Journal of psychoactive drugs
January 1, 2019
Ilana Berlowitz, Heinrich Walt, Christian Ghasarian et al.
70 citations
An integrative treatment program combining Amazonian medicine with psychotherapy significantly reduced substance use disorder symptoms in male patients. Among 36 participants who completed the program, addiction severity for drug and alcohol use, psychiatric status, social and familial relationships, emotional distress, and substance craving all decreased substantially. Quality of life also increased markedly. Nearly all participants were dependent on multiple substances, primarily cannabis, alcohol, and cocaine-related drugs. These preliminary results suggest the approach may offer new therapeutic options for substance use disorders.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
October 7, 2020
Ilana Berlowitz, Ernesto García Torres, Heinrich Walt et al.
43 citations
In the Peruvian Amazon, tobacco—particularly Nicotiana rustica—is used as a potent medicinal plant, applied topically or ingested to treat conditions including mental health issues, respiratory problems, parasitic infections, gout, and spiritual-energetic ailments. A transdisciplinary field study interviewed a Maestro Tabaquero (traditional healer specializing in tobacco) to document preparation methods, indications, contraindications, effects, and risks. The most common remedy was a liquid taken orally, producing acute psychoactive effects and physiological responses like vomiting. Safe treatment requires a skilled healer knowledgeable in dosing and managing adverse effects. This work contributes to research on Amazonian medicine and psychedelic-assisted therapies.
Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry
December 16, 2017
Ilana Berlowitz, Christian Ghasarian, Heinrich Walt et al.
39 citations
Experts at an addiction treatment center in the Peruvian Amazon described substance use disorders using concepts similar to biopsychosocial models, but their therapeutic methods differed markedly from Western approaches. The main treatment methods involved dietary retreats, healing ceremonies, and purging rituals. Experts emphasized that the integral application of these Amazonian methods, along with their traditional implementation according to prescribed ritual protocols, is crucial for efficacy and safety. The authors suggest further scientific attention to these therapies, including clinical studies, to expand cross-cultural understanding of substance use disorders and potentially enhance treatment options.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
May 2, 2022
Ilana Berlowitz, Klemens Egger, Paul Cumming
32 citations
Monoamine oxidases (MAOs) are enzymes that break down biogenic amines like serotonin, dopamine, and tyramine in the brain and body. Beta-carboline alkaloids, such as harmine and harmane, are MAO inhibitors found in plants including tobacco and Banisteriopsis caapi, a key ingredient in the Amazonian ayahuasca brew. These beta-carbolines may boost the bioavailability of the hallucinogen DMT and might have antidepressant properties. However, the level of MAO inhibition needed to affect neurotransmitter signaling is not yet known. Unlike synthetic antidepressant MAO inhibitors that cause complete and irreversible inhibition, beta-carbolines are reversible and competitive, making complete inhibition unlikely. Many medicinal plants contain MAO inhibitors, but their pharmacological relevance often remains unclear.
Journal of ethnopharmacology
March 25, 2022
Ilana Berlowitz, David M O'Shaughnessy, Michael Heinrich et al.
26 citations
The Peruvian-Amazonian dieta is a retreat-like intervention involving lengthy social, behavioral, and alimentary restrictions while ingesting specially prepared plant substances, many of which are psychoactive. Based on interviews with 16 healers from Ucayali, San Martín, and Loreto provinces, the method is described as transformative, with multifaceted applications for treatment, prevention, and training. Benefits are attributed to teacher plants, dietary conditions, and the healer's skill. A detailed risk assessment revealed sophisticated safety measures. The dieta is a central therapeutic concept and a unique method for using psychoactive plants, warranting inclusion in current psychedelic research.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
May 28, 2021
David M. O’shaughnessy, Ilana Berlowitz
21 citations
Plant diets (dietas) in Peruvian Amazonian medicine are flexible techniques used for healing, prevention, strength-building, rites of passage, and learning medicine. Many dieted plants are psychoactive, including Banisteriopsis caapi, the vine in ayahuasca. While ayahuasca has drawn clinical attention within psychedelic science, plant diets remain understudied. Interviews with eight extensively trained healers in San Martín, Peru (2015–2017) were analyzed thematically. The authors argue that the “set and setting” framework central to psychedelic research is insufficient for understanding diets, which should not be explained by pharmacology or psychology alone. Intercultural and interdisciplinary research is needed to better understand plant diets and traditional Amazonian medicine.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
July 1, 2020
Ilana Berlowitz, Heinrich Walt, Christian Ghasarian et al.
19 citations
The Amazonian medicine-based therapy attracts a diverse group of patients, including those from outside the region, and may be especially appealing to individuals with substance use disorders (SUD) who have a history of unsuccessful treatment. The cultural diversity of the sample indicates international interest in such therapies among SUD treatment-seeking patients. These findings are relevant to the need for improved SUD therapies and add to the growing research on ayahuasca-based treatments.
Plants
January 11, 2023
Ilana Berlowitz, Ernesto García Torres, Caroline Maake et al.
14 citations
In the Peruvian Amazon, Nicotiana rustica (mapacho) is traditionally ingested as a liquid medicine for mental health treatment, contrasting with harmful global tobacco use. A 37-year-old woman with mood, anxiety, attention deficit, and a chronic somatic condition participated in a weeklong retreat led by a traditional healer, involving ritual tobacco ingestion. Experience-sampling during treatment and symptom assessments before and after indicated clinically relevant improvements in well-being. This case study documents the therapeutic process and suggests potential benefits of traditional tobacco use, aligning with renewed scientific interest in psychoactive plants for therapy.
PLOS global public health
January 1, 2025
Ilana Berlowitz, Maria Amalia Pesantes, Cynthia Cárdenas Palacios et al.
6 citations
Indigenous-Amazonian medicine is an intricate medical system built on a sophisticated understanding of health, illness, and treatment. Traditional healers describe multifactorial causes of illness, complex interactions between material and spiritual aspects of body and nature, and treatments that often involve carefully designed applications of 'teacher plants'. Healers view traditional and biomedical systems as complementary, but identify lack of recognition as a primary barrier to collaboration. Preconceptions, stigma, and insufficient research impede countries from meeting Indigenous health needs and perpetuate inequalities. The findings highlight Amazonian healers' unique expertise with psychoactive plants, offering lessons for the revival of psychedelic-assisted therapies.
Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education
December 1, 2024
Ilana Berlowitz, Ernesto García Torres, Juan Celidonio Ruiz Macedo et al.
3 citations
Indigenous healers in the Peruvian Amazon use tobacco therapeutically, but this practice has been largely ignored by clinical research. A pilot field study assessed 27 patients before and after a weeklong treatment by a traditional healer specialized in tobacco. Validated self-report scales showed significant reductions in anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and general symptom indicators. Patients reported initial physical discomfort followed by psychologically or spiritually significant insights. The findings suggest a sophisticated therapeutic approach based on Indigenous knowledge that warrants further investigation, contributing to research on therapeutic uses of psychoactive plants.