanning parlors. Some evidence from case reports also seems to associate a higher risk of cataracts with possible eye sensitisation to light when St. John's wort is taken. If you use St. John's wort, be sure to use sunscreen and eye protection when exposed to sunlight or artificial light used in sun tanning. Side effects reported from taking St. John's wort by mouth include: Dizziness, Drowsiness, Dry mouth, Headache, Irritability, Upset stomach.

Rare cases of serotonin syndrome, a potentially dangerous oversupply of serotonin in the body, have been attributed to taking St. John's wort. Uncontrolled serotonin syndrome may result in coma, seizures, and death. Symptoms of serotonin syndrome include: Confusion, Euphoria, Fever, Hallucinations, Inability to coordinate muscles, Nausea, Restlessness, Shakiness, Sweating, Vomiting.

DO NOT

take St. John's Wort if you are having Chemotherapy, or will be starting chemotherapy within several weeks, as St. John's wort affects the metabolism (breakdown) of chemotherapy drugs by the liver and therefore seems to make these drugs much less effective.

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[plantlight]

Let me further add -- never assume any plant I mention is a recommendation to consume such plant. I do not dispense medical advice.  Further, to paraphrase Mangrove:  Don't seek medical advice from plant geeks.

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[Radium]

Oh!
So much replies in such a short time, I'm impressed, tnx guys.

First let me clear this:
I started this thread to "hear about" potential anti-depressant plants that "I have not knew before".
That is, I just "take the plant names" you suggest, and begin to "do my own research" then.
And never worry, Radium is an uber-careful person with enough understanding of medical literature to save his arse.

And also please note:
Radium is currently spending his "good times of the year" and is enjoying the life, no matter how shitty it really is.
He is just worried about his winter, so want's to be prepared beforehand when the gray days hit him.
This thread is for helping him for preparing for winter, and for compiling an extensive presentation about "urban poor-man's anti-depressant remedies".

So, throw me any plant names that comes to your mind.
I will research all of them.

[plantlight]

Dr. Dukes Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases is an interesting resource.  Try this search already selected for plants and depression: https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/phytochem/ethnoActivity/show/582
Clicking on the plant name provides further information and references in some cases.

I also suggest try the unselected link for the full experience:
https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/phytochem/search/list

Seems fairly useful for research purposes.
 

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