Abstract: This article aims to present "iboga," also known as "sacred wood," as an endogenous knowledge used traditionally in the spiritual and medicinal rituals of the people of Gabon during initiation ceremonies such as bwiti, mumbwiri, and many other rites. This plant, considered a natural, cultural, and national heritage, allows for transcendence between physical and invisible worlds...
Psychedelics have recently (re)emerged as therapeutics of high potential for multiple mental health conditions, including substance use disorders (SUDs). Despite early mid-20th century anecdotal reports and pilot studies demonstrating the possibility of these substances in efficaciously treating conditions such as alcohol and opioid use disorders, legal restrictions and social stigma have...
The iboga alkaloids are a family of monoterpene indole alkaloids first discovered from the root of Tabernanthe iboga. The major alkaloid constituent in the root, ibogaine, has garnered interest for its anti-addictive properties. Ibogaine has been shown to reduce opiate, amphetamine, alcohol, and nicotine self-administration in rodents. However, ibogaine itself is less than optimal as a...
Ibogaine and its main metabolite noribogaine provide important molecular prototypes for markedly different treatment of substance use disorders and co-morbid mental health illnesses. However, these compounds present a cardiac safety risk and a highly complex molecular mechanism. We introduce a class of iboga alkaloids - termed oxa-iboga - defined as benzofuran-containing iboga analogs and...
Threatening events and stressful experiences can lead to maladaptive memories and related behaviors. Existing treatments often fail to address these issues linked to anxiety/stress-related disorders effectively. This review identifies dose ranges associated with specific actions across various psychedelics. We examined psilocybin/psilocin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD),...
Ibogaine is a potent atypical psychedelic that has gained considerable attention due to its antiaddictive and antidepressant properties in preclinical and clinical studies. Previous research from our group showed that ibogaine suppresses sleep and produces an altered wakefulness state, which resembles natural REM sleep. However, after systemic administration, ibogaine is rapidly metabolized to...
The aim of this study was to determine the anti-hypersensitivity activity of novel non-hallucinogenic compounds derived from iboga alkaloids (i.e., ibogalogs), including tabernanthalog (TBG), ibogainalog (IBG), and ibogaminalog (DM506), using mouse models of neuropathic (Chronic Constriction Injury; CCI) and visceral pain (dextrane sulfate sodium; DSS). Ibogalogs decreased mechanical...
Ibogaine is an organic indole alkaloid that is used in alternative medicine to combat addiction. Numerous cases of life-threatening complications and sudden deaths associated with ibogaine use have been reported, and it has been hypothesized that the adverse effects are related to ibogaine's tendency to induce cardiac arrhythmias. Considering that the bioavailability of ibogaine and its primary...
This article aims to present "iboga," also known as "sacred wood," as an endogenous knowledge used traditionally in the spiritual and medicinal rituals of the people of Gabon during initiation ceremonies such as bwiti, mumbwiri, and many other rites. This plant, considered a natural, cultural, and national heritage, allows for transcendence between physical and invisible worlds through its...
... I immediately recognized The Ibogaine Effect...” —Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ‘72 Reading Hunter S. Thompson's dispatches from the 1972 Democratic primary race in Rolling Stone was the first time I learned about a mysterious drug called ibogaine. I never believed that Edmund Muskie was taking a psychedelic substance on the hustings. Mr. Thompson later...
CureusJune 1, 2024David Mestre, Alexandra Paula, Francisco P Gil et al.
Opioid dependence is a common problem, and therapeutic alternatives are scarce and ineffective. Ibogaine, illegal in several countries, has been reported as a possible therapy in alternative clinics and it is also used as a recreational drug, despite its cardiotoxic potential, including QT prolongation. We report a case of long QT leading to multiple episodes of cardiac arrest after a single...
Abstract Background and aims Ibogaine, an alkaloid extracted from the root of the Tabernanthe Iboga shrub, holds promise in treating addictive disorders. Individuals receiving ibogaine treatment report decreased withdrawal symptoms, cravings, and addiction severity. These changes are often attributed to ibogaine's psychedelic properties: subjectively meaningful, dream-like experiences. Research...
Pain induction results in the initiation of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative processes, leading to neuromodulation, while conventional analgesic treatments frequently entail undesirable side effects. This research delves into the potent and selective analgesic attributes of Iboga derivatives in the context of acute and chronic pain models. Specifically, the study explores the effcacy of...
Ibogaine is a hallucinogenic drug that may be used to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). The relationships between pharmacokinetics (PKs) of ibogaine and its metabolites and their clinical effects on side effects and opioid withdrawal severity are unknown. We aimed to study these relationships in patients with OUD undergoing detoxification supported by ibogaine. The study was performed in 14...
The global use of certain classical psychedelics has increased in recent years, but little is known about their spectrum of toxicity within Australia. We aim to describe calls to New South Wales Poisons Information Centre relating to exposures to classical psychedelics including lysergic acid diethylamide, psilocybin, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, ayahuasca, mescaline and ibogaine. This is a...
BACKGROUND: Ibogaine is a plant-derived alkaloid that has been used for thousands of years in rites of passage and spiritual ceremonies in West-Central Africa. In the West, it has primarily been used and studied for its anti-addictive properties and more recently for other neuropsychiatric indications, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and traumatic brain injury....
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability. Sequelae can include functional impairments and psychiatric syndromes such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. Special Operations Forces (SOF) veterans (SOVs) may be at an elevated risk for these complications, leading some to seek underexplored treatment alternatives such as the oneirogen ibogaine, a...
Ibogaine (IBO) is an atypical psychedelic with a complex mechanism of action. To date, the mechanisms that may underlie its anti-addictive effects are still not defined. This study aims to identify changes in gene expression induced by a single oral dose of IBO in the cortex of mice by means of a transcriptomic analysis for the first time. Our results showed significant alterations in gene...
Noribogaine (noribo) is the primary metabolite from ibogaine, an atypical psychedelic alkaloid isolated from the root bark of the African shrub Tabernanthe iboga. The main objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that molecular, electrophysiological, and behavioral responses of noribo are mediated by the 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR) in mice. In that regard, we used male and female,...
Ibogaine is a natural psychoactive drug that has been investigated for its potential role in the treatment of substance use disorders since the mid-1960s. To evaluate the interest in ibogaine's use as a therapeutic agent, we performed a scientometric analysis covering the last three decades (1993-2002, 2003-2012, and 2013-2022). A complementary analysis was performed to select and describe...