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My 16-month theanine self-experiment

(dynomight.net)
817 points dynm | 3 comments | 09 Mar 25 03:08 UTC | HN request time: 0.809s | source
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cluckindan ◴[09 Mar 25 06:34 UTC] No.43306791[source]▶
”I’ve long found that tea makes me much less nervous than coffee, even with equal caffeine.”

Well, of course you are less nervous when you avoid taking coffee: it contains a LOT of beta-carbolines which act as MAO-A inhibitors. MAO-A inhibition directly prevents adrenalines from being inactivated by oxidation.

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mtlmtlmtlmtl ◴[09 Mar 25 08:54 UTC] No.43307405[source]▶
How do you define "a LOT"? the only estimate I can find says there's 210mcg/L of beta-carbolines. Mainly harman and norharman, which have a binding affinity for MAO-A of 220nM and 2200nM respectively(lower is more potent). Not earth-shatteringly potent. These compounds have a fairly short half-life and they're reversible.

Doesn't seem to be anywhere close to the potency of MAO inhibition used in psychiatric or entheogenic contexts. I'd be reluctant to attribute too many noticable effects to them.

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cluckindan ◴[09 Mar 25 13:57 UTC] No.43309091[source]▶
If by short you mean multiple weeks?

It is known they have a significant effect when consumed together with a weak stimulant, like caffeine or nicotine. Tobacco smoke is another significant source in the human diet.

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1. mtlmtlmtlmtl ◴[09 Mar 25 18:24 UTC] No.43312088[source]▶
Where do you get multiple weeks? From what I can find, harman and norharman both have elimination half-lives shorter than half an hour.

If it was weeks, they would accumulate to very toxic levels in anyone who smokes or has a few cups of coffee a day.

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2. cluckindan ◴[10 Mar 25 06:45 UTC] No.43317599[source]▶
That’s in blood. Both are fat soluble and will get stored in brain fatty tissue where the half-life is multiple weeks.

Your second point is spot on.

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3. mtlmtlmtlmtl ◴[10 Mar 25 14:19 UTC] No.43320948[source]▶
Interesting. Do you have a source on this? I can't seem to find any detailed data on this. Only some suggestions that since they're lipophilic, and are found in higher concentrations in brain tissue, they might accumulate there. I can't find any research analyzing whether they do accumulate in brain tissue and how long they stay there.