The effects of ayahuasca: what does this hallucinogen do?

In recent decades it has become very popular ayahuasca, a drink with hallucinogenic effects used by the peoples of the Amazon many millennia ago to which they attributed mystical properties. In particular, they related their consumption to the transit between the world of the living and that of the spirits.

In this article we will describe what is ayahuasca and what are its psychological and physical effects. We will also talk about the chemical and pharmacological properties of this substance and the possible therapeutic applications of some of its components.

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What is ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is a drink with psychoactive properties that originates from the Amazon region. Along the history has been prepared and used by the shamans of tribes from this area as part of healing and religious ceremonies, and multiple magical traits and health benefits have been attributed to it.

It is known mainly for its effects on the psychological experience: many people who have consumed ayahuasca affirm that has helped them achieve a sense of spiritual transcendence, in some cases sustained long after death. consumption. In this sense, ayahuasca

can be compared to drugs like psilocybin and LSD.

It is often prepared by boiling Banisteriopsis caapi, a plant of the liana class that is also known as ayahuasca and which contains alkaloids that inhibit the MAO enzyme, along with another that contain the main psychoactive factor: N, N-Dimethyltryptamine or DMT. The most common is that this second plant is the Psychotria viridis or the Diplopterys cabrerana.

The term "ayahuasca" comes from the Quechua "ayawaska", which It can be translated as "liana of the spirits"; According to the tradition of this town, said substance allows the soul of the person who consumes it to leave their body without having to die. In other Latin American languages ​​it is called "caapi", "nishi cobin", "nixi pae", "natem" and "shori".

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Pharmacology and mechanism of action

Ayahuasca (Banisteropsis caapi) contains various alkaloids of the beta-carboline class, which inhibit the activity of the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO) and sometimes also the reuptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin. The most studied are harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine.

This inhibition of MAO allows the blood and brain diffusion of N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), the active principle of ayahuasca as a drink. (although, as we have said, it is not found in the plant itself but in others), which causes the characteristic psychoactive effects of this compound.

DMT is a very common endogenous hallucinogenic compound: is naturally present in many plants, but also in the blood and in the cerebrospinal fluid of human beings. However, at the moment it is not known with certainty what is the function it fulfills in the organism.

Effects of this drug

The DMT molecule causes, according to people who have consumed it, feelings of euphoria accompanied by dynamic hallucinations. These are characterized above all by the presence of geometric shapes and their transcendental character; in many cases they include perceptions of deities, of a collective consciousness of beings on Earth, etc.

Many people who have tried this substance claim that it has helped them achieve spiritual insights about themselves or their relationship with the environment, including the cosmos. In some cases, the accounts of these experiences include supernatural phenomena such as travel to other dimensions and contact with beneficial spirits.

On the other hand, it is common for the consumption of ayahuasca to cause adverse physical reactions, especially nausea and diarrhea, as well as acute emotional discomfort. Excessive consumption can lead to serotonin syndrome, which is characterized by the appearance of tremors, spasms, hyperthermia and sweating and can even cause death.

Compared to other hallucinogenic substances, including the psilocybin mushroom and the LSD, ayahuasca acts faster and more intensely, but the duration of its effects is shorter. If ingested orally, they remain for about 3 hours., but they only last between 5 and 15 minutes if administered by inhalation or intravenously.

The therapeutic potential of ayahuasca

Currently, research is being carried out on the possible therapeutic effects of ayahuasca in different medical applications. However, this field of scientific literature is still at a very early stage.

A very striking line of research is carried out by the Beckley Foundation, which relates ayahuasca to neurogenesis, that is, the formation of neurons in the brain.

It should also be taken into account that since ancient times the natives of the Amazon have used the ayahuasca as a purgative to eliminate parasites (especially worms) and "negative energies" from the body and from the mind. In this last sense, ayahuasca is attributed a relaxing character, although it is true that its consumption can cause anxiety.