Mexican Cyad

This edible cycad is from Mexico, where it is known as chamal. It is reputed to have psychoactive or even hallucinogenic effects (Schultes and Farnsworth 1982, 187*; Schultes and Hofmann 1980,367*). This assumption is apparently due to the fact that in Mexico the plant is also known as hierba loca, "crazy herb" or "crazy-making herb:' and is said to cause animals to act strangely (Reko 1938, 185*). No other details suggesting any actual psychoactivity are known (Aguilar Contreras and Zolla 1982, 91*). The large seeds yield a good starch flour (Bartels 1993, 59*). In Mexican folk medicine, the seeds are utilized to treat neuralgia (Martinez 1994, 409*). The plant contains the biflavones amentoflavone (main component), bilobetin, sesquioflavone, ginkgetin, sciadopitysin, 7,4',7",4" -tetra-0-methylamentoflavone, and diooflavone (Dossaji et al. 1973,372).

Literature Dossaji, S. F., E. A. Bell, and J. W. Wallace. 1973. Biflavones of Dioon. Phytochemistry 12:371-73.