Posted by guttersnipe on May 27, 2004, at 3:14:45
Hello all,
I have read, time and again, that very little or no GABA crosses the blood-brain barrier. But, I have also read countless anecdotal reports (including the "the jury's in" thread below) that taking GABA orally can have a calming effect on people. So as an experiment I bought some GABA powder today and took a little over a half-teaspoon of it (approx. 1500 mg) in some water on an empty stomach, and sure enough, about 20 minutes later I noticed a slightly mellowed state of consciousness similar to that of a rather small dose of a benzodiazepine, and a slight tingly feeling in my body.
I have read that several scientific studies indicate that in the mammalian brain, some GABA is metabolized into GHB by something called succinic semialdehyde.
So I wonder: could the same (or another) metabolic process be converting some portion of orally-consumed GABA into GHB, which then crosses the blood-brain barrier and is responsible for the calming effect of taking GABA supplements?
(It seems unlikely, as I have read that GHB doses are usually in the 1.5 - 2 gram range, but I cannot think of how else orally-consumed GABA might be effective if little or none of it makes its way across the blood-brain barrier.)
Does anyone who's knowledgeable about chemistry, the metabolic processes of the human body, etc., have any thoughts about my speculative hypothesis on why GABA supplements do in fact seem to work? [please, no "date-rape drug" propaganda ... the original, and still BY FAR the most common, "date-rape drug" is booze, not GHB or Rohypnol].
Thanks in advance for comments.
poster:guttersnipe
thread:351005
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040418/msgs/351005.html