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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Activities of extract and constituents of Banisteriopsis caapi relevant to parkinsonism.

Dopamine deficiency is characteristic of Parkinson's disease (PD) and treatments aim at elevating levels by administration of its precursor L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), or inhibiting monoamine oxidases (MAOs), thus preventing its breakdown. Reports of improvements in PD patients treated with Banisteriopsis caapi extracts stimulated investigation of B. caapi stem extract and its two ingredients, harmine and harmaline for these activities. Tests for MAO inhibition using liver homogenate showed that extract and harmaline showed a concentration-dependent inhibition of MAO A (IC(50) 1.24 microg/ml and IC(50) 4.54 nM, respectively) but had little effect on MAO B activity. The extract at 2.5 mg/ml caused a highly significant increase in release of [3H]dopamine from rat striatal slices, as did 200 microM harmine and 6 microM harmaline. In both these experiments, the amount of harmine present could not account for the total activity of the extract. The ability of harmine and harmaline to stimulate dopamine release is a novel finding. These results give some basis to the reputed usefulness of B. caapi stem extract in the treatment of PD.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Phytochemical analyses of Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis.

A total of 32 Banisteriopsis caapi samples and 36 samples of Psychotria viridis were carefully collected from different plants on the same day from 22 sites throughout Brazil for phytochemical analyses. A broad range in alkaloid distribution was observed in both sample sets. All B. caapi samples had detectable amounts of harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine (THH), while some samples of P. viridis had little or no detectable levels of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Leaves of P. viridis were also collected from one plant and analyzed for DMT throughout a 24-hour cycle.

Banisteriopsis↗
PubMed2005

Various alkaloid profiles in decoctions of Banisteriopsis caapi.

Twenty nine decoctions of Banisteriopsis caapi from four different sources and one specimen of B. caapi paste were analyzed for N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), tetrahydroharmine (THH), harmaline and harmine. Other plants were also used in the preparation of these products, typically Psychotria viridis, which provides DMT. There were considerable variations in alkaloid profiles, both within and between sample sources. DMT was not detected in all samples. Additional THH may be formed from both harmine and harmaline during the preparation of these products. The alkaloid composition of one decoction sample did not change significantly after standing at room temperature for 80 days, but the initial acidic pH was neutralized by natural fermentation after 50 days.

Alkaloids↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Snuff synergy: preparation, use and pharmacology of yopo and Banisteriopsis caapi among the Piaroa of southern Venezuela.

Current understanding of the preparation and use of yopo, a hallucinogenic snuff made from the ground seeds of the Anadenanthera peregrina tree, has departed little from the accounts of scientists and travelers made over a century ago. Schultes and others have made refinements to these early accounts. While several scholars have drawn attention to the fact that little ethnographic work has been conducted to assess the ethnobotanical diversity and cultural framework of the snuff hallucinogen complex, few subsequent studies deal with botanical variations in preparation and use. This article contrasts historical accounts of yopo preparation with ethnographic data I have recently collected among the Piaroa of southern Venezuela to demonstrate one way in which yopo preparation and use deviates from the basic model established by Humboldt, Spruce and Safford. Piaroa shamans include B. caapi cuttings in the preparation of yopo and consume doses of B. caapi prior to snuff inhalation concomitant with the strength of visions desired for particular tasks. I argue that the combined use of yopo and B. caapi by Piaroa shamans is pharmacologically and ethnobotanically significant, and substantiates claims of the use of admixtures in snuff; further ethnographic investigation of the snuff hallucinogen complex is necessary.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed1999

Behavioral profile of constituents in ayahuasca, an Amazonian psychoactive plant mixture.

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive plant mixture typically composed of the beta-carboline-rich Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the hallucinogenic plant Psychotria viridis. Ayahuasca has long been used by aboriginal populations for its putative spiritual and medicinal benefits. Although the presumed primary chemical constituents of ayahuasca have been identified, little is known about the basic in vivo pharmacology of the extract. Two principal constituents of ayahuasca, the beta-carboline harmine and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) were selected for detailed study in mice using the Functional Observational Battery (FOB). The B. caapi extract was then examined alone and in combination with DMT. Harmine and the B. caapi extract produced similar effects in the FOB, particularly in the open field. Clonic and tonic motor movements were augmented by DMT administration. Harmine and B. caapi decreased acoustic startle amplitude without significantly affecting prepulse inhibition. DMT appeared to attenuate startle-decreasing effects of harmine and B. caapi, although these effects fell just short of significance. These results suggest that the behavioral effects of B. caapi in mice may be attributed in large part to its principal alkaloid species, harmine, and related beta-carbolines in the extract. Hence, the presence of the banisteriopsis vine in the admixture may directly contribute to the unique subjective effects of ayahuasca.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Human pharmacology of ayahuasca: subjective and cardiovascular effects, monoamine metabolite excretion, and pharmacokinetics.

The effects of the South American psychotropic beverage ayahuasca on subjective and cardiovascular variables and urine monoamine metabolite excretion were evaluated, together with the drug's pharmacokinetic profile, in a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. This pharmacologically complex tea, commonly obtained from Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis, combines N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an orally labile psychedelic agent showing 5-hydroxytryptamine2A agonist activity, with monoamine oxidase (MAO)-inhibiting beta-carboline alkaloids (harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine). Eighteen volunteers with prior experience in the use of psychedelics received single oral doses of encapsulated freeze-dried ayahuasca (0.6 and 0.85 mg of DMT/kg of body weight) and placebo. Ayahuasca produced significant subjective effects, peaking between 1.5 and 2 h, involving perceptual modifications and increases in ratings of positive mood and activation. Diastolic blood pressure showed a significant increase at the high dose (9 mm Hg at 75 min), whereas systolic blood pressure and heart rate were moderately and nonsignificantly increased. Cmax values for DMT after the low and high ayahuasca doses were 12.14 ng/ml and 17.44 ng/ml, respectively. Tmax (median) was observed at 1.5 h after both doses. The Tmax for DMT coincided with the peak of subjective effects. Drug administration increased urinary normetanephrine excretion, but, contrary to the typical MAO-inhibitor effect profile, deaminated monoamine metabolite levels were not decreased. This and the negligible harmine plasma levels found suggest a predominantly peripheral (gastrointestinal and liver) site of action for harmine. MAO inhibition at this level would suffice to prevent first-pass metabolism of DMT and allow its access to systemic circulation and the central nervous system.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Effects of the South American psychoactive beverage ayahuasca on regional brain electrical activity in humans: a functional neuroimaging study using low-resolution electromagnetic tomography.

Ayahuasca, a South American psychotropic plant tea obtained from Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis, combines monoamine oxidase-inhibiting beta-carboline alkaloids with N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a psychedelic agent showing 5-HT(2A) agonist activity. In a clinical research setting, ayahuasca has demonstrated a combined stimulatory and psychedelic effect profile, as measured by subjective effect self-assessment instruments and dose-dependent changes in spontaneous brain electrical activity, which parallel the time course of subjective effects. In the present study, the spatial distribution of ayahuasca-induced changes in brain electrical activity was investigated by means of low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA). Electroencephalography recordings were obtained from 18 volunteers after the administration of a dose of encapsulated freeze-dried ayahuasca containing 0.85 mg DMT/kg body weight and placebo. The intracerebral power density distribution was computed with LORETA from spectrally analyzed data, and subjective effects were measured by means of the Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS). Statistically significant differences compared to placebo were observed for LORETA power 60 and 90 min after dosing, together with increases in all six scales of the HRS. Ayahuasca decreased power density in the alpha-2, delta, theta and beta-1 frequency bands. Power decreases in the delta, alpha-2 and beta-1 bands were found predominantly over the temporo-parieto-occipital junction, whereas theta power was reduced in the temporomedial cortex and in frontomedial regions. The present results suggest the involvement of unimodal and heteromodal association cortex and limbic structures in the psychological effects elicited by ayahuasca.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1994

Relationship between occurrence of tremor/convulsion and level of beta-carbolines in the brain after administration of beta-carbolines into mice.

Fifteen beta-carboline derivatives, including those found in the South American hallucinogenic plant Banisteriopsis caapi, were injected IP and IVC into mice. Subsequent behavioral changes were observed and the levels of the compounds in brain tissue were determined. It was found that following IP administration, tremors and/or convulsions were induced by beta-carbolines having aliphatic alkyl groups, but not by those with carbonyl and oxo groups substituted at carbon-1 of the C ring. These effects were potentiated by the presence of a methoxy group at carbon-7 of the A ring, and their duration of actions were prolonged by 3,4-dihydro derivatives. When induced, tremors/convulsions correlated with levels of beta-carbolines in the brain. The smaller ED50 values of beta-carbolines that cause tremors/convulsions showed lower levels of beta-carbolines in brain tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Hallucinogenic plant use and related indigenous belief systems in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

This review article focuses on the on-going use of plant hallucinogens, especially various Banisteriopsis species, among contemporary aboriginal populations of Ecuador. It surveys the evidence of prehistoric ayahuasca use by interpretations of Ecuadorian archaeological remains, and surveys in detail the use and belief systems connected to major plant hallucinogenic use among the Jibaro Indians and other tribal groups. A secondary theme includes coastal and Inter-Adnean aboriginal drug use. The article stresses the interrelatedness of aboriginal belief systems, folk medicine and world view linked to plant hallucinogenic ingestion.

Ecuador↗
PubMed1984

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in South American hallucinogenic plants: tryptamine and beta-carboline constituents of ayahuasca.

Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic beverage derived by boiling the bark of the Malpighiaceous liana Banisteriopsis caapi together with the leaves of various admixture plants, viz. Psychotria viridis, Psychotria carthagenensis , or Diplopterys cabrerana . B. caapi contains harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine while the admixtures contain N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). DMT, a potent hallucinogen, is inactive orally due to degradation by visceral monoamine oxidase (MAO). The beta-carbolines, however, are highly active reversible inhibitors of MAO and may protect the DMT from deamination by MAO and render it orally active. This mechanism has been proposed to underlie the oral activity of ayahuasca but has not been experimentally confirmed. In the present study the constituents of the admixture plants and the alkaloids of eight ayahuasca samples from Peru were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography (TLC), high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Several B. caapi cultivars were quantitatively compared for variations in alkaloid content. Three admixture plants used rarely in the manufacture of ayahuasca were also screened for alkaloids. A selected sample of beta-carbolines were screened for activity as MAO inhibitors using an in vitro assay system, and structure/activity relationships were compared. Inhibition observed with single compounds was compared with the activity of selected samples of ayahuasca which were screened in the system and also with the activity of mixtures of beta-carbolines. The levels of DMT and beta-carbolines found in the ayahuasca samples examined in the present study were an order of magnitude greater than the levels reported in a previous study. Ayahuasca was found to be an extremely effective inhibitor of MAO in vitro and the degree of inhibition was directly correlated with the concentration of MAO-inhibiting beta-carbolines. Inhibition experiments using mixtures of beta-carbolines indicated that their effects in combination are additive, rather than synergistic or antagonistic. Implications of the results in understanding the pharmacology of ayahuasca are discussed.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed1984

The healing practices of a Peruvian shaman.

The use of psychotropic plants among the mestizo population of the northwestern Amazon has already been the subject of some research. However, the field is far from fully investigated. Practitioners locally known by the name of "vegetalistas" or simply "maestros" have preserved considerable knowledge of plant lore, and still today contribute substantially to the health care of both rural and urban population. The present paper is based on field work with one particular such practitioner, Don Emilio Andrade Gómez, a 65-year-old shaman who lives in the vicinity of Iquitos (3 degrees 50S 73 degrees 15W), northeastern Peru. Some of the basic ideas of his cosmovision are presented. Special attention is given to the concept of "doctor" or "plant teacher", applied to certain plants which are supposed to "teach medicine", if the appropriate conditions of isolation and diet are observed. Some of these plants are added to the hallucinogenic beverage known in the region by the Quéchua name ayahuasca, made from the stem of Banisteriopsis species, and one or several additives. During the period of isolation the spirits of these plants teach the initiate certain melodies or "icaros" that he will later use when practising his shamanistic activities. During field work in 1981 and 1982 the author collected various specimens of "plant teachers", part of which have now been identified, and are also presented.

History, 20th Century↗