Drug and alcohol dependence
November 8, 2006
Débora González, Jordi Riba, José Carlos Bouso et al.
163 citations
Salvia divinorum, a plant containing the potent kappa-opioid receptor agonist salvinorin-A, is increasingly used recreationally outside its traditional Mazatec context. Among 32 recreational users surveyed, smoking the extract was the preferred method. Effects were intense but short-lived, appearing within one minute and lasting 15 minutes or less. Users reported psychedelic-like changes in visual perception, mood, and bodily sensations, along with a marked alteration in the perception of external reality and self, resulting in impaired ability to interact. While some effects resembled those of classical psychedelics, the intense derealization and impairment appear unique to salvia. High scores on both LSD and PCAG subscales of the ARCI support kappa-opioid receptor activation as the underlying mechanism.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
July 1, 2012
Fernando Caudevilla-Gálligo, Jordi Riba, Mireia Ventura et al.
99 citations
The psychoactive drug 2C-B, an analogue of mescaline, is increasingly used as a rave and club drug. Analysis of drug samples in Spain showed that the percentage containing 2C-B doubled between 2006 and 2009, shifting from powder to tablet form with low falsification rates. Recreational users typically took about 20 mg orally. Subjective effects included perceptual changes similar to those from ayahuasca and Salvia divinorum, but not from amphetamine or MDMA. Pleasure and sociability were comparable to MDMA, while incapacitation was lower than with the other psychedelics studied. The findings indicate 2C-B is consistently present in Spain's illicit market, producing psychedelic-like perceptual effects but with lower impairment and higher pleasurable effects akin to entactogens.
Biomedical chromatography : BMC
March 1, 2012
Ethan H Mcilhenny, Jordi Riba, Manel J Barbanoj et al.
57 citations
A new single analytical method can directly measure 14 major alkaloid components of ayahuasca, including known and potential metabolites of N,N-dimethyltryptamine and harmala alkaloids, in human blood plasma. The method uses 96-well plate protein precipitation and filtration followed by HPLC-ion trap-ion trap-mass spectrometry with heated electrospray ionization to reduce matrix effects. It provides adequate sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility for clinical research, expanding the list of compounds that can be monitored after ayahuasca administration while simplifying the analysis compared to previous combined techniques.
Biomedical chromatography : BMC
September 1, 2011
Ethan H Mcilhenny, Jordi Riba, Manel J Barbanoj et al.
51 citations
The primary metabolite of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in humans after ayahuasca ingestion is the corresponding N-oxide, the first time this metabolite has been described in in vivo human studies. Very little DMT was detected in urine, despite monoamine oxidase inhibition by harmala alkaloids. The major harmala alkaloid excreted was tetrahydroharmine. A rapid, sensitive method using HPLC-electrospray ionization-selected reaction monitoring-tandem mass spectrometry was developed and applied to urine samples from three individuals administered ayahuasca, identifying and quantifying major constituents and metabolites. The protocol is suitable for toxicological and clinical research on ayahuasca.