Effects of Mentat

I am taking Mentat tablets (Himalaya drug company) for the past one week (2 tablets in morning and 2 tabs in night). I am also taking multivitamin tablets (Appeton teen grow) and slow release vitamin C tablets (500 mg) + bioflavonoids.

Positive effects:

1. Reduced anxiety - may be by increased GABA levels
2. Reduced stuttering - even though the stuttering is somewhat reduced, no feelings of comfortable and enjoyable fluent speaking. Reduced stuttering was observed for the first 1-2 weeks. After that stuttering was present and sometimes worse.
3. When I took mutton, it increased my libido and affection.
4. During 2008, I took mentat for about 1 month. It has increased the libido and affection and love feelings very much especially after I take ground nuts (but did not give rise to strong erections) . So the involvement of omega -6 could be a possible mechanism.
5. No excessive sleep. I could finish sleeping without much difficulty. I could get up after 7-8 hrs easily. This effect was observed after 1 week of taking mentat. Sleeping was much more difficult with 5-HTP, With 5-HTP, I could not finish my sleeping and my sleeping never seemed to end. I felt like I was unable to motivate myself to get up. So, it indicates serotonin reduces dopamine probably in the mesolimbic region of the brain for motivation. 
6. Increased mobility, increased flexibility of muscles, faster movements without any gait problems, better coordination of muscles while driving were observed after 2 weeks of taking mentat.
7. I was able to sleep for less time per day, and I was able to motivate myself to do certain things. Example, I had meeting on last week which extended beyond the scheduled time. So I had to rush for the prayer. I could rush for the prayer and I could motivate myself to do such risky operation without any difficulty. I enjoyed such intense stressful rushing. I could drive the car faster and I could reach the prayer place just on time. Even a 2 minute delay would forfeit me from joining the prayers. So it is like "can do" or "cannot do" situation. I could do that. Thats it.
8. I took less time in getting ready in the morning. usually I take 1 hour 30 minutes (from getting up from bed to start my car; This includes brushing (10 minutes), making and drinking tea (10 minutes) and making breakfast (10 minutes) going to latrine (10-15 minutes), taking bath (20 minutes), eating breakfast (5 minutes), dressing up (15 minutes)  to get ready. After taking mentat, I could get ready by 1 hour by doing all these things faster without having the anxiety of rushing.     

Negative effects:

1. Muscle weakness - decreased flexibility of muscles (This is minimized by taking vitamin C which may increase noradrenaline levels). But this is not disturbing my driving. This effect was there for first 1-2 weeks. After that, I experienced increased flexibility and mobility. See the positive effects above.
2. When I started adding DL-phenylalanine 500mg in the morning or in the lunch, it produced headache. Mild headache which lasted for 3 days. This headache did not go away even after taking 5-HTP (50 mg OD). This headache got reduced after taking magnesium + glycine + taurine. I need to explore the mechanism behind this.
3. After 2 weeks of taking mentat, I got severe headache which is not going even after taking paracetamol 650 mg dose. The headache got reduced after taking magnesium, taurine and glycine and 5-HTP. The headache completely went away after skipping a night's dose of mentat only.
4. Update on 6 May 2010: I got severe headache yesterday on my right side of head. Due to some purchasing work, I could not take lunch and DL-phenylalanine on day before yesterday. Night also I did not take DL-phenylalanine. Yesterday, I got headache which started around lunch time and worsened in the evening. In the evening, I smoked a cigarette in order to boost serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline and adrenaline. It gave me a little relief. Then along with dinner, I took DL-phenylalanine 500 mg. Then I applied tiger balm on my side head. Around 12 am headache reduced much and I could sleep better. Today morning, I felt better. So, it looks to me that the headache is probably because of dopamine depletion. Even though I had headache yesterday, my mood was OK and my sociability was also ok. If I get a headache which is aching on left side of my head, then at those times, my mood used to be low. So it could be due to serotonin depletion. yesterday's headache was aching on right side of my head. So, it was different.  

Possible mechanisms: (First written on 21 April 2010)

Observation	Possible mechanism
Less sleep, increased flexibility , less global bradykinesia	Increased straital and mesolimbic dopamine neurotransmission (Dopamine receptor agonism)
Severe headache	Decrease in serotonin (blockade of 5HT1A autoreceptor)

Possible mechanism (First written on 30 April 2010)

After reading several research papers on anxiety and its animal models, I read about buspirone. The effects of buspirone and mentat seem to be matching perfectly. Since I have not taken buspirone anytime before, I cannot really compare the effects of buspirone and mentat.

See the links below for research articles on buspirone's effects.

Effects of Acute and Chronic Administration of the Serotonin1A Agonist Buspirone on Serotonin Synthesis in the Rat Brain

Alterations of central serotonin and dopamine turnover in rats treated with ipsapirone and other 5-hydroxytryptamine1A agonists with potential anxiolytic properties.

Update on 12 may 2010:

Mentat consumption along with 5-HTP, DL-phenylalanine and multivitamin capsules produced severe headache which usually lasted for one full day. I had few headache attacks like that in the past week. The headache was mostly on the left side of my head. It was associated with irritation, and psychomotor retardation. So, I decided to discontinue mentat.

Composition of Mentat tablets

Each tablet contains:

EXTRACTS OF	QUANTITY
Bacopa monnieri	136 mg
Centella asiatica	70 mg
Withania somnifera	52 mg
Evolvulus alsinoides	52 mg
Nardostachys jatamansi	52 mg
Valeriana wallichii	50 mg
Embelia ribes	50 mg
Prunus amygdalus	50 mg
Acorus calamus	42 mg
Tinospora cordifolia	36 mg
Terminalia chebula	36 mg
Emblica officinalis	36 mg
Celastrus paniculatus	32 mg
Oroxylum indicum	32 mg
POWDERS OF
Bacopa monnieri	80 mg
Orchis mascula	18 mg
Mucuna pruriens	18 mg
Elettaria cardamomum	18 mg
Terminalia arjuna	18 mg
Foeniculum vulgare	18 mg
Ipomoea digitata	18 mg
Zingiber officinale	14 mg
Temninalia belerica	14 mg
Myristica fragrans	14 mg
Syzygium aromaticum	10 mg
Mukta pishti	3 mg

Source: http://www.tetrada-az.com/eng/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Mentat-tablets-eng.pdf

According to above source, Mentat has the following pharmacological action.


Mentat regulates cholinergic and GABAergic systems of neurotransmission and thus improves brain functions. It restores activity of muscarine and cholinergic receptors of frontal cortex and thus improves I.Q., memory capacity, concentration, and raises stress resistibility level. Mentat contributes to reduction of tribulin level, an endogenous inhibitor of monoamine oxidase which is increased at anxious conditions of different degree. Preparation stimulates improvement in case of concentration instability and behavioral disturbances. Mentat protects against parkinsonism by raising activity of post-synaptic dopamine receptor. Its sedative and tranquilizing action protects from convulsions and is helpful in insomnia. Mentat improves articulation and corrects speech defects.