Ayahuasca
Also called Aya, Caapi, Cipó, Hoasca, Vegetal, Yagé, Yajé, Natem, Shori
Dosage
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Duration
Oral, drawn at the midpoint of each PsychonautWiki range.
| Route · source | Onset | Come-up | Peak | Offset | Total | After-effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral · PsychonautWiki | 20–60 minutes PW | – | 1–2 hours PW | 1–2 hours PW | 5–10 hours PW | 1–8 hours PW |
TripSit factsheet
Mixing
Acute combinations: what happens when these are taken close together. Entries backed by a medical journal or agency are listed first.
Backed by medical journals
Other documented combinations
- 5-MeO-MiPT PW⚠ PsychonautWiki lists this combination without a danger rating.
- 2C-T-7 PW⚠ PsychonautWiki lists this combination without a danger rating.
- AMT PW⚠ PsychonautWiki lists this combination without a danger rating.
- Harmala alkaloids PW⚠ PsychonautWiki lists this combination without a danger rating.
- 2-AI PW⚠ PsychonautWiki lists this combination without a danger rating.
- 2-FMA PW⚠ PsychonautWiki lists this combination without a danger rating.
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- NM-2-AI PW⚠ PsychonautWiki lists this combination without a danger rating.
- Noopept PW⚠ PsychonautWiki lists this combination without a danger rating.
Risks and toxicity
Ayahuasca is non-addictive, is not known to cause brain damage, and has extremely low toxicity relative to dose. Similar to other psychedelic drugs, there are relatively few physical side effects associated with ayahuasca. Various studies have shown that it presents no negative cognitive, psychiatric or toxic physical consequences of any sort when taken in reasonable doses and a careful context.[6]
Lethal dosage
The only available study that tried to estimate the lethal dose (LD₅₀) of ayahuasca in rats failed to do so due to the enormous amount of brew necessary for the procedure. The authors estimated, however, that ayahuasca's LD50 is around 50 times a regular dose. This speaks for the physical safety of ayahuasca usage.[8] PW
It is strongly recommended that one use harm reduction practices when using this substance. PW
Tolerance and addiction potential
Ayahuasca is not habit-forming, and the desire to use it can actually decrease with use. It is most often self-regulating. PW
Similar to DMT, tolerance to the effects of ayahuasca does not build up with repeated usage, and this compound can, therefore, be used repeatedly to any extent. Ayahuasca does not present a cross-tolerance with other psychedelics, meaning that after the consumption of ayahuasca psychedelics will not have a reduced effect. PW
Dangerous interactions
As a result of its MAOI effects, ayahuasca is more likely to induce serotonin syndrome or general neurotransmitter overload (especially at high dosages) than other serotonergic psychedelics. This makes it dangerous to combine it with other MAOIs, stimulants and certain substances which releases neurotransmitters such as serotonin or dopamine. These substances include but are not limited to: PW⚠ A table follows this text in the source and is not copied here. Open the source to see it.
TripSit factsheet
- Avoid
- combining with any medications or substance contraindicated with MAOI's particuarly ssri's, mdxx compounds and amphetamines. Refer to http://wiki.tripsit.me/images/d/d6/TripSitDrugComboChart.gif for more info. TS
Testing
Effects
Euphoriaempathyinsightbrightened colourClosed/Open eye visualsenhanced tactile sensationmental/physical stimulationdecreased appetitepupil dilationrestlessnesschange in perceptionego softeningsweating/chillsmuscle tensionconfusioninsomnia TS
Overview
Ayahuasca (pronounced /eye-uh-WAHS-kuh/ and also known as Yagé) is an umbrella term that refers to a wide variety of traditional and modern brews and infusions of natural plant sources that produce powerful psychoactive or hallucinogenic effects. Of these, it most commonly consists of a DMT-containing plant source in combination with one that contains an MAOI or RIMA (typically sources like B. caapi vine or syrian rue) to produce uniquely potent, sometimes medicinal, psychedelic effects. PW
A concoction made of two or more plants that contain at least an MAOI and DMT, the combination of which allows the DMT to work orally. Typically associated to south american cultures. Also, sometimes approximated synthetically by taking an external MAOI with extracted DMT. Causes intense, spiritually orientated hallucinogenic experiences. TS
Ayahuasca is a South American psychoactive decoction prepared from Banisteriopsis caapi vine and a dimethyltryptamine (DMT)-containing plant, used by Indigenous cultures in the Amazon and Orinoco basins as part of traditional medicine and shamanism. The word ayahuasca, originating from Quechuan languages spoken in the Andes, refers both to the B. caapi vine and the psychoactive brew made from it, with its name meaning 'spirit rope' or 'liana of the soul'.[1]
Although often portrayed as ancient, ayahuasca likely spread across the western Amazon only within the past few centuries; the first clear written accounts appear in the 17th century. The specific ritual use of ayahuasca was widespread among Indigenous groups by the 19th century. Ayahuasca is traditionally prepared by macerating and boiling B. caapi with other plants like Psychotria viridis during a ritualistic, multi-day process. Ayahuasca has been used in diverse South American cultures for spiritual, social, and medicinal purposes, often guided by shamans in ceremonial contexts involving specific dietary and ritual practices, with the Shipibo-Konibo people playing a significant historical and cultural role in its use. Originally confined to regions of Peru, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador, ayahuasca became widespread in Brazil, expanding widely by the mid-20th century through syncretic religions in Brazil. In the late 20th century, ayahuasca use expanded beyond South America to Europe, North America, and elsewhere, leading to legal cases, non-religious adaptations, and the development of ayahuasca analogues (i.e., variants) using local or synthetic ingredients.[3] WP
While DMT is internationally classified as a controlled substance, the plants containing it—including those used to make ayahuasca—are not regulated under international law, leading to varied national policies that range from permitting religious use to imposing bans or decriminalization. The United States patent office controversially granted, challenged, revoked, reinstated, and ultimately allowed to expire a patent on the ayahuasca vine, sparking disputes over intellectual property rights and the cultural and religious significance of traditional Indigenous knowledge. WP
Ayahuasca produces intense psychological and spiritual experiences. Ayahuasca's psychoactive effects primarily result from DMT, rendered orally active by harmala alkaloids in B. caapi, which act as reversible inhibitors of monamine oxidase; B. caapi and its β-carbolines also exhibit independent contributions to ayahuasca's effects, acting on serotonin and benzodiazepine receptors. Higher doses of ayahuasca or harmala alkaloids may increase risks.[4]
History
Origins
Ayahuasca is often portrayed as an ancient Amazonian tradition, but some anthropological and linguistic evidence suggests the brew likely spread through the western Amazon relatively recently (within the past few centuries). It may have diffused along missionary routes and the rubber trade rather than existing there for millennia.[3] WP
Although several botanical specimens (like tobacco, coca and Anadenanthera spp.) were identified among the pre-Columbian objects, there is no unequivocal evidence of this date referring directly to ayahuasca. Banisteriopsis caapi use is suggested from a pouch containing carved snuffing trays, bone spatulas and other paraphernalia with traces of harmine and DMT, discovered in a cave in southwestern Bolivia in 2008, and chemical traces of harmine in the hair of two mummies found in northern Chile. Both cases are linked to Tiwanaku people, circa 900 CE. There are several reports of oral and nasal use of Anadenanthera spp. (rich in bufotenin) ritualistically and therapeutically during labor and infancy, and researchers suggest that addition of Banisteriopsis spp. to catalyze its psychoactivity emerged later, due to contact between different groups of Amazon and Altiplano.[9–12] WP
Despite claims by numerous anthropologists and ethnologists, such as Plutarco Naranjo, regarding the millennial usage of ayahuasca, compelling evidence substantiating its pre-Columbian consumption is yet to be firmly established. As articulated by Dennis McKenna: "No one can say for certain where the practice may have originated, and about all that can be stated with certainty is that it was already spread among numerous indigenous tribes throughout the Amazon Basin by the time Ayahuasca came to the attention of Western ethnographers in the mid-nineteenth century" The first western references of the ayahuasca beverage dates back to seventeenth century, during the European colonization of the Americas. The earlier report is a letter from Vincente de Valverde to the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Jose Chantre y Herrera still in the seventeenth century, provided the first detailed description of a "devilish potion" cooked from bitter herbs and lianas (called ayaguasca) and its rituals: "[...] In other nations, they set aside an entire night for divination. For this purpose, they select the most capable house in the vicinity because many people are expected to attend the event. The diviner hangs his bed in the middle and places an infernal potion, known as ayahuasca, by his side, which is particularly effective at altering one's senses. They prepare a brew from bitter vines or herbs, which, when boiled sufficiently, must become quite potent. Since it's so strong at altering one's judgment in small quantities, the precaution is not excessive, and it fits into two small pots. The witch doctor drinks a very small amount each time and knows well how many times he can sample the brew without losing his senses to properly conduct the ritual and lead the choir". Another report produced in 1737 by the missionary Pablo Maroni, describes the use of a psychoactive liana called ayahuasca for divination in the Napo River, Ecuador: "For divination, they use a beverage, some of white datura flowers, which they also call Campana due to its shape, and others from a vine commonly known as Ayahuasca, both highly effective at numbing the senses and even at taking one's life if taken in excess. They also occasionally use these substances for the treatment of common illnesses, especially headaches. So, the person who wants to divine drinks the chosen substance with certain rituals, and while deprived of their senses from the mouth downwards, to prevent the strength of the plant from harming them, they remain in this state for many hours and sometimes even two or three days until the effects run their course, and the intoxication subsides. After this, they reflect on what their imagination revealed, which occasionally remains with them for delirium. This is what they consider accomplished and propagate as an oracle." Latter reports were produced by Juan Magnin in 1740, describing ayahuasca use as a medicinal plant by the "Jivaroan" peoples (called ayahuessa) and by Franz Xaver Veigl in 1768, that reports about several "dangerous plants", including a bitter liana used for precognition and sorcery. All these reports were written in context of Jesuit missions in South America, specially the Mainas missions, in Latin and sent only to Rome, so their audience was not very large and they were promptly lost in the archives. For this reason, ayahuasca did not receive attention for the entire subsequent century.[9]
Shamanism, mestizos, and vegetalistas
Researchers like Peter Gow and Brabec de Mori argue that ayahuasca use indeed developed alongside the Jesuit missions after the 17th century. By examining the ícaros (ayahuasca-related healing chants), they found that the chants are always sung in Quechua (a lingua franca along the Jesuit and Franciscan missions in the region), no matter the linguistic background of the group, with similar language structures between different ícaros that are markedly different from other indigenous songs. Moreover, often the cosmology of ayahuasca often mirrors the Catholicism, with particular similarities in the belief that ayahuasca is thought to be the body of ayahuascamama that is imbibed as part of the ritual, like wine and bread are taken as being the body and blood of Jesus Christ during Christian Eucharist. Brabec de Mori called this "Christian camouflage" and suggested that rather than being a way for disguising the ayahuasca ritual, it suggests that practice evolved entirely within these contexts.[19]
Indeed, the colonial processes in Western Amazon are intrinsically related with the development of ayahuasca use in the last three centuries, as it promoted a deep reshape in traditional ways of life in the region. Many indigenous groups moved into the Missions, seeking protection from death and slavery promoted by the Bandeiras, inter-tribal violence, starvation and disease (smallpox). This movement resulted in an intense cultural exchange and resulted in the formation of mestizos (in Spanish) or caboclos (in Portuguese), a social category formed by people with mixture of European and native ancestry, who were an important part of the economy and culture of the region. According to Peter Gow, the ayahuasca shamanism (the use of ayahuasca by a trained shaman to diagnose and cure illnesses) was developed by these mestizos in the processes of colonial transformation. The Amazon rubber cycles (1879–1912 and 1942–1945) sped up these transformations, due to slavery, genocide and brutality against indigenous populations and large migratory movements, specially from the Brazilian Northeast Region as a workforce for the rubber plantations. The mestizo practices became deeply intertwined with the culture of rubber workers, called caucheros (in Spanish) or seringueiros (in Portuguese). Ayahuasca use with therapeutic goals is the main result of this Trans-cultural diffusion, with some practitioners pointing the caucheros as the main responsible for using ayahuasca to cure all sort of ailments of the body, mind and soul, with even some regions using the term Yerba de Cauchero ("rubber-worker herb"). As a result, the ayahuasca shamans in urban areas and mestizo settlements, specially in the regions of Iquitos and Pucallpa (in Peru), became the vegetalistas, folk healers who are said to gain all their knowledge from the plants and the spirits bound to it.[21]
So the vegetalist movement was a heterogeneous mixture of Western Amazon (mestizo shamanic practices and cauchero culture) and Andean elements (shaped by other migratory movements, like those originated from Cuzco through Urubamba Valley and from western Ecuador), influenced by Christian aspects derived from the Jesuit missions, as reflected by the mythology, rituals and moral codes related to vegetalista ayahuasca use.[23] WP
Ayahuasca religions
Although mestizo, vegetalista and indigenous ayahuasca use was part of a longer tradition, these several configurations of mestizo vegetalismo were not isolated phenomena. In the end of the nineteenth century, several messianic/millennialist cults sparkled across semi-urban areas across the entire Amazon region, merging different elements of indigenous and mestizo folk culture with Catholicism, Spiritism and Protestantism. In this context, the use of ayahuasca will take form of urban, organized non-indigenous religions in outskirts of main cities of northwest of Brazil, (along the basins of Madeira, Juruá and Purus River) within the cauchero/seringueiro cultural complex, resignifying and adapting both the vegetalista and mestizo shamanism to new urban formations, unifying essential elements to building a cosmology for the new emerging cult/faith, merging with elements of folk Catholicism, African-Brazilian religions and Kardecist spiritism. These new cults arise from charismatic leaderships, often messianic and prophetic, who came from rural areas after migration movements, sometimes called ayahuasqueiros, in semi-urban communities across the borders of Brazil, Bolívia and Peru (a region that will later form the state of Acre). This new configuration of these belief systems is referred by Goulart as tradição religiosa ayahuasqueira urbana amazônica ("urban-amazonian ayahuasqueiro religious tradition") or campo ayahuasqueiro brasileiro ("brazilian ayahuasqueiro field") by Labate, emerging as three main structured religions, the Santo Daime and Barquinha, in Rio Branco and the União do Vegetal (UDV) in Porto Velho, three denominations that, notwithstanding shared characteristics besides ayahuasca utilization, have several particularities regarding its practices, conceptions and processes building social legitimacy and relationships with Brazilian government, media, science and other society stances. Since the latter half of twentieth century, the ayahuasca religious expanded to other parts of Brazil and several countries in the world, notably in the West.[22–29] WP
Legal status
- Internationally, DMT is a Schedule I drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The Commentary on the Convention on Psychotropic Substances notes, however, that the plants containing it are not subject to international control: "The cultivation of plants from which psychotropic substances are obtained is not controlled by the Vienna Convention.... Neither the crown (fruit, mescal button) of the Peyote cactus nor the roots of the plant Mimosa hostilis nor Psilocybe mushrooms themselves are included in Schedule 1, but only their respective principals, mescaline, DMT, and psilocin."[30] PW
- "No plants (natural materials) containing DMT are at present controlled under the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Consequently, preparations (e.g. decoctions) made of these plants, including ayahuasca are not under international control and, therefore, not subject to any of the articles of the 1971 Convention. -- International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), United Nations"[31] PW
- Brazil: The religious (but not therapeutic or recreational) use of ayahuasca is legal.[32] PW
- Peru: The traditional use of ayahuasca for therapeutic purposes ("vegetalismo") is legal.[33] PW
- United States: PW
- Louisiana: Except for ornamental purposes, growing, selling or possessing of these ayahuasca plants are prohibited by Louisiana State Act 159:[34] PW
- Anadenanthera colubrina PW
- Banisteriopsis spp. PW
- Mimosa hostilis PW
- Peganum harmala PW
- Tetrapteris methystica PW
Etymology
Ayahuasca is the hispanicized spelling (i.e., spelled according to Spanish orthography) of a word that originates from the Quechuan languages, which are spoken in the Andean states of Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia. Speakers of Quechuan languages who use modern Quechuan orthography spell it ayawaska. The word refers both to the liana Banisteriopsis caapi, and to the brew prepared from it. In the Quechuan languages, aya means 'spirit, soul', or 'corpse, dead body', and waska means 'rope' or 'woody vine, liana'. The word ayahuasca has been variously translated as 'liana of the soul', 'liana of the dead', and 'spirit liana'. In the cosmovision of its users, the ayahuasca is the vine that allows the spirit to wander detached from the body, entering the spiritual world, otherwise forbidden for the alive.[35]
Common names
Although ayahuasca is the most widely used term in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil, the brew is known by many names throughout northern South America: WP
- hoasca or oasca in Brazil WP
- yagé (or yajé, from the Cofán language or iagê in Portuguese). Relatively widespread use in Andean and Amazonian regions throughout the border areas of Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. The Cofán people also use the word oofa.[38] WP
- caapi (or kahpi/gahpi in Tupi–Guarani language or *kaapi in proto-Arawak language), used to address both the brew and the B. caapi itself. Meaning "weed" or "thin leaf", it was the word utilized by Spruce for naming the liana.[39] WP
- pinde (or pindê/pilde), used by the Colorado people[40] WP
- patem (or nátema), from the Chicham languages[41]
[42] WP - shori, mii (or miiyagi) and uni, from the Yaminawa language[43]
[44] WP - nishi cobin, from the Shipibo language[45] WP
- nixi pae, shuri, ondi, rambi and rame, from the Kashinawa language[46]
[47] [48] WP - kaji, kadana and kadanapira, used by the Tucano people[49] WP
- kamarampi (or kamalampi) and hananeroca, from the Arawakan languages[50] WP
- bakko, from Bora-Muinane languages[51] WP
- jono pase, used by Ese'Ejja people[52] WP
- uipa, from Guahibo language[53] WP
- napa (or nepe/nepi), used by Tsáchila people[54] WP
- Biaxije, from Kamëntšá language[55] WP
- Cipó ("liana") or Vegetal, in Portuguese language, used by União do Vegetal church members WP
- Daime or Santo Daime, meaning "give me" in Portuguese, the term was coined by Santo Daime's founder Mestre Irineu in the 1940s, from a prayer dai-me alegria, dai-me resistência ("give me happiness, give me strength"). Daime members also uses the words Luz ("light") or Santa Luz ("holy light") WP
- Some nomenclature are created by the cultural and symbolic signification of ayahuasca, with names like planta professora ("plant teacher"), professor dos professores ("teacher of the teachers"), sagrada medicina ("holy medicine") or la purga ("the purge"). WP
Other names in the western world
In the last decades, two new important terminologies emerged. Both are commonly used in the Western world in neoshamanic, recreative or pharmaceutical contexts to address ayahuasca-like substances created without the traditional botanical species, due to it being expensive and/or hard to find in these countries. These concepts are surrounded by some controversies involving ethnobotany, patents, commodification and biopiracy:[56]
- Anahuasca (ayahuasca analogue or variants). A term usually used to refer to the ayahuasca produced with other plant species as sources of DMT (e.g., Mimosa hostilis) or β-carbolines (e.g., Peganum harmala).[59] WP
- Pharmahuasca (pharmaceutical ayahuasca). This indicates the pills produced from freebase DMT, synthetic harmaline, MAOI medications (such as moclobemide) and other isolated or purified compounds or extracts.[60] WP
Legal status
Internationally, DMT is a Schedule I drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The Commentary on the Convention on Psychotropic Substances notes, however, that the plants containing it are not subject to international control:[61] WP
The cultivation of plants from which psychotropic substances are obtained is not controlled by the Vienna Convention... Neither the crown (fruit, mescal button) of the Peyote cactus nor the roots of the plant Mimosa hostilis nor Psilocybe mushrooms themselves are included in Schedule I, but only their respective principals, mescaline, DMT, and psilocin. WP
In Peru, ayahuasca is legal and formally protected as part of the country's cultural heritage. When ratifying the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, Peru entered a reservation to exclude Ayahuasca and San Pedro from international control, citing their traditional ritual use by Amazonian peoples (United Nations Treaty Collection, 1971). This position was reinforced on 24 June 2008, when the Instituto Nacional de Cultura declared the traditional knowledge and ceremonial use of Ayahuasca by Indigenous communities as Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación (Cultural Heritage of the Nation).[62]
A fax from the Secretary of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) to the Netherlands Ministry of Public Health sent in 2001 goes on to state that "Consequently, preparations (e.g. decoctions) made of these plants, including ayahuasca, are not under international control and, therefore, not subject to any of the articles of the 1971 Convention."[64] WP
Despite the INCB's 2001 affirmation that ayahuasca is not subject to drug control by international convention, in its 2010 Annual Report the Board recommended that governments consider controlling (i.e. criminalizing) ayahuasca at the national level. This recommendation by the INCB has been criticized as an attempt by the Board to overstep its legitimate mandate and as establishing a reason for governments to violate the human rights (i.e., religious freedom) of ceremonial ayahuasca drinkers.[65] WP
Under American federal law, DMT is a Schedule I drug that is illegal to possess or consume; however, certain religious groups have been legally permitted to consume ayahuasca. A court case allowing the União do Vegetal to import and use the tea for religious purposes in the United States, Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal, was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on November 1, 2005; the decision, released February 21, 2006, allows the UDV to use the tea in its ceremonies pursuant to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In a similar case in Ashland, Oregon-based Santo Daime church sued for their right to import and consume ayahuasca tea. In March 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Panner ruled in favor of the Santo Daime, acknowledging its protection from prosecution under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.[66]
In 2017 the Santo Daime Church Céu do Montréal in Canada received religious exemption to use ayahuasca as a sacrament in their rituals.[68] WP
Religious use in Brazil was legalized after two official inquiries into the tea in the mid-1980s, which concluded that ayahuasca is not a recreational drug and has valid spiritual uses.[69] WP
In France, Santo Daime won a court case allowing them to use the tea in early 2005; however, they were not allowed an exception for religious purposes, but rather for the simple reason that they did not perform chemical extractions to end up with pure DMT and harmala and the plants used were not scheduled. Four months after the court victory, the common ingredients of ayahuasca as well as harmala were declared stupéfiants, or narcotic schedule I substances, making the tea and its ingredients illegal to use or possess.[70]
In June 2019, Oakland, California, decriminalized natural entheogens. The City Council passed the resolution in a unanimous vote, ending the investigation and imposition of criminal penalties for use and possession of entheogens derived from plants or fungi. The resolution states: "Practices with Entheogenic Plants have long existed and have been considered to be sacred to human cultures and human interrelationships with nature for thousands of years, and continue to be enhanced and improved to this day by religious and spiritual leaders, practicing professionals, mentors, and healers throughout the world, many of whom have been forced underground." In January 2020, Santa Cruz, California, and in September 2020, Ann Arbor, Michigan, decriminalized natural entheogens.[72–75] WP
Intellectual property issues
Ayahuasca has stirred debate regarding intellectual property protection of traditional knowledge. In 1986 the US Patent and Trademarks Office (PTO) allowed the granting of a patent on the ayahuasca vine B. caapi. It allowed this patent based on the assumption that ayahuasca's properties had not been previously described in writing. Several public interest groups, including the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) and the Coalition for Amazonian Peoples and Their Environment (Amazon Coalition) objected. In 1999 they brought a legal challenge to this patent which had granted a private US citizen "ownership" of the knowledge of a plant that is well-known and sacred to many Indigenous peoples of the Amazon, and used by them in religious and healing ceremonies.[57]
Later that year the PTO issued a decision rejecting the patent, on the basis that the petitioners' arguments that the plant was not "distinctive or novel" were valid; however, the decision did not acknowledge the argument that the plant's religious or cultural values prohibited a patent. In 2001, after an appeal by the patent holder, the US Patent Office reinstated the patent, albeit to only a specific plant and its asexually reproduced offspring. The law at the time did not allow a third party such as COICA to participate in that part of the reexamination process. The patent, held by American entrepreneur Loren Miller, expired in 2003.[77] WP
Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
Most psychological effects can be accredited to the influx of serotonin caused by the psychoactive combination of DMT with beta-carbolines. Serotonin stimulates a group of G-protein coupled receptors known as 5-HT receptors. Specifically, stimulation of the 5-HT2A receptor type is correlated with hallucinogenic effects.[78] WP
Dimethyltryptamine
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a naturally occurring, serotonergic hallucinogen found in plants and mammals, classified as a DEA Schedule I substance with no accepted medical use, and under investigation for clinical applications.[5] WP
Ayahuasca's psychoactive effects stem mainly from DMT, made orally active by MAOIs in the B. caapi vine, and its activation of serotonin receptors, particularly 5-HT2A, with additional contributions from harmine and harmaline.[4] WP
Harmala alkaloids
While many studies focus on DMT and serotonin agonists, recent research and traditional use highlight the central role of the B. caapi vine and its β-carbolines in ayahuasca, noting their potential psychotropic effects through serotonin and benzodiazepine receptor interactions.[4] WP
Harmala alkaloids like harmaline and harmine are believed to cause hallucinations, vomiting, confusion, and ataxia through central nervous system stimulation and 5-HT receptor binding, similar to DMT.[4] WP
Harmine
Harmine is a naturally occurring harmala alkaloid with monoamine oxidase-inhibiting under preliminary research for potential anti-HIV properties. It is found in various plants such as Peganum harmala and B. caapi, historically studied for Parkinson's disease and currently in early-phase clinical trials.[5] WP
Harmine is the primary β-carboline alkaloid in ayahuasca and has been studied for potential therapeutic effects including modulation of astrocytic function, anti-inflammatory properties, influence on neural progenitor proliferation, and possible roles in addiction and depression treatment through mechanisms involving glutamate regulation and BDNF signaling.[4] WP
Harmaline
Harmaline is a β-carboline alkaloid derived from the harman skeleton, found in various organisms including Peganum seeds, and acts as a oneirogen.[79] WP
Harmaline, a harmala alkaloid, has been reported to exhibit a range of pharmacological effects, including hypothermic, vasorelaxant, antimicrobial, antitumoral, antiplatelet, antileishmanial, and antiplasmodial activities, as well as anxiolytic, antidepressant, and hallucinogenic properties at certain doses.[4] WP
Tetrahydroharmine
Tetrahydroharmine is a harmala alkaloid found in organisms such as Daphnia pulex and Euglena gracilis.[80] WP
Tetrahydroharmine, a component of ayahuasca with weak SSRI properties, has been associated with increased serotonin uptake sites and variable psychoactive effects, with preferences for higher tetrahydroharmine content reported in some ayahuasca-using churches, potentially due to differences in plant composition and preparation methods.[4] WP
Pharmacokinetics
The pharmacokinetics of ayahuasca and its components have been studied and described.[4]
Pharmacogenomics
Individual polymorphisms of the cytochrome P450-2D6 enzyme, and more over the isolated indocine metabolite from the inhabitation of CPY134a, with a varied rate of gustation due to physiological factors affect the ability of individuals to metabolize harmine.[83] WP
Chemistry
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References
- Other Pronounced as /ˌaɪ(j)əˈwæskə/ in the UK and /ˌaɪ(j)əˈwɑːskə/ in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ayaguasca (Spanish-derived), aioasca (Brazilian Portuguese–derived), or as yagé, pronounced /jɑːˈheɪ/ or /jæˈheɪ/. Etymologically, all forms but yagé descend from the compound Quechua word ayawaska, from aya and waska. For more names for ayahuasca, see § Etymology
- Journal / agency McKenna, Dennis J. Clinical investigations of the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca: rationale and regulatory challenges. Pharmacology & Therapeutics. May 2004. doi:10.1016/j.pharmthera.2004.03.002 · PMID 15163593
- Other The ancient psychedelics myth: 'People tell tourists the stories they think are interesting for them'. 2025-05-01
- Journal / agency Ruffell, Simon G. D.; Crosland-Wood, Max; Palmer, Rob; Netzband, Nige; Tsang, WaiFung; Weiss, Brandon; Gandy, Sam; Cowley-Court, Tessa; Halman, Andreas; McHerron, Diana; Jong, Angelina; Kennedy, Tom; White, Eleanor; Perkins, Daniel; Terhune, Devin B. Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic aspects. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Reports. 2023. doi:10.1002/pcn5.146 · PMID 38868739 · PMC11114307
- Journal / agency PubChem. Dimethyltryptamine
- Journal / agency Santos, R. G. dos. Safety and side effects of ayahuasca in humans--an overview focusing on developmental toxicology. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. March 2013. doi:10.1080/02791072.2013.763564
- Journal / agency Barbosa, P. C. R., Mizumoto, S., Bogenschutz, M. P., Strassman, R. J. Health status of ayahuasca users. Drug Testing and Analysis. August 2012. doi:10.1002/dta.1383
- Journal / agency Pic-Taylor, A., Motta, L. G. da, Morais, J. A. de, Junior, W. M., Santos, A. de F. A., Campos, L. A., Mortari, M. R., Zuben, M. V. von, Caldas, E. D. Behavioural and neurotoxic effects of ayahuasca infusion (Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis) in female Wistar rat. Behavioural Processes. September 2015. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2015.05.004
- Other McKenna, Dennis. Sacred Vine of Spirits: Ayahuasca. 2005
- Journal / agency Miller, Melanie J.; Albarracin-Jordan, Juan; Moore, Christine; Capriles, José M. Chemical evidence for the use of multiple psychotropic plants in a 1,000-year-old ritual bundle from South America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 4 June 2019. doi:10.1073/pnas.1902174116 · PMID 31061128 · PMC6561276
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- Journal / agency Ogalde, Juan Pablo; Arriaza, Bernardo T.; Santoro, Calogero M.; Capriles, Jose M.; Puddu, Giannin; Ugalde, Paula C.; Rothhammer Engel, Francisco. Consumo prehispánico de sustancias psicoactivas en el norte de Chile sugiere redes tempranas de intercambio con el Altiplano central y la Amazonía. Interciencia. 2017
- Journal / agency Naranjo, Plutarco. El ayahuasca en la arqueología ecuatoriana. Am. Indígena. 1986
- Other Varella, Alexandre Camera. A Cultura do uso de psicoativos nas grandes civilizações pré-colombianas (aproximações e perspectivas). 2005
- Other Chantre Y Herrera, José. Historia de las misiones de la Compañía de Jesús en el Marañón español. 1901
- Other Maroni, Pablo. Noticias auténticas del famoso Río Marañón y misión apostólica de la Compañía de Jesús de la Provincia de Quito en los dilatados bosques de dicho río, escribíalas por los años de 1738, un misionero de la misma compañía. 1988
- Other Magnin, Juan. Breve descripción de la provincia de Quito, en la América Meridional, y de sus missiones de Succumbíos de religiosos de S. Franc.º y de Maynas de PP. de la Comp.ª de Jhs, a las orillas del gran río Marañón, hecha para el mapa que se hizo el año 1740. 1988
- Other Veigl, Franz Xaver; Gasché, Jorge; Veigl, Franz Xaver. Noticias detalladas sobre el estado de la provincia de Maynas en América meridional hasta el año de 1768. 2006
- Other Brabec de Mori, Bernd. The Internationalization of Ayahuasca. 2011
- Other 1648–1768 – The First Written Reports of Ayahuasca Made by Jesuit Missionaries. 2020-04-05
- Other Gow, Peter; Thomas, Nicholas. River people: Shamanism and history in Western Amazonia Shamanism, History, and the State. 1994
- Other Dobkin de Rios, Marlene; Rumrrill, Roger. A Hallucinogenic Tea, Laced With Controversy. Ayahuasca in the Amazon and the United States. 2008
- Other Luna, Luís Eduardo. Vegetalismo: Shamanism among the Mestizo population of the Peruvian Amazon. 1986
- Other Oro, Ari Pedro. Na Amazônia um messias de índios e brancos: traços para uma antropologia do messianismo. 1989
- Journal / agency Goulart, Sandra Lúcia. As Raízes culturais do Santo Daime. Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao programa de pós-graduação de Antropologia Social da FFLCH-USP
- Other Goulart, Sandra Lúcia. Contrastes e Continuidades em uma Tradição Amazônica: as Religiões da Ayahuasca. 2004
- Other Labate, Beatriz Cauby. A reinvenção do uso da ayahuasca nos centros urbanos. 2000
- Journal / agency Goulart, Sandra Lúcia. O universo cultural das religiões ayahuasqueiras brasileiras e a questão das drogas. Reunião Equatorial de Antropologia e Reunião de Antropólogos do Norte e Nordeste
- Other Labate, B.C.; Rose, I.S.; Santos, R.G. Ayahuasca Religions: a comprehensive bibliography and critical essays. 2009
- Other DMT – UN report. 2001-03-31
- Other The internationalization of ayahuasca. 2011
- Harm reduction site Erowid Ayahuasca Vault : Notes on Brazilian Ayahuasca Law
- Other Hill, D. (2016, June 7). Peru’s ayahuasca industry booms as westerners search for alternative healing, "According to the Ayahuasca Defense Fund, hosted by ICEERS, it is legal in Peru". The Guardian
- Other Louisiana Laws - Louisiana State Legislature
- Journal / agency Sanz-Biset, Jaume; Cañigueral, Salvador. Plants as medicinal stressors, the case of depurative practices in Chazuta valley (Peruvian Amazonia). Journal of Ethnopharmacology. January 2013. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2012.09.053 · PMID 23123268
- Other Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua–Spanish dictionary)
- Journal / agency Bois-Mariage, Frédérick. Ayahuasca: une synthèse interdisciplinaire. Psychotropes. 2002. doi:10.3917/psyt.081.0079
- Journal / agency Schultes, Richard Evans. Prestonia: An Amazon Narcotic or Not?. Botanical Museum Leaflets. 1960. doi:10.5962/p.168526
- Journal / agency Spruce, Richard; Wallace, Alfred Russel. Notes of a botanist on the Amazon & Andes: being records of travel on the Amazon and its tributaries, the Trombetas, Rio Negro, Uaupés, Casiquiari, Pacimoni, Huallaga, and Pastasa; as also to the cataracts of the Orinoco, along the eastern side of the Andes of Peru and Ecuador, and the shores of the Pacific, during the years 1849-1864. 1908. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.17908
- Journal / agency Naranjo, Plutarco. El Ayahuasca en la arqueologia ecuatoriana. America Indigena. 1986
- Other Descola, Philippe. In the Society of Nature: A Native Ecology in Amazonia. 1996
- Other Incayawar, Mario; Lise Bouchard; Ronald Wintrob; Goffredo Bartocci. Psychiatrists and Traditional Healers: Unwitting Partners in Global Mental Health. 2009
- Journal / agency Grob, Charles S.; McKenna, Dennis J.; Callaway, James C.; Brito, Glacus S.; Neves, Edison S.; Oberlaender, Guilherme; Saide, Oswaldo L.; Labigalini, Elizeu; Tacla, Cristiane; Miranda, Claudio T.; Strassman, Rick J.; Boone, Kyle B. Human Psychopharmacology of Hoasca, A Plant Hallucinogen Used in Ritual Context in Brazil. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. February 1996. doi:10.1097/00005053-199602000-00004 · PMID 8596116
- Journal / agency Davis, E. Wade; Yost, James A. Novel Hallucinogens from Eastern Ecuador. Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University. 1983. doi:10.5962/p.168664
- Other Novedades - Página Jimdo de shamanesshipibos
- Other Kensinger, Kenneth. El uso del Banipteropsis entre los cashinahua del Perú. 1976
- Other Kaxinawá, Rituals
- Journal / agency Rivier, Laurent; Lindgren, Jan-Erik. 'Ayahuasca,' the South American hallucinogenic drink: An ethnobotanical and chemical investigation. Economic Botany. April 1972. doi:10.1007/BF02860772
- Other Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo. Shamanism and art of the Eastern Tukanoan Indians. 1987
- Other DE MORI, Brabec (2011): Tracing Hallucinations – Contributing to a Critical Ethnohistory of Ayahuasca Usage in the Peruvian Amazon
- Journal / agency Seifart, Frank; Echeverri, Juan Alvaro. Proto Bora-Muinane. LIAMES. 4 October 2015. doi:10.20396/liames.v15i2.8642303
- Journal / agency Desmarchelier, C.; Mongelli, E.; Coussio, J.; Ciccia, G. Studies on the cytotoxicity, antimicrobial and DNA-binding activities of plants used by the Ese'ejas. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 1996-02-01. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(95)01334-2 · PMID 8866729
- Other Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo. The sacred mountain of Colombia's Kogi Indians. 1990
- Journal / agency Ventura i Oller, Montserrat. Chamanismo, liderazgo y poder indígena: el caso tsachila. Revista Española de Antropología Americana. 25 May 2012. doi:10.5209/rev_REAA.2012.v42.n1.38637
- Other Huber, Randall Q. and Robert B. Reed. 1992. Vocabulario comparativo: Palabras selectas de lenguas indígenas de Colombia (Comparative vocabulary: Selected words in indigenous languages of Colombia). Bogota, Colombia: Summer Institute of Linguistics
- Journal / agency Press, Sara V. Ayahuasca on Trial: Biocolonialism, Biopiracy, and the Commodification of the Sacred. History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals. 2022. doi:10.3368/hopp.63.2.328
- Journal / agency Tupper, Kenneth W. Ayahuasca healing beyond the Amazon: the globalization of a traditional indigenous entheogenic practice. Global Networks. January 2009. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0374.2009.00245.x
- Journal / agency Schenberg, Eduardo Ekman; Gerber, Konstantin. Overcoming epistemic injustices in the biomedical study of ayahuasca: Towards ethical and sustainable regulation. Transcultural Psychiatry. October 2022. doi:10.1177/13634615211062962 · PMID 34986699
- Journal / agency Kaasik, Helle; Souza, Rita C. Z.; Zandonadi, Flávia S.; Tófoli, Luís Fernando; Sussulini, Alessandra. Chemical Composition of Traditional and Analog Ayahuasca. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. 2020-09-08. doi:10.1080/02791072.2020.1815911 · PMID 32896230
- Journal / agency Ott, Jonathan. Pharmahuasca: Human Pharmacology of Oral DMT Plus Harmine. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. April 1999. doi:10.1080/02791072.1999.10471741 · PMID 10438001
- Other Legal Status of DMT and Ayahuasca Plants under the 1971 UN Convention. 2025-10-28
- Other Castellanos, Kiko. Peru | Legal situation of ayahuasca | Map. 2022-01-26
- Other PERÚ, Empresa Peruana de Servicios Editoriales S. A. EDITORA. Declaran Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación a los conocimientos y usos tradicionales del Ayahuasca. 2008-07-12
- Harm reduction site Ayahuasca Vault: Law: UNDCP's Ayahuasca Fax. 2001-01-17
- Journal / agency Tupper, Kenneth W.; Labate, Beatriz C. Plants, Psychoactive Substances and the International Narcotics Control Board: The Control of Nature and the Nature of Control. Human Rights & Drugs. 2012
- Other orangebook.pdf www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov
- Other Ruling by District Court Judge Panner in Santo Daime case in Oregon
- Other Rochester, Jessica. How Our Santo Daime Church Received Religious Exemption to Use Ayahuasca in Canada. 2017-07-17
- Harm reduction site More on the legal status of ayahuasca can be found in the Erowid vault on the legality of ayahuasca
- Other Cour d'appel de Paris, 10ème chambre, section B, dossier n° 04/01888. Arrêt du 13 janvier 2005 Court of Appeal of Paris, 10th Chamber, Section B, File No. 04/01888. Judgement of 13 January 2005
- Other JO, 2005-05-03. Arrêté du 20 avril 2005 modifiant l'arrêté du 22 février 1990 fixant la liste des substances classées comme stupéfiants (PDF) [Decree of 20 April 2005 amending the decree of 22 February 1990 establishing the list of substances scheduled as narcotics]
- Other Shalby, Colleen. Oakland becomes 2nd U.S. city to decriminalize magic mushrooms. 5 June 2019
- Other McCarthy, Kelly. Santa Cruz decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms. 2020-01-29
- Other Kaur, Harmeet. Santa Cruz decriminalizes magic mushrooms and other natural psychedelics, making it the third US city to take such a step. 2020-01-30
- Other Stanton, Ryan. Ann Arbor OKs move to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, plants. 2020-09-22
- Other CIEL Biodiversity Program Accomplishments
- Other The Ayahuasca Patent Case
- Journal / agency Nichols, David E.; Nichols, Charles D. Serotonin Receptors. Chemical Reviews. 1 May 2008. doi:10.1021/cr078224o · PMID 18476671
- Journal / agency PubChem. Harmaline
- Journal / agency PubChem. Tetrahydroharmine
- Journal / agency Egger K, Aicher HD, Cumming P, Scheidegger M. Neurobiological research on N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and its potentiation by monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibition: from ayahuasca to synthetic combinations of DMT and MAO inhibitors. Cell Mol Life Sci. September 2024. doi:10.1007/s00018-024-05353-6 · PMID 39254764 · PMC11387584
- Journal / agency Lopes Guerra LT, da Silva Dias IC, Hallak JE, Dos Santos RG. Clinical pharmacology of ayahuasca: potential applications and future considerations. Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol. October 2025. doi:10.1080/17512433.2025.2577726 · PMID 41123976
- Journal / agency Callaway, J. C. Fast and Slow Metabolizers of Hoasca. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. June 2005. doi:10.1080/02791072.2005.10399797 · PMID 16149329
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