Kanna (Sceletium tortuosum) — the fermented heart-opener of the oldest people

Kanna

You chew it, or in circle, for the truth spoken without alcohol.

To open the heartTo hold a circle

1 · The form

2 · The amount

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✦ Kanna · in one breath ✦

The empathic activator of the oldest people — the flower of gentle truth.

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⊹ The path of the plant

Cautions

✷ Cautions

🔴 Antidepressants and serotonergic medications (SSRI, SNRI, MAOI, tricyclics), tramadol, triptans, lithium, MDMA: never combine. Kanna acts on serotonin — the combination exposes to a potentially serious serotonin syndrome. Imperatively seek medical advice, and respect a window of several weeks after stopping an antidepressant.
Pregnancy / breastfeeding: do not use without the advice of a practitioner.
Unstabilised psychotic history, severe cardiovascular disorders, uncontrolled hypertension: consult before use.
Alcohol: the combination is traditionally avoided — Kanna replaces alcohol, does not complete it.
Moderation: small regular doses, short cures with pauses. At excessive dose, the effect becomes nauseating and flat.

DYOR — inform yourself before experimenting.

⊹ Community voices

What the community murmurs.

All reviews (200) →

4.8/5

Average · 200 reviews

Breakdown

5 ★183

4 ★5

3 ★8

2 ★0

1 ★4

Items received packaged very well and the quality is great.

2Infinity

Ritual · 8 October 2021

Fantastic! Exquisitely well packaged and labeled, with faster than expected shipping to Canada. The kanna is of exceedingly good quality and remarkably potent (my favorite, having also tried MT-55, non-patented extracts and fermented kanna from a variety of purveyors). The free sample was very much appreciated and well thought out in terms of being exactly in-line with what I was seeking! Totally recommend. Thanks a lot, looking forward to ordering again!

Lockhart

Ritual · 19 December 2022

Truly a brilliant herb! It has helped almost immediately with my mood and general concentration (I suffer from chronic depression and anxiety). Amazing stuff, 10/10

Deko

Ritual · 11 June 2024

I cannot express how much these sacred plants have changed my life. I am so so so grateful that this seller exists

george

Ritual · 20 October 2023

Quality Kanna, a euphoric and pleasant effect, 700mg taken in herbal teas with lemon by heating for 15min without boiling to activate the active ingredient. I adore ! 😍

MATHIAS

Ritual · 10 September 2023

These people are beautiful. This is kanna, for sure, some people seem to be selling fake kanna. Kanna is such an interesting plant, I love it. Helps me feel positive. Being that this came from ol France to me in Illinois, the price was good and I am thankful for these people(or this person). They threw in a free sample of Tagetes Lucides (Mexican marigold) with my order. I just read that ancient Mayans used this plant as a medicine and remnants of it were found in an ancient keep sake jar. Gonna try it with my kanna asap. May God bless these folks with what their hearts desire.

Marty

Ritual · 1 July 2022

Wonderful quality and a lovely service. Thank you! ðŸ¤—

Erik

Ritual · 11 October 2021

In terms of smell and taste I'm not a fan, but the effect is really nice euphoria and relaxation for my part and I had the impression that the effects lasted quite a long time. I thank the seller for the gift he gave me, it’s very kind and I highly recommend it because the plants are of good quality 👌🏻😇

Lucas

Ritual · 17 November 2023

Wonderful Product I used dragondroff and the estimated concentration of Alkaloids was 0.05 mg per 5 ml. I am very impressed I showed how to extract and do an acid/base titration to make a natural antidepressant tea.

Daniel Blake

Ritual · 24 March 2023

I had tried a few months ago, it had hurt me but in fact it was because of a mixture. Now I am a fan and it is extremely pleasant to consume with a rather intoxicating effect very pleasant. (do not consume the plants excessively by mixing them (or as little as possible), a personal advice, before I did this, now I alternate as much as possible according to the periods

Nébuleuse

Ritual · 8 September 2022

Great quality kanna, the first I've used. I chew 25-50mg for an energetic effect and for focusing, and chew 100-400mg for a relaxing, stoned and sedative effect. Been taking it everyday as an antidepressant and it's helped tremendously.

Ritual · 16 December 2021

Really effective at boosting mood and overall cognition.

Deko

Ritual · 25 October 2024

Read all 200 reviews →

⊹ ASK YOUR QUESTION ⊹

Ask the Forest about Kanna

408 books digested, 97,512 indexed passages. She answers on lineages, synergies, cautions, ritual variations.

⊹ FREQUENT QUESTIONS ⊹

We answer.

What is kanna?

Kanna (Sceletium tortuosum) is a succulent plant from South Africa, of the Aizoaceae family, used for a very long time by the Khoikhoi and San peoples. Her leaves are fermented for several days before use. She is described as a heart-opener plant — a soft, social, non-visionary psychoactive — that relaxes emotional defences rather than altering perception.

What are the felt effects of kanna?

Traditional uses and contemporary reports describe a social warmth, an opening of the heart, a freer word and a lighter mood. Kanna is the teacher of moderation — small regular doses are rewarded, excess becomes nauseating and flat. These are reported effects, not a medical use.

How do I consume fermented kanna?

The softest way is the infusion — about a teaspoon of finely minced fermented leaves in a cup of simmering water (never boiling), 10 minutes, strained. The same leaves can be chewed or sprinkled in a smoking blend. Start low — kanna rewards measure.

Is kanna compatible with antidepressants (SSRI, MAOI)?

No — this is the most important precaution. Kanna acts on serotonin; combined with serotonergic antidepressants (SSRI, SNRI, MAOI, tricyclics), tramadol, triptans, lithium or MDMA, she exposes to a risk of potentially serious serotonin syndrome. Imperatively seek medical advice before any use if you take these treatments.

Can kanna replace alcohol?

Many use her this way. Kanna offers a convivial warmth and a more open word without the foggy effect or the difficult return of alcohol. She replaces it rather than accompanying it — the combination of kanna and alcohol is traditionally avoided.

Why is kanna fermented?

Fermentation is the medicine. The fresh leaves are crushed, placed in the sun for several days, then dried — an enzymatic process that transforms the alkaloid profile and softens the plant. It is a Khoisan cultural technology, comparable to the nixtamalisation of maize — without her, the plant is more irritating and unbalanced.

Does kanna create dependence?

Kanna is often described as one of the rare psychoactive plants that actively dissuades from abuse — at excessive dose, the effect becomes unpleasant and flat. Traditional wisdom favours small regular doses and short cures with pauses, never escalation.

Where does INFUSE's kanna come from?

Our fermented kanna leaves come from South Africa, land of origin of the plant, and are laboratory-controlled in France. The model of benefit-sharing with the South African San Council remains the ethical reference for this plant.

⊹ Chapter · Questions ⊹

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One question, one answer — sometimes several voices. The community answers first; INFUSE steps in when it should.

In depthbotany · phytochemistry · history

### Botany — a succulent of the South African desert

Kanna is Sceletium tortuosum, of the family Aizoaceae (the "iceplants" or ficoids), a lineage of succulents adapted to the arid soils of South Africa (Schultes, Hofmann & Rätsch, Plants of the Gods, p. 55-56). Recent taxonomy has sometimes reclassified her under Mesembryanthemum tortuosum — both names designate the same plant. She is a low, creeping succulent with fleshy leaves, whose genus name Sceletium refers to the "skeletal" veins visible on the dried leaves. Her common Afrikaans name, kougoed, means "thing to chew".

### Descriptive phytochemistry — the mesembrine alkaloids

The active principles of kanna are mesembrine-type alkaloids: mesembrine, mesembrenone, mesembrenol, and more minor compounds (tortuosamine, channaine, hordenine). Schultes-Hofmann note that these alkaloids of the Mesembryanthemaceae possess a documented sedative activity (Plants of the Gods, p. 71; see also Rätsch & Müller-Ebeling, Encyclopedia of Aphrodisiacs, p. 378-379).

The fermentation does not only preserve the plant: she recomposes her chemical profile. Over the days of sun exposure, mesembrine is progressively transformed, and the balance of alkaloids shifts. This is why traditional fermentation is described as inseparable from the medicine — the simply dried plant does not have the same profile. The pharmacology of the Mesembryanthemaceae was reviewed in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology (50:119-30), cited by Rätsch.

### What the studies report

Kanna is one of the rare plants that Rätsch ranks among the major non-hallucinogenic psychoactives — a sparsely populated category. Contemporary research describes several mechanisms: a serotonin reuptake inhibition (SSRI-like effect), a phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibition, and an action on acetylcholinesterase. An fMRI study published in 2013 on a Sceletium extract reports an attenuation of amygdala reactivity to fearful faces and a modulation of amygdala-hypothalamus connectivity; another study reports, on a low-dose standardised extract, positive changes on executive function, mood and sleep compared to placebo.

These data are descriptive and preliminary: they describe laboratory and imaging observations, not a medical use nor a promise of efficacy. Kanna is not a medicine and does not replace any treatment.

### Critical safety note — serotonin

Because kanna acts on serotonin, she must never be combined with serotonergic antidepressants (SSRI, SNRI, MAOI, tricyclics), tramadol, triptans, lithium or MDMA: the cumulation exposes to a potentially serious serotonin syndrome. This precaution is not an excess of caution — it is the real pharmacology of the plant. After stopping an antidepressant, a washout window of several weeks is necessary before considering kanna, and always with medical advice.

### Long lineage — the oldest people

The Khoisan — which gathers the San (hunter-gatherers) and the Khoikhoi (pastoralists) — count among the oldest continuously living human cultures, with a genetic lineage traced over more than a hundred thousand years. To receive kanna is to enter a transmission that precedes writing, agriculture and the first cities.

The plant is linked to the eland, the largest antelope of Africa, animal of divination and transformation in San cosmology. The rock paintings of the Drakensberg, several millennia old, depict healers in trance under the features of the eland — the walk between the worlds. In the ethnographic documentation (Pendell, Pharmako/Gnosis, p. 338-339; Rätsch & Müller-Ebeling, p. 378), kanna appears in the trance dances, in social communion, in erotic use and in the restoration of the bereaved, sometimes combined with dagga (cannabis).

### Modern history — from oblivion to rediscovery

After the colonial mentions of van Riebeeck (1662) and van der Stel (1685), and the enthusiasm attributed to Thunberg in the 18th century, kanna disappears from the European materia medica for nearly two centuries. Her rediscovery at the end of the 20th century culminates with the development of the standardised extract Zembrin by HG&H Pharmaceuticals, marketed under a benefit-sharing agreement with the South African San Council — a precedent often cited in matters of bioprospecting respectful of indigenous sovereignty.

### Safety and use

Beyond the major serotonergic contraindication, kanna asks for measure. At excessive dose, reports describe nausea, dizziness, headaches and an emotional flattening that follows the peak — the plant "punishes greed". The wisdom of use favours small regular doses and short cures with pauses rather than large occasional intakes. Kanna is, among the psychoactive plants, one of the rare ones that actively discourages her own abuse.

⊹ The forest says ⊹

« Every plant is a door. Kanna opens onto a long companionship — listen to it more than you measure it. »

Essence

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⊹ CHAPTER II · ESSENCE ⊹

*Kougoed — the thing to chew of the oldest people. The fermented heart-opener of the Khoisan. The flower of the truth spoken without alcohol.*

The word kanna comes from the Khoikhoi language — short, dense, like a magic word. The Afrikaans word, *kougoed*, names the gesture: "the thing to chew". The Dutch settlers recorded the gesture without grasping its meaning. The Khoisan, themselves — Khoi pastoralists, San hunter-gatherers — have known what they chew for more than a hundred thousand years. Genetic studies place their lineage among the oldest continuously living of humanity. To receive kanna is to enter a transmission that precedes writing, agriculture and the first cities.

The plant is sister to the eland, the great antelope — animal of divination and rain among the San, figure of the rock paintings of the Drakensberg. She accompanied the trance dances of the healers, the restoration of those whom grief or despair had emptied, and supported the walking and the hunt on the long paths of the Karoo. She is reported to have also helped those who returned from combat to dissolve fear and heavy memories.

Her power comes from fermentation — the medicine is in the process. The fresh leaves are crushed, placed in a skin pouch, exposed to the sun for several days, turned, re-exposed, then dried. The alkaloid profile shifts, the plant softens. A cultural technology as fundamental to kanna as nixtamalisation is to maize.

Elevating and tender, Kanna fills the heart with love and the body with a quiet pleasure. Not a hit, not a flight. A slight step sideways: the defences fall, the words come, the gaze rests on the other truly. Ally of emotional courage — to recognise and feel, to speak the soft truth one ordinarily keeps inside, and all this while staying in the heart.

Very social, celebratory. She creates depth, intimacy, joy when we are together. Many receive her as alternative to alcohol: shared warmth, without the fog or the return of the next day.

And she is the teacher of moderation. At small dose, she rewards. At excessive dose, she becomes nauseating and flat. The plant punishes greed. One of the rare psychoactives that actively discourages her own abuse.

⚠ Non-negotiable precaution: kanna acts on serotonin. Never with SSRI, MAOI, antidepressants, tramadol, MDMA. Possible serotonin syndrome. Medical advice mandatory if you are under treatment.

𖥸𖥸𖥸

For those who want to reopen a circle where truth flows without the fog.

Signature INFUSEIntensity · scored out of 10

Intensity · scored out of 10
empathic heart-opener		10/10
circle of truth		9/10
alcohol-alternative		10/10
native moderation		9/10
Khoisan ferment		10/10

Registerkougoed, the most ancient people (100,000 years), rock paintings of the Drakensberg, eland & trance dance (Khoikhoi · San South Africa)

Tradition

The whole page is read through this lens.

⊹ CHAPTER III · TRADITION ⊹

Khoikhoi and San — South Africa, one of the oldest continuously living human cultures. Genetic studies trace the Khoisan lineage over more than 100,000 years. When the Khoisan receive Kanna in ceremony, it is a transmission that goes back to the deep roots of humanity — not the folklore of a recent tradition, the memory of an original lineage.

The name kanna comes from the Khoikhoi language — short, dense, like a magic word. The name kougoed is Afrikaans: literally "thing to chew", the gesture recorded by the Dutch settlers without grasping its meaning. Two names, two postures. INFUSE keeps the density of the first.

The plant is associated with the eland, the great antelope — animal of divination and rain among the San, figure of the rock paintings of the Drakensberg. She accompanied the trance dances of the healers, the communion among humans, the restoration of those whom grief or despair had emptied, and supported hunger and thirst on the long walks. She is reported to have also helped those who returned from combat to dissolve fear and heavy memories.

First European written mention: 1662, Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch founder of the Cape, reports that the Khoikhoi chew a root that puts them in a state of joyful calm. As early as 1685, governor Simon van der Stel records his purchases of kanna from the Khoi traders at high prices — the plant was precious, already commercialised. In the 18th century, the naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg (a student of Linnaeus) is credited with describing her as "the noblest of restoratives" and "the chearer of the spirits".

Fermentation, cultural technology. The fresh leaves are crushed, placed in an animal-skin pouch, exposed to the sun for several days, turned, re-exposed, then dried. This enzymatic fermentation transforms the alkaloid profile and softens the plant — a knowledge as essential to kanna as nixtamalisation is to maize.

Ethical reference model. The standardised extract Zembrin is developed by the South African company HG&H under a benefit-sharing agreement with the South African San Council and the Khoikhoi authorities — one of the rare documented precedents where the first peoples receive royalties and recognition. This is the norm any commercialisation of an ancient plant should draw on.

Preparation

⊹ CHAPTER IV · PREPARATION ⊹

The taste of fermented kanna is slightly bitter and earthy, with a touch of softness. Our finely minced fermented leaves can be received in several ways.

→ Infusion (the softest):

About 1 teaspoon (≈ 1 g) of finely minced leaves for 1 cup of simmering water (never boiling, ~80 °C)
Infuse for 10 minutes, strain
Reusable up to 3 times — extend the infusion time slightly each time
Kanna can be potent for some — start low, she is the teacher of moderation

→ Chewing (the original path, kougoed = thing to chew): keep the minced leaves in the mouth for a while, swallow the saliva.

→ Smoking blend: sprinkle a small amount of finely minced leaves on a smoking blend (Damiana, Mullein, Blue Lotus).

For the most enveloping effects, the infusion remains the reference path. To be received in a calm and welcoming environment when discovering the plant.

Suggested ritual

Plant of circle and celebration. For gatherings — evenings with close ones, heart circles, weddings, birthdays, passages of life. Prepare a collective infusion. Invite each person to speak one truth they would not ordinarily dare.

Truth Circle: a shared infusion in small cups, in a circle of a few people. Drink together — in silence first, then speak when the wish comes. No phone. This is the way to reinstall deep conversation where we have lost the habit.

For inner work: for those who emerge from great stress, from a trauma still alive, from a period of inner battle — Kanna accompanies the emotional digestion without bypass, in the heart.

We answer.

What is kanna?

What are the felt effects of kanna?

How do I consume fermented kanna?

Is kanna compatible with antidepressants (SSRI, MAOI)?

Can kanna replace alcohol?

Why is kanna fermented?

Does kanna create dependence?

Where does INFUSE's kanna come from?