Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca pot in Ecuador

Ayahuasca[note 1] is a South American psychoactive brew, traditionally used by Indigenous cultures and folk healers in the Amazon and Orinoco basins for spiritual ceremonies, divination, and healing a variety of psychosomatic complaints. Originally restricted to areas of Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador, in the middle of 20th century it became widespread in Brazil in context of appearance of syncretic religions that use ayahuasca as a sacrament, like Santo Daime, União do Vegetal and Barquinha, which blend elements of Amazonian Shamanism, Christianity, Kardecist Spiritism, and African-Brazilian religions such as Umbanda, Candomblé and Tambor de Mina, later expanding to several countries across all continents, notably the United States and Western Europe, and, more incipiently, in Eastern Europe, South Africa, Australia, and Japan.[1][2][3]

More recently, new phenomena regarding ayahuasca use have evolved and moved to urban centers in North America and Europe, with the emergence of neoshamanic hybrid rituals and spiritual and recreational drug tourism.[4][5] Also, anecdotal evidence, studies conducted among ayahuasca consumers and clinical trials suggest that ayahuasca has broad therapeutic potential, especially for the treatment of substance dependence, anxiety, and mood disorders.[6][7][8][9][10] Thus, currently, despite continuing to be used in a traditional way, ayahuasca is also consumed recreationally worldwide, as well as used in modern medicine.

Ayahuasca is commonly made by the prolonged decoction of the stems of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub, although hundreds of species are used in addition or substitution (See "Preparation" below).[11] P. viridis contains N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a highly psychedelic substance, although orally inactive, B. caapi is rich with harmala alkaloids, such as harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine (THH), which can act as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOi). This halts liver and gastrointestinal metabolism of DMT, allowing it to reach the systemic circulation and the brain, where it activates 5-HT1A/2A/2C receptors in frontal and paralimbic areas.[12][13]


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  1. ^ Labate, Beatriz Caiuby; Jungaberle, Henrik (2011). The internationalization of ayahuasca. Performanzen, interkulturelle Studien zu Ritual, Speil and Theater. Zürich: Lit. ISBN 978-3-643-90148-4.
  2. ^ Dobkin de Rios, Marlene (December 1971). "Ayahuasca—The Healing Vine". International Journal of Social Psychiatry. 17 (4): 256–269. doi:10.1177/002076407101700402. ISSN 0020-7640. PMID 5145130.
  3. ^ Schultes, Richard Evans; Hofmann, Albert (1992). Plants of the gods: their sacred, healing and hallucinogenic powers. Rochester (Vt.): Healing arts press. ISBN 978-0-89281-406-0.
  4. ^ Labate, Beatriz Caiuby; Cavnar, Clancy (2018). The expanding world Ayahuasca diaspora: appropriation, integration, and legislation. Vitality of indigenous religions. Abingdon, Oxon New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 978-0-415-78618-8.
  5. ^ Wolff, Tom John (2020-02-07). The Touristic Use of Ayahuasca in Peru: Expectations, Experiences, Meanings and Subjective Effects. Springer Nature. p. 66. ISBN 978-3-658-29373-4.
  6. ^ Santos, R.G.; Landeira-Fernandez, J.; Strassman, R.J.; Motta, V.; Cruz, A.P.M. (July 2007). "Effects of ayahuasca on psychometric measures of anxiety, panic-like and hopelessness in Santo Daime members". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 112 (3): 507–513. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2007.04.012. ISSN 0378-8741. PMID 17532158.
  7. ^ Osório, Flávia de L.; Sanches, Rafael F.; Macedo, Ligia R.; dos Santos, Rafael G.; Maia-de-Oliveira, João P.; Wichert-Ana, Lauro; de Araujo, Draulio B.; Riba, Jordi; Crippa, José A.; Hallak, Jaime E. (March 2015). "Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report". Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria. 37 (1): 13–20. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2014-1496. ISSN 1516-4446. PMID 25806551.
  8. ^ Bouso, José Carlos; González, Débora; Fondevila, Sabela; Cutchet, Marta; Fernández, Xavier; Ribeiro Barbosa, Paulo César; Alcázar-Córcoles, Miguel Ángel; Araújo, Wladimyr Sena; Barbanoj, Manel J.; Fábregas, Josep Maria; Riba, Jordi (2012-08-08). "Personality, Psychopathology, Life Attitudes and Neuropsychological Performance among Ritual Users of Ayahuasca: A Longitudinal Study". PLOS ONE. 7 (8): e42421. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...742421B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0042421. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3414465. PMID 22905130.
  9. ^ Palhano-Fontes, Fernanda; Alchieri, Joao C.; Oliveira, Joao Paulo M.; Soares, Bruno Lobao; Hallak, Jaime E. C.; Galvao-Coelho, Nicole; de Araujo, Draulio B. (2014), "The Therapeutic Potentials of Ayahuasca in the Treatment of Depression", The Therapeutic Use of Ayahuasca, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 23–39, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-40426-9_2, ISBN 978-3-642-40425-2, S2CID 140456338, retrieved 2023-08-10
  10. ^ dos Santos, Rafael G.; Osório, Flávia L.; Crippa, José Alexandre S.; Hallak, Jaime E. C. (March 2016). "Antidepressive and anxiolytic effects of ayahuasca: a systematic literature review of animal and human studies". Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria. 38 (1): 65–72. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2015-1701. ISSN 1516-4446. PMC 7115465. PMID 27111702.
  11. ^ Schultes, R. E.; Ceballos, L. F.; Castillo, A. (1986). "[Not Available]". America Indigena. 46 (1): 9–47. ISSN 0185-1179. PMID 11631122.
  12. ^ Riba, Jordi; Valle, Marta; Urbano, Gloria; Yritia, Mercedes; Morte, Adelaida; Barbanoj, Manel J. (2003-03-26). "Human Pharmacology of Ayahuasca: Subjective and Cardiovascular Effects, Monoamine Metabolite Excretion, and Pharmacokinetics". Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 306 (1): 73–83. doi:10.1124/jpet.103.049882. ISSN 0022-3565. PMID 12660312. S2CID 6147566.
  13. ^ Riba, Jordi; Romero, Sergio; Grasa, Eva; Mena, Esther; Carrió, Ignasi; Barbanoj, Manel J. (2006-03-31). "Increased frontal and paralimbic activation following ayahuasca, the pan-amazonian inebriant". Psychopharmacology. 186 (1): 93–98. doi:10.1007/s00213-006-0358-7. hdl:2117/9378. ISSN 0033-3158. PMID 16575552. S2CID 15046798.

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