Banisteriopsis caapi extract: Implications for neuroinflammatory pathways in Locus coeruleus lesion rodent model.
Journal of ethnopharmacology January 30, 2025 Santhiago C Graça, Isabella B Bustelli, Érica V Dos Santos et al. 2 citations
Ayahuasca, a beverage made from Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis, is used in the Amazon for healing. The B. caapi extract contains harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine, which inhibit monoamine oxidase and can increase norepinephrine in the locus coeruleus, potentially reducing inflammation in neurological diseases. In male Wistar rats with locus coeruleus lesions induced by 6-hydroxydopamine, treatment with B. caapi extract reduced locus coeruleus neurons, interfered with locomotion, and increased activation of inflammatory microglia. The extract also decreased IL-10 in the hippocampus and BDNF gene expression. At the concentration and frequency used, B. caapi extract promotes noradrenergic neuron depletion and creates a proinflammatory environment in the central nervous system.