The plants · Last reviewed 2026-10-18

Argyreia nervosa, Hawaiian baby woodrose: alkaloids, fungus and documented harms

Argyreia nervosa, the Hawaiian baby woodrose, is a South Asian member of the morning glory family whose seeds contain a mixture of ergot alkaloids dominated by lysergic acid amide (LSA) and ergometrine, made by a Periglandula fungus that lives with the plant. Forensic and clinical reports describe unpredictable reactions, including psychosis, cardiovascular disturbance and at least one death from a fall. [1, 2, 3]

Key takeaways

  • LSA and its isomers make up most of the alkaloid content, followed by ergometrine; many minor ergot alkaloids are also present.
  • Like other alkaloid-bearing morning glories, A. nervosa carries a Periglandula symbiont on its young leaves.
  • In binding assays LSA had lower affinity than LSD at every receptor tested; the researchers concluded it should not be regarded as an LSD-like drug.
  • A controlled study was abandoned after severe adverse effects in three of four volunteers.
  • Alkaloid content varies widely between seed lots and preparations, so effects cannot be predicted.

The plant

Argyreia nervosa (synonyms Argyreia speciosa, Convolvulus speciosus) belongs to the Convolvulaceae, the morning glory family. [1] It is an important medicinal plant in the Ayurvedic system, used for conditions from nervousness to arthritis, and in tribal medicine in Assam and elsewhere in India. [4] In Western countries it became known instead as a so-called legal high, marketed for the LSA in its seeds. [4, 1] Lysergic acid amide was identified in the seeds by mass spectrometry as early as 1970. [5]

Alkaloid profile

High-resolution mass spectrometry of seeds of different origins identified: [6]

  • lysergic acid amide (LSA, ergine) and its stereoisomers
  • ergometrine (ergonovine) and ergometrinine
  • lysergic acid α-hydroxyethylamide and lysergic acid
  • clavines: lysergol, elymoclavine or setoclavine, chanoclavine and penniclavine
  • smaller signals of methylergometrine, methysergide, lysergylalanine and fragments indicating ergopeptides

In two commercial products analysed in 2014, LSA and its isomers made up 83 to 84 percent of the ergot alkaloids and ergometrine with its isomer 10 to 17 percent; the other alkaloids were minor. Total alkaloid content differed between the two products by a factor of about nine, and varied several-fold between single seeds. [1] The authors' conclusion was that the composition depends on the quality of the material, which a consumer cannot know. [6]

Ergometrine matters for safety: it is the uterotonic alkaloid used in obstetrics, and a German case-based review drew attention to potential fetal distress from the ergometrine in these seeds. [7] See ergometrine history.

The fungus

A 2015 survey of eight morning glory species, A. nervosa among them, found ergot alkaloids in the seeds of every one and a characteristic epiphytic mycelium on the upper surface of young leaves. DNA sequences from the fungi grouped them with the two described Periglandula species, making this the first report of the genus from Asian, Australian, African and North American hosts and from shrubby hosts. The study concluded that ergot alkaloids in morning glories always co-occur with Periglandula. [2]

A later screen found tremorgenic indole diterpenes, the compounds behind livestock poisoning by Ipomoea asarifolia, in two Argyreia species as well as in several Ipomoea species. [8] See Ipomoea asarifolia and the Clavicipitaceae symbiosis guide.

Receptor profiling: why LSA is not LSD

Because LSA differs from LSD only in its amide group, the seeds are often treated as a natural substitute for LSD. A 2013 study tested that idea with computer-predicted and laboratory binding assays. LSA bound 5-HT1A, 5-HT2 and α2-adrenergic receptors clearly, and dopamine and α1-adrenergic receptors more weakly, but it showed lower binding affinity than LSD at every receptor subtype tested. Several of the companion alkaloids were predicted to bind serotonin and dopamine receptors too. [4]

Given weak psychedelic activity in their earlier human study, the authors concluded that LSA should not be regarded as an LSD-like psychedelic, while its autonomic side effects and psychotropic effects may be triggered through serotonin or dopamine receptors. [4] Clinicians had already described the effects as very different from LSD, dominated by sedation and uncomfortable autonomic disturbances. [7] More in LSA vs LSD.

Documented harms

The case literature is small but consistent in one point: reactions are unpredictable.

  • A volunteer study stopped early. Designed to test driving ability, it was abandoned when three of four subjects had severe adverse effects, two with cardiovascular dysregulation and one with a psychosis-like state. All recovered within nine hours, and reactions differed sharply between people given body-weight-normalised amounts. [9]
  • A death. In a Danish forensic report of two people who had eaten the seeds, one died in a fall from a building and the survivor described an urge to jump from the window. LSA and other seed alkaloids were found in blood and urine; the person who died had also taken cannabis and alcohol. [3]
  • Psychosis. An 18-year-old was hospitalised for psychotic behaviour, [10] and an adolescent in Germany developed a substance-induced psychosis that needed treatment, despite an earlier uneventful use. [11]
  • Poison centre data. Of 29 exposures reported to Texas poison centres from 2000 to 2018, most patients were young men; gastrointestinal (45 percent) and neurological (41 percent) effects were most common, and 7 percent had a major effect. [12]

Suicidal ideation was among the effects described in user reports collected in Poland. [13] For what to do in an emergency, and for harms of other morning glory seeds, see documented harms of morning glory seeds and the safety notes.

Questions and answers

What alkaloids are in Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds?

Mainly lysergic acid amide (LSA) and its isomers, followed by ergometrine, with minor amounts of lysergic acid α-hydroxyethylamide, lysergic acid, clavines such as chanoclavine and lysergol, and traces of other ergot alkaloids, according to forensic analyses published in 2014 and 2015. [1, 6]

Is LSA from Argyreia nervosa the same as LSD?

No. In 2013 binding assays LSA had lower affinity than LSD at every receptor tested, and the researchers concluded that LSA should not be regarded as an LSD-like psychedelic drug. [4]

Are Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds dangerous?

They can be. Published reports describe psychosis, cardiovascular dysregulation and a fatal fall after eating the seeds, and alkaloid content varies widely between seed lots, so effects are unpredictable. In an emergency in the US call 911 or Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222. [9, 3, 1]

References

  1. Paulke A, Kremer C, Wunder C, et al. (2014). Identification of legal highs: ergot alkaloid patterns in two Argyreia nervosa products. Forensic Science International 242:62-71. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2014.06.025 PubMed 25036782
  2. Beaulieu WT, Panaccione DG, Ryan KL, Kaonongbua W, Clay K (2015). Phylogenetic and chemotypic diversity of Periglandula species in eight new morning glory hosts (Convolvulaceae). Mycologia 107(4):667-678. doi:10.3852/14-239 PubMed 25977213
  3. Klinke HB, Müller IB, Steffenrud S, Dahl-Sørensen R (2010). Two cases of lysergamide intoxication by ingestion of seeds from Hawaiian Baby Woodrose. Forensic Science International 197(1-3):e1-e5. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.11.017 PubMed 20018470
  4. Paulke A, Kremer C, Wunder C, et al. (2013). Argyreia nervosa (Burm. f.): receptor profiling of lysergic acid amide and other potential psychedelic LSD-like compounds by computational and binding assay approaches. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 148(2):492-497. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2013.04.044 PubMed 23665164
  5. Crawford KW (1970). The identification of lysergic acid amide in baby Hawaiian woodrose by mass spectrometry. Journal of Forensic Sciences 15(4):588-594. PubMed 5493590
  6. Paulke A, Kremer C, Wunder C, et al. (2015). Studies on the alkaloid composition of the Hawaiian Baby Woodrose Argyreia nervosa, a common legal high. Forensic Science International 249:281-293. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.02.011 PubMed 25747328
  7. Borsutzky M, Passie T, Paetzold W, Emrich HM, Schneider U (2002). [Hawaiian baby woodrose: (psycho-)pharmacological effects of the seeds of Argyreia nervosa. A case-orientated demonstration] (in German). Der Nervenarzt 73(9):892-896. doi:10.1007/s00115-002-1374-4 PubMed 12215884
  8. Cook D, Lee ST, Panaccione DG, et al. (2019). Biodiversity of Convolvulaceous species that contain ergot alkaloids, indole diterpene alkaloids, and swainsonine. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 86:103921. doi:10.1016/j.bse.2019.103921 PubMed 31496550
  9. Kremer C, Paulke A, Wunder C, Toennes SW (2012). Variable adverse effects in subjects after ingestion of equal doses of Argyreia nervosa seeds. Forensic Science International 214(1-3):e6-e8. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.06.025 PubMed 21803515
  10. Gertsch JH, Wood C (2003). Case report: an ingestion of Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds associated with acute psychosis. Hawaii Medical Journal 62(6):127, 129. PubMed 12886727
  11. Sobanski E, Dalm S, Sievers L, et al. (2021). Herbal high: substance-induced psychosis after consumption of seeds of the Hawaiian Baby Woodrose. Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie 49(4):307-311. doi:10.1024/1422-4917/a000792 PubMed 33661700
  12. Forrester MB (2018). Argyreia nervosa exposures reported to Texas poison centers. Journal of Addictive Diseases 37(3-4):160-164. doi:10.1080/10550887.2019.1640057 PubMed 31305228
  13. Juszczak GR, Swiergiel AH (2013). Recreational use of D-lysergamide from the seeds of Argyreia nervosa, Ipomoea tricolor, Ipomoea violacea, and Ipomoea purpurea in Poland. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 45(1):79-93. doi:10.1080/02791072.2013.763570 PubMed 23662334

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