Molecular neurobiology
May 1, 2025
Rick Wilhiam de Camargo, Larissa Joaquim, Richard Simon Machado et al.
13 citations
Pretreatment with the psychoactive decoction Ayahuasca (AYA) for three days before inducing sepsis in rats reduced anxiety-like behaviors and neuroinflammation. AYA increased time spent in the open arms of an elevated plus maze and prevented excessive grooming and rearing, indicating anxiolytic effects. It raised levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-4 in the prefrontal cortex and cortex and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the cortex. AYA also increased myeloperoxidase activity in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus while decreasing nitrite/nitrate concentrations across multiple brain regions, suggesting enhanced neutrophil activation and reduced nitric oxide signaling. Additionally, AYA prevented lipid peroxidation in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and cortex. These findings suggest AYA may protect against sepsis-induced neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and anxiety-like symptoms.
Journal of ethnopharmacology
February 10, 2024
Tiago Arruda Sanchez, Lucas Rego Ramos, Felipe Araujo et al.
12 citations
Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian beverage, attenuates brain activity in the amygdala—a region central to fear processing—when people view aversive (fearful or disgusted) faces, while enhancing activation in the insular cortex and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Nineteen experienced male users underwent fMRI before and 50 minutes after ingesting ayahuasca. Self-reported anxiety and mental sedation also decreased. The findings suggest ayahuasca may promote emotion regulation in response to negative stimuli, with corresponding improvements in cognition.
Frontiers in chemistry
January 1, 2020
Gabriela de Oliveira Silveira, Felipe Rebello Lourenço, Vítor Bruno et al.
12 citations
A greener, faster method using hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) and LC-MS/MS was developed to measure DMT and three harmala alkaloids in human urine. The method avoids large amounts of toxic solvents. It detects DMT at 1.0 ng/ml and harmala alkaloids at 2.0 ng/ml, with a quantifiable range of 5-200 ng/ml. Precision, accuracy, and recovery (above 80%) met acceptance criteria. Analysis of urine from four subjects confirmed the method's feasibility. The approach offers a simple, time-saving alternative for studying ayahuasca components in biological samples.
Journal of clinical psychopharmacology
Giordano Novak Rossi, Juliana Mendes Rocha, Flávia L Osório et al.
12 citations
In a small preliminary trial, ayahuasca—with or without a 600 mg dose of cannabidiol (CBD) given 90 minutes beforehand—did not produce interactive effects on emotion recognition or empathy tasks. Both groups showed faster reaction times on these tasks and reported reduced anxiety, sedation, and discomfort, but there were no differences between the group that received CBD and the one that did not. Ayahuasca was well tolerated, causing mainly nausea and gastrointestinal discomfort, with no clinically significant changes in heart or liver measures. The safety of the combination suggests that both drugs could be tested in larger trials for anxiety disorders.
European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience
March 1, 2025
Arilton Martins Fonseca, Rafael Guimarães Dos Santos, Lívia Soman de Medeiros et al.
10 citations
Long-term ritualistic ayahuasca use, spanning over 20 years, does not impair cognition and may be linked to better working memory compared to short-term use. In a study of 48 participants from a Santo Daime church in Brazil, experienced users (over 20 years) scored higher on tests of verbal and visuospatial working memory than beginners (under 3 years). No evidence of cognitive decline was found among ayahuasca users. The control group, matched by sex, age, and education, showed similar cognitive performance. The brew's botanical identities and alkaloid content were confirmed.
Forensic science international
December 1, 2022
Luiz Ferreira Neves Junior, André Luis Fabris, Ingrid Lopes Barbosa et al.
10 citations
LSD prodrugs are emerging as new psychoactive substances in Brazil. Nine blotter paper samples seized by police in São Paulo State were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The compound was identified as ALD-52 (1A-LSD), an LSD prodrug not controlled by Brazilian legislation, with no other active substances detected. These findings indicate a rising strategy in the designer drug market that warrants attention.
Analytica chimica acta
May 1, 2024
André Luis Fabris, Stig Pedersen-Bjergaard, Elisabeth Leere Øiestad et al.
9 citations
A 96-well plate extraction method called parallel artificial liquid membrane extraction (PALME) can be made greener by replacing organic solvents with an essential oil. Fourteen essential oils were tested; the blend smart & sassy gave the best recovery for multiple drugs of abuse in plasma, including amphetamines, synthetic cathinones, and designer benzodiazepines. After optimization, the method achieved a linear range of 1-100 ng/mL, accuracy within ±16.4%, and limits of detection between 0.1 and 0.75 ng/mL. The technique eliminated hazardous organic solvents, provided effective sample clean-up, and met international validation guidelines, offering a sustainable tool for toxicological analysis.
Journal of clinical psychopharmacology
Lucas Silva Rodrigues, José Augusto Silva Reis, Giordano Novak Rossi et al.
8 citations
A single dose of ayahuasca, a plant hallucinogen containing N,N-dimethyltryptamine and harmine, was given with psychological support to 11 college students who drank alcohol harmfully. The treatment was well tolerated and produced strong psychoactive effects. Days of alcohol consumption per week dropped from about 2.9 to 2.1 between weeks 2 and 3, but this reduction was not statistically significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. No other measures—craving, anxiety, impulsivity, self-esteem, or social cognition—showed significant changes, except faster reaction time on an empathy task. The small sample and mild baseline drinking likely limited the findings. The study demonstrates the protocol is feasible for future larger trials.
Behavioural brain research
May 8, 2025
Larissa da Silva Joaquim, Lara Rodrigues da Rosa, Yasmin Strickert et al.
5 citations
Ayahuasca, a decoction containing β-carbolines and DMT, reversed stroke-induced increases in the inflammatory markers IL-6, IL-10, and MPO activity in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of rats, and reduced oxidative stress markers TBARS in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. It also modulated mitochondrial enzyme activity in the hippocampus and cortex. However, ayahuasca did not improve neurological deficits, locomotion, anxiety-like behavior, or recognition memory. These molecular changes suggest a neuroprotective role against ischemia-induced neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, though without corresponding functional improvements in this three-day treatment study.
Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
February 18, 2026
Gabriella de Souza Gomes Ribeiro, Beatriz Aparecida Passos Bismara Paranhos, Fabiane Dörr et al.
1 citation
Even modest increases in DMT exposure from ayahuasca may intensify serotonergic effects in individuals taking SSRI antidepressants, suggesting a clinically relevant interaction. The study provides a mechanistic and quantitative framework for assessing interaction risks between ayahuasca alkaloids and SSRIs, supporting clinical decision-making and harm-reduction strategies where controlled drug-drug interaction studies are not feasible.
Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
July 1, 2026
Guilherme Lodetti, Rafael Mariano de Bitencourt, Antonio Inserra et al.
A single dose of Ayahuasca reduced relapse-like alcohol drinking in alcohol-dependent rats, with effects varying by sex and alcohol concentration. It also lessened anxiety- and depression-like behaviors caused by alcohol withdrawal, increased dopamine in the striatum of both male and female rats, and restored serotonin levels in the cortex primarily in males. Ayahuasca partially reversed alcohol-related drops in brain-derived neurotrophic factor and reduced markers of oxidative stress in the frontal cortex, hippocampus, and striatum. However, antioxidant enzyme activities were not consistently altered, and some neurochemical and oxidative stress measures showed only partial normalization. The findings suggest Ayahuasca modulates multiple neurobiological pathways disrupted by chronic alcohol exposure, with region- and sex-dependent effects.
Talanta
January 27, 2026
Fabiana Pereira Santos, Beatriz Aparecida Passos Bismara Paranhos, Thaisa Meira Sandini et al.
A greener analytical method using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and LC-MS/MS was developed to measure N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and three β-carbolines (harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine) in human hair. The method was sensitive, with limits of quantification from 3 to 8 pg/mg, and linear up to 1000 pg/mg. Recovery was low (36-58%), but selectivity showed no interference. Applied to six real samples, DMT concentrations ranged from 21.5 to 204.4 pg/mg, while β-carbolines were generally higher, with harmine reaching over 1000 pg/mg. The method uses less organic solvent than conventional hair extraction, advancing green analytical toxicology for psychoactive alkaloids.
Psychopharmacology
October 31, 2025
Vítor Bruno, Lídia Emmanuela Wiazowski Spelta, Matheus Lujan Pereira et al.
Ayahuasca, a brew containing DMT and β-carbolines used in indigenous rituals, has shown potential for treating substance use disorders. In C57Bl/6 mice, ayahuasca at a high dose (15 mg DMT/kg) induced rewarding effects, but these were weaker than those of cocaine. When mice were conditioned with cocaine and later treated with ayahuasca (12.5 or 15 mg DMT/kg), the brew prevented the reinstatement of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference after a cocaine challenge. The findings suggest ayahuasca may have therapeutic value for cocaine use disorder by reducing relapse to drug-seeking behavior.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
May 7, 2024
Victor Distefano Wiltenburg, Gabriela Morales-Lima, Aline Valéria Sousa Santos et al.
preprint
Oral lyophilized ayahuasca, at doses equivalent to those used in traditional ceremonies, blocked the conditioned place preference (CPP) that mice normally develop for ethanol. In a CPP paradigm, mice pretreated with ayahuasca showed no preference for the ethanol-paired compartment (time difference within ±7 seconds), while controls showed a moderate preference (about +60 seconds). The effect was significant at all tested doses, and no differences were observed among ayahuasca groups. Ayahuasca was well tolerated at ceremony-equivalent doses, though the highest dose (5000 mg/kg) produced transient serotonergic-syndrome-like signs and locomotor deficits. ΔFosB expression in the nucleus accumbens did not differ among groups 24 hours after the post-test. The findings suggest ayahuasca may blunt ethanol-context preference, warranting replication with stronger reward baselines and additional molecular markers.
Psychopharmacology
October 1, 2022
Daiane Momo Daneluz, Jeferson Machado Batista Sohn, Gabriela O Silveira et al.
Ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew containing DMT and β-carbolines, impairs fear memory reconsolidation in rats when given 20 minutes before or 3 hours after memory retrieval. A dose of 60 mg/kg was effective at both time points and did not produce an anxiolytic effect. The impairment lasted at least 22 days with no spontaneous recovery or reinstatement of fear. The effect depended on memory retrieval; without retrieval, ayahuasca did not impair reconsolidation. These findings suggest ayahuasca disrupts both early and late stages of memory reconsolidation rather than facilitating fear extinction.