Subjective effects and tolerability of the South American psychoactive beverage Ayahuasca in healthy volunteers

Abstract

RationaleAyahuasca is a South American psychoactive beverage that contains the naturally occurring psychedelic agent N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). This "tea" has been used for centuries in religious and medicinal contexts in the rain forest areas of South America and is presently gaining the attention of psychedelic users in North America and Europe.ObjectivesIn the present study, the psychological effects and tolerability of ayvahuasca were assessed.MethodsThree increasing doses of encapsulated freeze-dried ayahuasca (0.5, 0.75, and 1.0 mg DMT/kg body weight) were administered to six healthy male volunteers with prior experience in the use of this tea, in a single-blind crossover placebo-controlled clinical trial.ResultsAyahuasca produced significant dose-dependent increases in five of the six subscales of the Hallucinogen Rating Scale, in the LSD, MBG, and A scales of the Addiction Research Center Inventory, and in the "liking", "good effects" and "high" visual analogue scales. Psychological effects were first noted after 30-60 min, peaked between 60-120 min, and were resolved by 240 min. The tea was well tolerated from a cardiovascular point of view, with a trend toward increase for systolic blood pressure. Modified physical sensations and nausea were the most frequently reported somatic-dysphoric effects. The overall experience was regarded as pleasant and satisfactory by five of the six volunteers, while one volunteer experienced an intensely dysphoric reaction with transient disorientation and anxiety at the medium dose and voluntarily withdrew from the study.ConclusionsAyahuasca can be described as inducing changes in the perceptual, affective, cognitive, and somatic spheres, with a combination of stimulatory and visual psychoactive effects of longer duration and milder intensity than those previously reported for intravenously administered DMT.

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for 2 syntheses in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

• State of the evidence: Ayahuasca for anxiety ↕Mixed

  Ayahuasca produced dose-dependent psychological effects and was generally well tolerated, though one volunteer had an intensely dysphoric reaction.

  Synthesized October 22, 2026

• State of the evidence: Ayahuasca ↑Supports

  Ayahuasca produced significant dose-dependent psychological effects that were generally well tolerated, with nausea and modified physical sensations the most common somatic effects and one intensely dysphoric reaction.

  Synthesized October 19, 2026

Comparable studies

Other randomized controlled trials on ayahuasca for anxiety, most cited first.