Celastrus Seeds

Celastrus paniculatus is a woody climbing liana of the Celastraceae family, native to the Indian subcontinent. Its small reddish-brown oilseeds have been used by Ayurveda for thousands of years. It is called the tree of intellect, and in Sanskrit Jyotishmati.

INFUSE offers the whole seeds, to grind just before use. The simplest way — half a teaspoon of ground seeds in a warm drink or an infusion, in the evening. Tradition also knows the decoction (seeds simmered 20 to 30 minutes), raw chewing, or incorporation into a truffle with cacao and honey to soften the bitter-earthy taste.

Celastrus seeds are associated, in contemporary dreamer practices, with vivid dreams and dream recall at waking. This is a modern use, distinct from the classic Ayurvedic lineage which prized her mostly as a plant of clarity and subtle perception.

The taste is strong, earthy and bitter-acrid, characteristic. Many soften her with warm plant milk, a little honey, or by shaping a truffle with cacao. The long decoction rounds the bitterness.

It is taken regularly, 7 to 21 days in a row, with regular pauses. It is a plant of cumulative effect: better to observe it over two to three weeks before concluding.

Avoid in case of pregnancy or breastfeeding (potential abortifacient effects), upcoming surgery, diabetes, blood-clotting disorder or blood pressure treatment, autoimmune disease or immunosuppressant treatment, and gastrointestinal, liver or kidney disorder. Start with small quantities; at high dose, the seeds can give a sensation of heat or digestive discomfort. When in doubt, ask a healthcare professional's advice.

Coffee works through caffeine; celastrus seeds contain none. Ayurveda counts them among the plants of intellect and memory, taken as a regular cure over several weeks.

That is its traditional use: Ayurveda counts jyotishmati among the medhya plants, those of intellect and memory. Our dreamers also speak of concentration and clearer dreams. No medical promise: it is a tradition, and a companionship of a few weeks.

Of 76 reviews published on INFUSE, 2 speak of clearer dreams. Fabiola: 'They help a lot my dreams and concentration levels.'

Yes, these are three names for Celastrus paniculatus. Jyotishmati is its Sanskrit name, "she who illumines"; malkangni (also spelt malkangani) is its Hindi name; in English it is the intellect tree, or the black oil plant, after the dark oil pressed from its seeds. At INFUSE we sell the whole seeds.

Celastrus oil (jyotishmati or malkangni oil) is pressed from these same seeds; it gives the plant its English name of black oil plant. INFUSE offers the seeds, in bags of 25 to 200 g, to take ground in a hot drink, as a decoction or chewed, as tradition describes.

Freely sold in France. Check the law in your country.