Research Square
July 25, 2025
Vítor Bruno, Lídia Emmanuela Wiazowski Spelta, Matheus Lujan Pereira et al.
preprint
Abstract Ayahuasca is a psychedelic brew used for centuries in religious rituals by indigenous cultures. Recent studies suggest its potential to reduce depression and anxiety and as an alternative for treating ethanol and tobacco use disorders. However, research on its impact on cocaine use disorder remains limited. We investigated the effects of ayahuasca on the reinstatement of...
Psychoactives
November 17, 2023
Anna Beatriz Vicentini, Lucas Silva Rodrigues, Giordano Novak Rossi et al.
4 citations
Alcohol is the recreational drug most frequently consumed, and its high frequency of use can lead to worsening social, psychological, and domestic issues. The age group most susceptible to alcohol dependence is 18- to 24-year-old youths, demanding interventional tools to target early involvement risks. Ayahuasca seems to be a promising therapeutic tool since evidence suggests it presents...
Behavioural Brain Research
July 14, 2022
Marina Goulart Da Silva, Guilherme Cabreira Daros, Fabiana Pereira Santos et al.
22 citations
The objective of this study was to evaluate the behavioral response of ayahuasca in rats submitted to neuroinflammation through the intraperitoneal application of lipopolysaccharide (0.63 mg/kg/mL). Eighty animals, male, about 90 days old, were divided into control and LPS groups and later into prevention and treatment subgroups. The prevention subgroup was administered ayahuasca or saline...
Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental
February 2, 2022
Rafael G. Dos Santos, Juliana Mendes Rocha, Giordano Novak Rossi et al.
20 citations
Abstract Objective To assess endocannabinoid (anandamide, AEA; 2‐arachidonoylglycerol, 2‐AG) plasma levels in healthy volunteers and in volunteers with social anxiety disorder (SAD) after a single oral dose of ayahuasca or placebo. Methods Post hoc analysis of endocannabinoid plasma levels (baseline, 90 and 240 min after drug intake) from two parallel‐group, randomized, placebo‐controlled...
Behavioural Brain Research
August 23, 2021
Carolina Aparecida Faria Almeida, Antônio Alves Pereira-Júnior, Jéssica Gonçalves Rangel et al.
33 citations
Alcohol use disorder needs more effective treatments because relapse rates remain high. Psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, have been used to treat substance use disorders. Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of ayahuasca on ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization (EIBS). Swiss mice received 2.2 g/kg ethanol or saline IP injections every other day across nine days (D1, D3, D5, D7, and D9),...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
August 6, 2021
Juliana Mendes Rocha, Giordano Novak Rossi, Flávia de Lima Osório et al.
37 citations
Rationale: Previous studies with the serotonergic hallucinogens LSD and psilocybin showed that these drugs induced changes in personality traits, such as increases in Openness. However, results are inconsistent, and the effects of ayahuasca on personality were never investigated in a controlled trial. Objectives: To assess the effects of ayahuasca on personality in two randomized,...
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
June 23, 2021
Rafael G. Dos Santos, Flávia de Lima Osório, Juliana Mendes Rocha et al.
85 citations
Abstract Background Ayahuasca is a classic hallucinogen with anxiolytic and antidepressive properties. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that it improves performance (eg, singing, speech). This controlled trial assessed the effects of ayahuasca on speech performance and anxiety in individuals with social anxiety disorder. Methods Seventeen volunteers with social anxiety disorder participated in...
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
April 13, 2021
Juliana Mendes Rocha, Giordano Novak Rossi, Flávia de Lima Osório et al.
46 citations
Abstract Background The recognition of emotions in facial expressions (REFE) is a core aspect of social cognition. Previous studies with the serotonergic hallucinogens lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin showed that these drugs reduced the recognition of negative (fear) faces in healthy volunteers. This trial assessed the acute and prolonged effects of a single dose of ayahuasca on the...
Molecules
April 29, 2020
Gabriela de Oliveira Silveira, Rafael G. Dos Santos, Felipe Rebello Lourenço et al.
36 citations
Ayahuasca tea is a hallucinogenic beverage used for religious purposes in Brazil and many other countries that has therapeutic potential in the treatment of some mental health disorders. In the context of psychedelic research, quantification of the tea’s main alkaloids prior to its administration in animal or human studies is essential. For this reason, this study aims to provide information...
Forensic Science International
April 17, 2020
Sarah Eller, Gabriela Ramos Borges, Daniela Souza Ossanes et al.
13 citations
IntroductionAyahuasca is a beverage composed by a mixture of herbs which contain the compound N,N-dimethyltriptamine (DMT) and the β-carbolines. Although its use is legalized in Brazil only for religious and spiritual ceremonies, there is a growing black market specialized in the distribution of these compounds in form of herbal material through internet and mail. The purpose of this work was...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
March 1, 2019
Giordano Novak Rossi, Eduardo José Crevelin, Gabriela de Oliveira Silveira et al.
10 citations
Background and aims The psychoactive capacity of the alkaloid N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) has been known for decades, and its presence in beverages used in religious contexts around the world – such as ayahuasca – has attracted growing attention from the scientific community due to its possible anxiolytic and antidepressant effects. Mimosa hostilis, popularly known as jurema preta in Brazil,...
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
October 19, 2018
Rafael G. Dos Santos, José Alexandre S. Crippa, Flávia de Lima Osório et al.
9 citations
dos Santos, Rafael Guimarães PhD; Crippa, José Alexandre MD, PhD; Osório, Flávia de Lima PhD; Rocha, Juliana M. BSc; Rossi, Giordano Novak BSc; Marchioni, Camila BSc; Queiroz, Maria Eugênia Costa PhD; Silveira, Gabriela O. BSc; Yonamine, Mauricio PhD; Hallak, Jaime Eduardo Cecilio MD, PhD Author Information
Psychological Medicine
June 15, 2018
Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Dayanna Barreto, Heloisa Onias et al.
827 citations
Abstract Background Recent open-label trials show that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, hold promise as fast-onset antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression. Methods To test the antidepressant effects of ayahuasca, we conducted a parallel-arm, double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial in 29 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Patients received a single dose of either...
Brazilian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
June 7, 2018
Júlia Movilla Pires, Fúlvio Rieli Mendes, Ana Paula Salum Pires et al.
10 citations
ABSTRACT Ayahuasca is a beverage with psychoactive properties used in religious and ceremonial rituals by some religious groups. The main active components of ayahuasca are dimethyltryptamine and the harmala alkaloids with β-carboline structure acting as monoamine oxidase A inhibitors. This combination produces a pronounced activation of serotonergic pathways and presents potential interaction...
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
July 28, 2017
Robson Savoldi, Daniel Polari, Jaquelinne Pinheiro‐da‐silva et al.
38 citations
The combined infusion of Banisteriopsis caapi stem and Psychotria viridis leaves, known as ayahuasca, has been used for centuries by indigenous tribes. The infusion is rich in N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors, with properties similar to those of serotonin. Despite substantial progress in the development of new drugs to treat anxiety and depression, current...
LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
July 28, 2017
Robson Savoldi, Daniel Polari, Jaquelinne Pinheiro‐da‐silva et al.
The combined infusion of Banisteriopsis caapi stem and Psychotria viridis leaves, known as ayahuasca, has been used for centuries by indigenous tribes. The infusion is rich in N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors, with properties similar to those of serotonin. Despite substantial progress in the development of new drugs to treat anxiety and depression, current...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
January 27, 2017
Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Dayanna Barreto, Heloisa Onias et al.
22 citations
preprint
Abstract Recent open label trials show that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, hold promise as fast-onset antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression. In order to further test the antidepressant effects of ayahuasca, we conducted a parallel-arm, double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial in 29 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Patients received a single dose of either...
PLoS One
December 30, 2015
Vanessa Manchim Favaro, Maurı́cio Yonamine, Juliana Carlota Kramer Soares et al.
33 citations
Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic beverage that combines the action of the 5-HT2A/2C agonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) from Psychotria viridis with the monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) induced by beta-carbonyls from Banisteriopsis caapi. Previous investigations have highlighted the involvement of ayahuasca with the activation of brain regions known to be involved with episodic memory,...
Figshare
December 3, 2015
Ekman Schenberg Eduardo, Felipe Morel Alexandre João, Renato Filev et al.
<p>Concentration (mg/ml) of 13 compounds screened in the <i>Hoasca</i> tea, estimated ingested dose (mg/kg) and total amount ingested of each compound (mg).</p><p>Concentration of chemical compounds in Ayahuasca.</p>
PLoS One
September 30, 2015
Eduardo Ekman Schenberg, João Felipe Morel Alexandre, Renato Filev et al.
115 citations
Ritual use of ayahuasca, an amazonian Amerindian medicine turned sacrament in syncretic religions in Brazil, is rapidly growing around the world. Because of this internationalization, a comprehensive understanding of the pharmacological mechanisms of action of the brew and the neural correlates of the modified states of consciousness it induces is important. Employing a combination of...
World Journal of Biological Chemistry
2013
Eduardo Ferreira de Castro-Neto, Rafael Henrique Da Cunha, Dartiu Xavier Da Silveira et al.
51 citations
AIM: To evaluate changes in neurotransmission induced by a psychoactive beverage ayahuasca in the hippocampus and amygdala of naive rats. METHODS: The level of monoamines, their main metabolites and amino acid neurotransmitters concentrations were quantified using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Four groups of rats were employed: saline-treated and rats receiving 250, 500 and 800...
Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia
September 15, 2011
Carolina Dizioli Rodrigues de Oliveira, Camila Queiroz Moreira, Helenice de Souza Spinosa et al.
25 citations
Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic beverage prepared by the decoction of plants native to the Amazon Basin region. The beverage has been used throughout the world by members of some syncretic religious movements. Despite the recent legalization of ayahuasca in Brazil for religious purposes, there is little pre-clinical and clinical information attesting to its safety, particularly in relation to the...
Birth Defects Research Part B Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology
May 11, 2010
Carolina Dizioli Rodrigues de Oliveira, Camila Queiroz Moreira, Lílian Rose Marques de Sá et al.
44 citations
Abstract INTRODUCTION: Ayahuasca is a psychotropic plant beverage initially used by shamans throughout the Amazon region during traditional religious cult. In recent years, ayahuasca has also been used in ceremonies of a number of modern syncretic religious groups, including pregnant women. However, no documented study has been performed to evaluate the risk of developmental toxicity of...
Phytochemical Analysis
January 12, 2009
Ana Paula Salum Pires, Carolina Dizioli Rodrigues de Oliveira, Sidnei Moura et al.
74 citations
Abstract Introduction Ayahuasca is obtained by infusing the pounded stems of Banisteriopsis caapi in combination with the leaves of Psychotria viridis . P . viridis is rich in the psychedelic indole N , N ‐dimethyltryptamine, whereas B . caapi contains substantial amounts of β ‐carboline alkaloids, mainly harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine, which are monoamine‐oxidase inhibitors. Because...
Revista Brasileira de Ciências Farmacêuticas
March 1, 2004
Silvio Fernandes Lapachinske, Maurı́cio Yonamine, Regina Lúcia de Moraes Moreau
6 citations
O ecstasy é comercializado, de maneira ilegal, normalmente sob a forma de comprimidos, com cores, aspectos, dimensões e logotipos variados. Quimicamente, é a metilenodioximetanfetamina (MDMA), um composto sintético com propriedades estimulante central e alucinogênicas. Devido à grande expansão do abuso de ecstasy, também tem aumentado o número de casos de intoxicações, decorrentes diretamente...