Frontiers in pharmacology
January 1, 2019
Soledad Marton, Bruno González, Sebastián Rodríguez-bottero et al.
71 citations
A single injection of ibogaine in rats increased the expression of neurotrophic factors in brain regions containing dopamine neurons, with effects depending on dose and brain area. At 24 hours, the higher dose (40 mg/kg) selectively raised GDNF in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra, while both doses boosted BDNF transcripts in the nucleus accumbens, substantia nigra, and prefrontal cortex. NGF mRNA increased across all regions after the higher dose. Protein levels showed GDNF rise only in the ventral tegmental area at the higher dose, and proBDNF increased in the nucleus accumbens for both doses. These changes may help explain ibogaine's reported ability to reduce drug-seeking behavior.
ACS chemical neuroscience
June 3, 2020
Paola Rodrı Guez, Jessika Urbanavicius, José Pedro Prieto et al.
44 citations
Ibogaine and its main metabolite noribogaine produce antidepressant-like effects in rats, as measured by the forced swim test. Both compounds induced a dose- and time-dependent reduction in immobility without altering locomotor activity. Noribogaine's effect was short-lived (30 minutes) and correlated with high brain concentrations (estimated >8 μM free drug), while ibogaine's effect was significant at 3 hours, when both ibogaine (~0.5 μM) and noribogaine (~2.5 μM) were present at concentrations that alone could not produce the same outcome. The findings suggest a polypharmacological mechanism underlies the antidepressant-like effects.
Frontiers in pharmacology
January 1, 2018
Joaquín González, José P Prieto, Paola Rodríguez et al.
31 citations
Ibogaine, a psychedelic alkaloid with anti-addictive properties, acutely increases wakefulness and suppresses REM sleep in rats. In a study with polysomnographic recordings over six hours, rats given ibogaine (20 or 40 mg/kg) spent more time awake and less time in slow wave sleep and REM sleep compared to controls. REM sleep latency increased with the higher dose. The wake-promoting and slow wave sleep effects occurred in the first two hours, while REM suppression lasted throughout the recording. Lower doses increased locomotion; higher doses caused tremor and flat body posture. Head shake response, linked to 5HT2A receptor activation, was unchanged. The findings suggest ibogaine produces a waking state with prolonged REM suppression and a dose-dependent motor profile.
ACS Omega
April 1, 2022
Luisina Castelli Rodríguez, Andrés Mariño López, Guillermo Moyna et al.
28 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychedelic beverage from the Amazon, is made by boiling Banisteriopsis caapi vine with DMT-containing plants. Using NMR and LC-MS/MS, this study analyzed both soluble and insoluble components of ayahuasca samples. For the first time, fructose was detected as a major component, and the alkaloid harmine was found in suspended solids. The major alkaloids identified were DMT, harmine, tetrahydroharmine, harmaline, and harmol. A new quantitative NMR method was developed and validated to simultaneously quantify these alkaloids.
ACS pharmacology & translational science
April 9, 2021
Joaquín González, Matias Cavelli, Santiago Castro-Zaballa et al.
26 citations
Ibogaine, a psychedelic alkaloid with anti-addictive potential, produces vivid, dream-like experiences while awake. Analyzing intracranial electroencephalograms in rats, ibogaine-induced wakefulness showed gamma oscillations with greater power than control levels but reduced coherence and complexity. This gamma activity profile resembled that of natural REM sleep, providing biological evidence linking the psychedelic state to REM sleep and advancing understanding of ibogaine's oneirogenic effects.
ACS omega
July 6, 2021
Bruno González, Catherine Fagúndez, Alejandro Peixoto de Abreu Lima et al.
18 citations
An optimized process extracts voacangine from Voacanga africana root bark using a direct acetone-based procedure, yielding approximately 0.8% of the dried root bark weight. The major alkaloids isolated are iboga-vobasinyl dimers, such as voacamine and voacamidine, which constitute about 3.7% of the bark. Because these dimers contain the voacangine moiety, a further optimized cleavage step produces additional voacangine at about 50% isolated molar yield. Applying both extraction and dimer cleavage nearly doubles the total voacangine obtained from the plant material compared to direct extraction alone.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
May 4, 2022
Ismael Apud, Juan Scuro, Ignacio Carrera et al.
14 citations
Participants in ayahuasca rituals at a substance-use-disorder treatment center in Uruguay scored higher than a control group on Impulsive Sensation Seeking, Boredom Susceptibility, and Social Warmth scales of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire. Qualitative analysis of their experiences revealed five categories: emotional experiences (including love and empathy), corporal experiences, spiritual/transcendental experiences, personal experiences, and visions. The findings suggest that the combination of social interactions and ayahuasca's pharmacological action may facilitate social emotions during rituals and contribute to long-term increases in empathic and social aspects of personality.
International journal of molecular sciences
January 5, 2024
Sofía Villalba, Bruno González, Stephanie Junge et al.
9 citations
Noribogaine, the primary metabolite of ibogaine, produces sexually dimorphic effects in mice, with some responses depending on the 5-HT2A receptor. A single 40 mg/kg dose reduced locomotion in male but not female wild-type mice. Gene expression of immediate early genes and glutamate receptors differed by sex and genotype. 5-HT2A receptor mRNA increased in the medial prefrontal cortex after noribogaine at 10 mg/kg in males and 40 mg/kg in females. Electrophysiology showed that 40 mg/kg reduced NMDA-mediated postsynaptic current density in layer V pyramidal neurons of the medial prefrontal cortex only in male wild-type mice, an effect absent in 5-HT2A receptor knockout males and all females. The genetic removal of the 5-HT2A receptor blunted noribogaine's effects on NMDA synaptic transmission.
Journal of natural products
June 23, 2023
Bruno González, Nicolás Veiga, Gonzalo Hernández et al.
7 citations
The iboga alkaloids, such as ibogaine and voacangine, are promising scaffolds for developing drugs to treat neuropsychiatric disorders. This work examines how these molecules react under oxidation with dioxygen, peroxo compounds, and iodine. The C16-carboxymethyl ester group in voacangine makes the molecule more stable toward oxidation than ibogaine, particularly in the indole ring, where 7-hydroxy- or 7-peroxy-indolenines form. However, the ester increases reactivity at the isoquinuclidinic nitrogen, leading to C3-oxidized products via regioselective iminium formation. Density functional theory calculations explain this differential reactivity. Additionally, NMR experiments and theoretical calculations revise the absolute stereochemistry at C7 in voacangine's 7-hydroxyindolenine to S, correcting earlier reports of R configuration.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
September 2, 2022
Ismael Apud, Juan Scuro, Ignacio Carrera et al.
6 citations
Ayahuasca's psychological and subjective effects differ between two neoshamanic groups in Uruguay: a psychospiritual holistic center and a center treating substance use disorders. A mixed-methods study using the Hallucinogen Rating Scale and in-depth interviews found significant medium-sized differences in affect, cognition, and perception between groups. The group with higher scores reported more frequent and complex emotional, cognitive, and perceptive experiences. No significant quantitative differences emerged for intensity or somaesthetic domains, yet qualitative reports described the experience as “soft” in one group and noted bodily effects like purging. Stronger subjective effects may relate to differences in dosage and setting.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
June 29, 2020
Joaqúın González, Matías Cavelli, Santiago Castro‐zaballa et al.
5 citations
preprint
Ibogaine, a psychedelic alkaloid with anti-addictive properties, produces a waking state that shares brain-wave traits with REM sleep. In rats, ibogaine increased gamma oscillation power in the brain but made those oscillations less coherent and less complex than normal waking levels. This pattern mirrors REM sleep features within the gamma frequency band, providing biological evidence for the long-standing hypothesis that ibogaine induces a dream-like state while awake—a phenomenon called oneirogenesis. The findings offer an empirical basis for understanding how ibogaine's unique subjective effects may contribute to its anti-addictive potential.
Psychopharmacology
July 1, 2024
Juan Pedro Castro-Nin, Diego Serantes, Paola Rodriguez et al.
4 citations
Noribogaine, the main metabolite of the psychedelic ibogaine, promotes wakefulness while reducing slow-wave sleep and blocking REM sleep in rats, according to polysomnographic recordings. This pattern of sleep/wake alterations is similar to that previously reported for ibogaine itself. The findings provide new evidence on how iboga alkaloids act in the brain, suggesting that noribogaine contributes to the sleep-suppressing effects observed after ibogaine administration.
Journal of psychoactive drugs
January 1, 2023
Ismael Apud, Juan Scuro, Luisina Rodríguez et al.
4 citations
People who use ayahuasca in a neo-shamanic group and a Santo Daime church in Uruguay differ in personality and acute psychological effects. Santo Daime members scored lower on Neuroticism-Anxiety, Dependence, Low Self-Esteem, Anger, and Restlessness, possibly due to the protective effects of a structured church religion or because some neo-shamanic participants were undergoing treatment. During rituals, the neo-shamanic group reported stronger somesthesia and perception, linked to their high-arousal setting. Chemical analysis found typical alkaloids with no adulterants; the neo-shamanic sample had a higher β-carbolines-to-DMT ratio, which may explain the stronger somesthetic effects. Personality and acute effects correlated only in the neo-shamanic group, suggesting a more individualistic tradition.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
December 26, 2025
Christopher Hwu, Václav Havel, Xavier Westergaard et al.
2 citations
Ibogaine and its main metabolite noribogaine inhibit the vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) with submicromolar potency, as shown in cell-based assays and two-photon microscopy of mouse brain synaptic vesicle clusters. Noribogaine also induces partial serotonin release from synaptic vesicles and binds VMAT2 at a distinct site from the established inhibitor dihydrotetrabenazine. These compounds additionally inhibit plasma membrane monoamine transporters, prominently the serotonin transporter (SERT), and a novel target, organic cation transporter 2 (OCT2). Several iboga analogs display dual inhibition of VMAT2 and SERT with comparable potencies, termed "Synaptic Reuptake Inhibitors" (SynRIs). This profile explains why ibogaine and noribogaine do not induce catalepsy, unlike other VMAT2 inhibitors, and illustrates the complex "matrix pharmacology" of iboga compounds.
ACS Omega
November 10, 2025
Luisina Castelli Rodríguez, Guillermo Morera, Sandra Lupo et al.
1 citation
An optimized extraction protocol and a quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) spectroscopy method enable accurate, nondestructive quantification of the psychoactive tryptamines psilocybin and psilocin in dried Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms. Using both 1H and 31P NMR, the method detects and measures both alkaloids simultaneously with high reproducibility. Analysis of user-provided and laboratory-grown samples reveals substantial variability in total tryptamine content and in the psilocybin-to-psilocin ratio, suggesting that storage conditions affect alkaloid stability. Compared to conventional chromatography, qNMR provides a rapid, calibration-free alternative for routine analysis, potentially supporting quality control in clinical and regulatory settings for psychedelic mushrooms.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
July 28, 2023
Juan Pedro Castro‐nin, Diego Serantes, Paola Rodrı́guez et al.
1 citation
preprint
Noribogaine, the main metabolite of the psychedelic ibogaine, promotes wakefulness and reduces slow-wave sleep while completely blocking REM sleep in rats. These sleep-wake alterations mirror those caused by ibogaine itself, suggesting that noribogaine is responsible for the sleep-suppressing effects previously attributed to ibogaine. The findings point to serotonin reuptake inhibition as a likely mechanism underlying the wake-promoting and REM sleep-suppressing actions of both compounds.
ChemRxiv
March 19, 2020
Paola Rodrı́guez, Jessika Urbanavicius, José Pedro Prieto et al.
1 citation
Ibogaine and its main metabolite noribogaine produce antidepressant-like effects in rats in a dose- and time-dependent manner, without altering locomotor activity. Noribogaine's effect is short-lived (30 minutes) and correlates with high brain concentrations (estimated > 8 µM free drug), while ibogaine's effect is significant at 3 hours. At that time, both compounds are present in the brain at concentrations (ibogaine ~0.5 µM, noribogaine ~2.4 µM) that alone cannot produce the same behavioral outcome, suggesting a polypharmacological mechanism underlies their antidepressant-like effects.
BMC neuroscience
May 13, 2026
Alejo Acuña, Federico Billeri, Valentino Totaro et al.
A single dose of ibogaine (40 mg/kg) reinstates juvenile-like experience-dependent plasticity in the adult mouse visual cortex. Adult mice given ibogaine and then four days of monocular deprivation showed reduced visual acuity in the deprived eye and decreased dendritic spine density in the binocular visual cortex, effects not seen in vehicle-treated mice. Ibogaine alone did not alter these measures. The plasticity-enhancing effect was accompanied by reductions in perineuronal nets, parvalbumin-positive interneuron staining, and vesicular GABA transporter-labeled inhibitory puncta. These findings suggest ibogaine can reopen windows of heightened cortical adaptability by reducing structural and inhibitory brakes on plasticity.
Mini reviews in medicinal chemistry
March 30, 2026
Romina Belen González, Gonzalo Adrián Ojeda, Ana Melissa González Miragliotta et al.
Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil is a South American tree used traditionally by Indigenous communities for medicine and rituals. Its bark, leaves, seeds, and gum contain alkaloids like bufotenine, DMT, and 5-MeO-DMT, along with triterpenes, steroids, saponins, and flavonoids. Preclinical research confirms anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant, antidiarrheal, and wound-healing effects, especially in bark extracts. Seed alkaloids have potent psychoactive properties but also potential cardiotoxic and neurotoxic effects. The gum, composed of high-arabinose heteropolysaccharides, shows wound-healing and antidiarrheal potential with low toxicity. This review synthesizes the species' ethnobotany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology, identifying knowledge gaps for future research.
Research Square
December 18, 2025
Alejo Acuña, Federico Billeri, Valentino Totaro et al.
A single dose of ibogaine, an atypical psychedelic, reinstated juvenile-like experience-dependent plasticity in the adult mouse visual cortex. Adult mice given ibogaine and then subjected to four days of monocular deprivation showed reduced visual acuity in the deprived eye and decreased dendritic spine density in the binocular visual cortex, effects not seen in vehicle-treated mice. Ibogaine alone did not alter these measures. The plasticity enhancement was accompanied by reductions in perineuronal nets, parvalbumin-positive interneurons, and inhibitory synaptic puncta density, suggesting ibogaine removes structural and inhibitory brakes on plasticity. These findings indicate ibogaine's therapeutic actions may stem from reopening windows of heightened cortical adaptability.
ChemRxiv
October 29, 2018
Soledad Marton, Bruno González, Sebastián Rodríguez et al.
Ibogaine, a psychedelic alkaloid, alters the expression of three neurotrophic factors—GDNF, BDNF, and NGF—in rat brain regions containing dopamine neurons. A single injection of 20 or 40 mg/kg ibogaine increased expression of these factors after 24 hours in a dose- and region-specific manner. The higher dose selectively raised GDNF in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra. Both doses increased BDNF in the nucleus accumbens, substantia nigra, and prefrontal cortex, while the higher dose also raised BDNF in the ventral tegmental area. NGF increased in all regions after the higher dose. Mature GDNF protein rose in the ventral tegmental area, and proBDNF increased in the nucleus accumbens. These changes may contribute to ibogaine's anti-addictive properties.