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Maternal and developmental toxicity of the hallucinogenic plant-based beverage ayahuasca in rats

Luciana Gueiros Da Motta, Juliana Alves de Morais, Ana Carolina A.m. Tavares, Leonora Vianna, Márcia Renata Mortari, Rivadávio Fernandes Batista de Amorim, Rosângela Ribeiro de Carvalho, Francisco José Roma Paumgartten, Aline Pic‐taylor, Eloísa Dutra Caldas

Reproductive Toxicology March 6, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2018.03.002 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Animal study Peer reviewed
Population Pregnant rats
Intervention Ayahuasca
Dose one-(1X) to eight-fold (8X) the average dose taken by a human adult in a religious ritual
Duration Gestation days 6-20, evaluated on gestation day 21
Topics Ayahuasca
Keywords Gestation Teratology Toxicity Pregnancy Physiology Fetus Embryo Pharmacology
Citations 27
Key points Ayahuasca is developmentally toxic in rats, causing maternal death, kidney injury, neuronal loss, and increased fetal anomalies at doses comparable to or exceeding human ritual use.

Abstract

Rats were treated orally with ayahuasca (AYA) on gestation days (GD) 6-20 at doses corresponding to one-(1X) to eight-fold (8X) the average dose taken by a human adult in a religious ritual, and the pregnancy outcome evaluated on GD21. Rats treated with 4X and 8X doses died during the treatment period (44 and 52%), and those that survived showed kidney injury. Rats surviving the 8X dose showed neuronal loss in hippocampal regions and in the raphe nuclei, and those from the 2X dose neuronal loss in CA1. Delayed intrauterine growth, induced embryo deaths and increased occurrence of foetal anomalies were observed at the 8X dose. At non-lethal doses, AYA enhanced embryolethality and the incidence of foetal soft-tissue and skeleton anomalies. This study suggested that AYA is developmentally toxic and that its daily use by pregnant women may pose risks for the conceptus.

Comparable studies

Other preclinical and animal studies on ayahuasca, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in South American hallucinogenic plants: Tryptamine and β-carboline constituents of Ayahuasca Eight ayahuasca samples from Peru and several Banisteriopsis caapi cultivars 1984 Qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis with in vitro assay
The alkaloids of Banisteriopsis caapi, the plant source of the Amazonian hallucinogen Ayahuasca, stimulate adult neurogenesis in vitro Progenitor cells from subventricular and subgranular zones of adult mice brains 2017 In vitro experimental study
N,N-dimethyltryptamine compound found in the hallucinogenic tea ayahuasca, regulates adult neurogenesis in vitro and in vivo Mice 2020 In vitro and in vivo experimental study
Behavioural and neurotoxic effects of ayahuasca infusion (Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis) in female Wistar rat Female Wistar rats 2015 Observational cohort
Effects of ayahuasca on the development of ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization and on a post-sensitization treatment in mice Mice 2015 Experimental study

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