Here at Elixium, we feel that it’s time we had a moment to reevaluate our relationship with coffee, and with caffeine in general. It’s not that caffeine is bad…it’s just that it’s limited in the range of benefits that it offers.
Read on to find out about how we intend to give you the knowledge that will allow you to take your morning (afternoon…evening…) drinks to the next level!
Today we’re going to introduce a new potent plant extract. Similar to coffee, this is something that has the potential to benefit us in multiple parts of our day to life. For this writing, we’re going to look at how it can play into our work and social lives.
The extract we’re looking at today is called Oroxylin A, often referred to as sabroxy. This is an extract made from the bark of Oroxylum indicum, the Indian Trumpet Tree. This is a powerhouse of a plant that has been used for thousands of years in ayurvedic medicine to treat so many conditions it just might make your head spin. (And, if that did happen, there’s probably a way this plant could be used to help.)
In order, we’ll explore:
- The subjective effects of sabroxy
- The physiological effects of sabroxy
- Mixing with other extracts for maximal fun and productivity!
Part 1: Subjective Effects of Sabroxy
In short, sabroxy supports motivation, memory, energy, focus, and mood. For many people, it provides the short term ‘boost’ of motivation that can get them working on the project they might typically avoid. In addition to that, it also helps us to maintain the focus to keep working on those tasks - especially useful when it is something repetitive or boring where we might lose focus along the way.
As I’m writing this, I can recall more than a few instances where I’ve started a task, to suddenly find myself down an unrelated rabbit hole, having only completed a small amount of the work I had intended to.
If you can relate to that experience, there’s a good chance you might find some value in taking sabroxy from time to time.
Part 2: Physiological Effects of Sabroxy
Now, there’s a lot of reasons why something might cause us to feel more energetic and more focused. There’s great value to be gained by having a basic understanding of how something helps us to feel a certain way.
For the TL;DR version, just look at the bullet points after each numbered item.
Sabroxy performs a few key functions in our body that we’re going to look at today:
- Dopamine reuptake inhibition
- Motivation
- Energy
- Mood boost
- Interest in repetitive tasks
- GABA - A antagonist
- Energy
- Alertness
- BDNF stimulation
- Support memory
- Increase neuroplasticity
- Support long term brain health
Let’s start off by looking at the dopamine reuptake inhibition. Dopamine is responsible for many things, one of them being our motivation to begin tasks or to maintain our focus on them.
It can also be very impactful on our mood - some antidepressants even work as dopamine reuptake inhibitors. It helps us to maintain interest in activities - ever had a difficult time just feeling like anything was enjoyable?
Moving on to take a look at the next part: GABAA antagonist. GABA is the primary inhibitor of the central nervous system. Inhibiting this, then leads to more alertness and feelings of energy.
Lastly, and certainly not of least interest or significance, is brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) stimulation. BDNF is an enzyme responsible for brain health and function, including neurogenesis, neuroplasticity, and neuroprotective effects. In plain english, this suggests that sabroxy would support learning new habits and information, as well as with memory and protecting against neurodegenerative disorders.
To summarize: We get the short term motivation boost from the dopamine, wakefulness from the GABA inhibition, and long term learning benefits from the BDNF.
Part 3: Mixing Sabroxy for Maximum Fun and Productivity!
This is where we feel like some of our favorite aspects get to shine through. Because they function through differing mechanisms, sabroxy and caffeine can be taken together without issue (hooray!)
In addition to this, we also find that it pairs very nicely with kanna. They both can provide mood boosts, just in different ways. For us, sabroxy is more of a motivating ‘I’m going to go take on the world’ kind of feeling good, whereas kanna is a ‘warm and fuzzy’ kind of feeling good. Combined they can be a really wonderful combo for both work and social environments.
Combining some caffeine with sabroxy provides an additional energy boost. For some, this may be a little overstimulating. If that is the case, you may find that the addition of kanna is helpful - as it can provide a soothing and relaxing element to them both.
If you want to try either of those options - check out the following blend(s):
- Elate: This is a combination of sabroxy, kanna, and caffeine (via guarana) As of now, this is our most stimulating blend. Energizing, uplifting, and even a bit euphoric. We find this is great for both a fun night out or a busy, creative, and hard working day.
- Synergy Boost: This blend contains the combination of guarana and kanna. Because the sabroxy is a little too stimulating for some, or just not something they want to take more than once or twice a week, we made this blend. We find that the caffeine helps to get us going and that the kanna reduces the stress production - all of the upsides without the downsides.