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.
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.
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.