Impact of chronic banisteriopsis caapi administration on amyloid pathology, neuroinflammation, and spatial memory in Alzheimer’s disease model
Santhiago C Graça, Isabella B Bustelli, Erica Vitoria Santos, Livia Clemente Motta-Teixeira, Alessandra Linardi, A. Caetano
ANPAbstract_CBN26 October 7, 2026 DOI: 10.65034/anpabstract_cbn260382 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled animal experiment Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Male transgenic (PDGFB-APPSwInd) and non-transgenic (APPSwInd-WT) mice aged 15–18 months |
| Dose | 1.5 ml/kg |
| Duration | 30 days, twice weekly |
| Measures | Open Field (OF), Object Location (LO), Rotarod, Thioflavin-S staining, Iba-1 immunofluorescence |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Key findings | Chronic oral B. caapi extract increased β-amyloid plaque counts in transgenic mice (58.62 vs 37.52 with vehicle) and increased microglia in both genotypes, while reducing microglial branch number and size. Wild-type mice given the extract interacted less with a moved object at 24 h than at 90 minutes. The authors conclude the chronic extract was not beneficial in aged wild-type or transgenic animals. |
Abstract
Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the deposition of β-amyloid protein (βA), forming amyloid plaques that increase neuroinflammation, mainly in the hippocampus (HPC). One of the substances obtained from the Ayahuasca tea, Banisteriopsis caapi (B.caapi), has an inhibitory effect on monoamine oxidase.
Objective: The present work investigated the chronic effects of B.caapi in AD, as it could increase catecholaminergic levels and reestablish local homeostasis.
Methods: Transgenic (PDGFB-APPSwlnd-TG) and non-transgenic (APPSwlnd-WT) male mice, aged 15-18 months, received B.caapi extract (1.5ml/kg) or vehicle 2x/week for 30 days, orally. At the end, the following tests were carried out: Open Field (OF), Object Location (LO) and Rotarod. To quantify βA plaques and microglia, staining with Thioflavin-S and immunofluorescence for Iba-1 were performed, respectively
Results: WT+B.caapi animals interacted less with the moving object between 90' and 24h (entries 90’: 29,30±4,04 vs. 24h: 15,60±1,79; p=0.0024; time 90’: 38,43±7,23 vs. 24h: 21,51±3,27; p=0.0220). There was an increased number of βA plaques in TG+B.caapi animals (TG+VEH: 37.52±5.21 vs. TG+B.caapi: 58.62±6.89; p<0.0001). The treatment increased the number of microglia (WT+VEH: 93.50±1.50 vs. WT+B.caapi: 256.00±4.00, p=0.0002; TG+B.caapi: 166.12±6.69; p=0.0096) and decreased the number (WT+VEH: 3.95±0.15 vs. TG+VEH: 2.11±0.14 vs. WT+B.caapi: 1,54±0.00 vs. TG+B.caapi: 1.98±0.16, p=0.0002) and size (WT+VEH: 230.36±10.36 vs. TG+VEH: 98.57±4.13 vs. WT+B.caapi: 99.76±0.03 vs. TG+B.caapi: 90.44±5.66, p<0.0001) of their branches.
Conclusion: In this work, we observed that B.caapi chronic treatment lead to microglial activation and increased βA plaques of TG animals. Furthermore, the extract also altered the spatial memory and activated hippocampal microglia in the WT group. Taken together, these results suggest that chronic use of the extract in aged animals, both WT and TG, was not beneficial.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on ayahuasca, most cited first.