Acute and subacute psychoactive effects of Kambô, the secretion of the Amazonian Giant Maki Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor): retrospective reports
Timo Torsten Schmidt, Simon Reiche, Caroline L. C. Hage, Felix Bermpohl, Tomislav Majić
Scientific Reports December 9, 2020 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78527-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Retrospective survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 22 |
| Population | Anonymous users of Kambô |
| Intervention | Kambô |
| Topics | Ayahuasca Mysticism Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Amazonian Level of consciousness Hallucinogen Amazon rainforest Ecology Anesthesia |
| Citations | 12 |
| Key findings | Acute psychological effects of Kambô were mild to moderate with no psychedelic-type distortions, but persisting effects were predominantly positive with high personal and spiritual significance. |
Abstract
Kambô, the secretion of the Amazonian Giant Leaf Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor) contains a plethora of bioactive peptides and was originally used by indigenous communities from the Amazon basin as medicine for improving hunting capacities. In the last 20 years, Kambô has spread to Western urban healing circles. To date it is still controversial whether the acute effects of Kambô include alterations of consciousness similar to known psychoactive substance like serotonergic psychedelics. Here we retrospectively assessed psychological effects of Kambô in a sample of anonymous users (n = 22, mean age: 39 years, ± 8.5; 45.5% female), administering standardized questionnaires for the assessment of altered states of consciousness (ASC), including the Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale, the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI), the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), the Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) for acute effects and the Persisting Effects Questionnaire (PEQ) and a scale assessing connectedness for subacute effects. The intensity of retrospectively reported acute psychological effects remained on a mild to moderate level, with no psychedelic-type distortions of perception or thinking. Conversely, persisting effects were predominantly described as positive and pleasant, revealing high scores on measures of personal and spiritual significance.