Ayahuasca (pronounced ‘eye-ah-WAH-ska’) is a plant-based psychedelic. Psychedelics affect all the senses, altering a person’s thinking, sense of time and emotions. They can cause a person to hallucinate—seeing or hearing things that do not exist or are distorted.
Ayahuasca is a decoction (concentrated liquid) made by prolonged heating or boiling of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub, although there can be a variety of other plants included in the decoction for different traditional purposes.The active chemical in ayahuasca is DMT (dimethyltryptamine).1 It also contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
The monoamine oxidases (MAOs) are flavin-containing amine oxidoreductases responsible for metabolism of many biogenic amine molecules in the brain and peripheral tissues. Whereas serotonin is the preferred substrate of MAO-A, phenylethylamine is metabolized by MAO-B, and dopamine and tyramine are nearly ambivalent with respect to the two isozymes. β-Carboline alkaloids such as harmine, harman(e), and norharman(e) are MAO inhibitors present in many plant materials, including foodstuffs, medicinal plants, and intoxicants, notably in tobacco (Nicotiana spp.) and in Banisteriopsis caapi, a vine used in the Amazonian ayahuasca brew. The β-carbolines present in B. caapi may have effects on neurogenesis and intrinsic antidepressant properties, in addition to potentiating the bioavailability of the hallucinogen N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which is often present in admixture plants of ayahuasca such as Psychotria viridis. Tobacco also contains physiologically relevant concentrations of β-carbolines, which potentially contribute to its psychopharmacology. However, in both cases, the threshold of MAO inhibition sufficient to interact with biogenic amine neurotransmission remains to be established. An important class of antidepressant medications provoke a complete and irreversible inhibition of MAO-A/B, and such complete inhibition is almost unattainable with reversible and competitive inhibitors such as β-carbolines. However, the preclinical and clinical observations with synthetic MAO inhibitors present a background for obtaining a better understanding of the polypharmacologies of tobacco and ayahuasca. Furthermore, MAO inhibitors of diverse structures are present in a wide variety of medicinal plants, but their pharmacological relevance in many instances remains to be established.
Health and safety
There is no safe way to use psychedelic drugs, including ayahuasca.
If you do decide to take ayahuasca, it’s important to consider the following.
It is difficult to predict the strength and effects of ayahuasca brew. People can have very different experiences taking the same drug on different occasions.
People with mental health conditions or a family history of these conditions should avoid using ayahuasca.
Sometimes other drugs may be sold claiming to be ayahuasca that aren’t.
Taking ayahuasca in an environment and with people where you feel safe may alleviate unpleasant emotional effects.
Use of ayahuasca is likely to be more dangerous when:
taken in combination with alcohol or other drugs
driving or operating heavy machinery
judgement or motor coordination is required
alone (in case medical assistance is required)
Ayahuasca has been used for centuries by First Nations peoples from contemporary in South America in countries like Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador for religious ritual and therapeutic purposes.
Effects of ayahuasca
There is no safe level of drug use. Use of any drug always carries some risk. It’s important to be careful when taking any type of drug.
Ayahuasca affects everyone differently, based on:
size, weight and health
whether the person is used to taking it
whether other drugs are taken around the same time
the amount taken
the strength of the decoction (varies from batch to batch)
environment (where the drug is taken).
The effects of ayahuasca can last between 4- to 6-hours and may include:
Nausea and vomiting (induced by drinking the decoction)*
diarrhea
euphoria
feelings of connection and unity
introspection
intense visual and auditory hallucinations
experiencing powerful emotions
anxiety
panic and fear
moderate increase in blood pressure and heart rate
increased body temperature.
*When ayahuasca is taken in a traditional or ritual setting, like in the Peruvian Amazon these effects may be perceived as cleansing or purging and a part of the spiritual or healing journey.
Effects of ayahuasca
There is no safe level of drug use. Use of any drug always carries some risk. It’s important to be careful when taking any type of drug.
Ayahuasca affects everyone differently, based on:
size, weight and health
whether the person is used to taking it
whether other drugs are taken around the same time
the amount taken
the strength of the decoction (varies from batch to batch)
environment (where the drug is taken).
The effects of ayahuasca can last between 4- to 6-hours and may include:
nausea and vomiting (induced by drinking the decoction)*
diarrhea
euphoria
feelings of connection and unity
introspection
intense visual and auditory hallucinations
experiencing powerful emotions
anxiety
panic and fear
moderate increase in blood pressure and heart rate
increased body temperature.
*When ayahuasca is taken in a traditional or ritual setting, these effects may be perceived as cleansing or purging and a part of the spiritual or healing journey.
Mixing ayahuasca with other drugs
The effects of taking ayahuasca with other drugs − including over-the-counter or prescribed medications − can be unpredictable and dangerous.
Ayahuasca + MDMA or anti-depressants: because of the presence of MAOIs, mixing ayahuasca with other drugs that affect serotonin such as MDMA or anti-depressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may be particularly dangerous.
Use of more than one drug or type of drug consumed at the same time is called polydrug use.
Ayahuasca Journey
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Ayahuasca Peru
Ayahuasca Iquitos
Ayahuasca healing retreat center
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