Sweet flag, Acorus

Southern blue flag Iris virginica) Sweet flag Acorus calamus)... 

Material A chemical related to mescaline and the amphetamines found in the roots of sweet flag ( Acorus calamus ) and Asarum spp. It is chemically the precusor of TMA-2 (2,4,5-trimethoxy-a-methyl-4,5-methylenedioxyphenylethylamine), a hallucinogen with 18 times the gram potency of mescaline. Asarone is converted to TMA-2 in the body by aminization which takes place shortly after ingestion. 

The taller seed-like plants of the marsh-land, such as seed-grass Phragmites), the bur-reed (Sparganium), the cat-tails Typha), the blue flags Iris), the sweet flag Acorus calamus) and the papyrus Papyrus) form associations known as fresh-water marshes, reed-marshes or fens. The channels or pools of water in amongst these amphibious plants are filled with true aquatic plants. 

Motley, T. 1994. The ethnobotany of sweet flag, Acorus calamus (Araceae). Econ. Bot. 48(4) 397-412. 

Calamus oil (sweet flag oil) is obtained by steam distillation of fresh or unpeeled, dried roots of Acorus calamus L. (Araceae). It is a yellow to medium brown, moderately viscous liquid with a pleasant, spicy, aromatic odor. 

CALAMUS -- Sweet flag, rat root ( Acorus calamus ). Family Araceae (Arum family). 

Acorus calamus (calamus root, sweet flag, rat root, sweet sedge, flag root, sweet calomel, sweet myrtle, sweet cane, sweet rush, beewort, muskrat root, pine root) contains several active constituents called asar-ones. The basic structure is 2,4,5-trimethoxy-l-propenyl-benzene, which is related to the hallucinogen 3,4-methylenedioxyphenylisopropylamine (MDA). The amounts of the asarones in calamus rhizomes vary considerably with the botanical variety. For example, there are high concentrations in triploid calamus from Eastern Europe but none detectable in the diploid North American variety. 

Calamus. Sweet flag root. Acorus calamus. W. II. 199, Bn. II. 63. Radix. The root. ... 

Sweet flag The aromatic root of the Acorus calamus, used as a carminative and tonic In dyspepsia and colic. 

Calamus, Sweet flag calm us sweet cane sweet grass. Dried rhizome of Acorus calamus L., Araceae. Habit. Europa, North America, Western Asia cultivated in Burma and Ceylon. Canstit. Acorin, a coretin (choline), 1.5% volatile oil, 2.5% resins, 1.5% tannins also reducing sugars and sterol bodies. Ref Bose et of., J. Am. Pharm. Assoc. 49 32 0960). 

Acorus gramineus (sweet-flag) has long been used as an insecticide... 

Rohr, M. etal. 1979. Newsesquiterpenoids of sweet flag oil Acorus calamus) Phytochemistry 18 279-281. 

Connecting the bonds C-l-C-6 and C-6-C-10 in famesane formally produces the spiro[4,5]decane basic skeleton of acorane. The name of this class of sesquiterpenes stems from the Acorus species. (-)-4-Acoren-3-one, for example, has been isolated from Acorus calamus (Calamus, Araceae) and from the carrot Daucus carota (Umbelliferae). The oil of calamus (oil of sweet flag) from the rhizome of Acorus calamus with its warm and spicy odor and pleasant bitter taste is predominantly used in perfumery and as a minor (possibly carcinogenic) ingredient of vermouth, some flavored wines and liqueurs. (+)-3,7(ll)-Acoradiene is a constituent of juniper Juniperus rigida its enantiomer occurs in Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (Cupressaceae). 

Synonyms Acorus calamus Acorus calamus oil German calamus oil Sweet flag oil... 

Vrkoc J, Herout V, Sorm F 1961 On terpenes. CXXIII. On the structure of calacone, a new ses-quiterpenic ketone from the sweet-flag oil Acorus calamus L.). Collect Czech Chem Commun 26 1343-1349... 

Sweet flag (calamus) rhizome Acorus calamus, Araceae) essential oil contains as the main component toxic (S-asaron (see Section 8.2.3.1.2). Other important calamus constituents are bitter alkaloids, of which the most important compound is a glycoside called acorin (8-263). 

The root of the plant Acorus calamus (also called flag root and sweet calomel), which grows over much of the world, is chewed by the Cree Indians of Canada to produce psychedelic effects. The active compound seems to be asarone — a precursor in an hallucinogenic amphetamine. 

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