PlantsJanuary 14, 2026Thaís Salatiel de Azevedo, Ygor Jessé Ramos, Nina Claudia Barboza Da Silva
During the transatlantic diaspora, enslaved Africans brought cultural and religious elements to Brazil, such as Candomblé, that deeply influenced local society. In Candomblé communities of Bantu origin, the death of an initiate requires specific rites, such as the Azerin. In this ritual practice, sacred plants are selected according to their associations with deities and their capacity to...
PlantsApril 7, 2025Thais A C Santos, Bruno S Amorim, Jefferson R Maciel et al.1 citation
Banisteriopsis is a genus in the Malpighiaceae family with 61 species, notable for including ritualistic taxa such as B. caapi (Spruce ex Griseb.) C.V. Morton, one of the main components of Ayahuasca tea. We analyzed 38 Banisteriopsis species, representing more than 60% of the genus, to investigate its geographical origin, diversification period, and colonization routes in the Neotropics....
) is a species known for its psychoactive properties and its widespread use among the pre-Hispanic peoples who inhabited the southern Andean area (southern Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile and northwest Argentina). Studies on this species, as well as on medicinal, psychoactive, or magical plants in general, tend to consider its use in post-Spanish conquest times to be scarce or irrelevant in the...
Traditional therapies, resorting to the use of plants, have acquired a great demand over the years, both for economic reasons and the preference for natural treatments. Some studies suggest that ayahuasca may have beneficial properties in treating some physical and psychological imbalances. Thus, we carried out a systematic review of studies published up to December 2022, where these themes...
Harmful usage of tobacco is a global public health problem associated with adverse health effects and addiction. Yet, in the Peruvian Amazon, the native region of Nicotiana rustica L., this plant is used in remarkably different manners: it is considered a potent medicinal plant, applied in liquid form for oral ingestion to treat mental health problems, a common and ancient healing practice in...
There are almost 1000 species of Acacia sensu stricto in Australia, while the 44 species and 4 subspecies in southern Africa were taxonomically revised in the year 2011 to Senegalia and Vachellia. There are rumors of a chemical similarity between the Australian Acacia and their southern African sister genera. Chemical analysis has unequivocally demonstrated the presence of tryptamines (i.e.,...
Psilocybin-containing mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, have been used since ancient and recent times for depression and to improve quality of life. However, their anti-inflammatory properties are not known. The study aims at investing cytotoxicity; antioxidant; and, for the first time, anti-inflammatory effects of Psilocybe natalensis, a psilocybin-containing mushroom that grows in...
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive infusion with a large pharmacological application normally prepared with Banisteriopsis caapi, which contains the monoamine oxidase inhibitors β-carbolines, and Psichotria virids, which contains the serotonin receptor agonist N,N dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The objectives of this study were to investigate the chemical profile of B. caapi and of ayahuasca collected in...