Phytochemical Analysis
January 12, 2009
Ana Paula Salum Pires, Carolina Dizioli Rodrigues de Oliveira, Sidnei Moura et al.
74 citations
A gas chromatographic method was developed to simultaneously measure the main active alkaloids in ayahuasca preparations: N,N-dimethyltryptamine from Psychotria viridis and the β-carbolines harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine from Banisteriopsis caapi. Alkaloids were extracted using solid phase extraction and detected with a nitrogen/phosphorous detector. The method achieved a lower limit of quantification of 0.02 mg/mL for all analytes, with linear calibration curves from 0.02 to 4.0 mg/mL and precision below 10% relative standard deviation. This validated method can help estimate administered doses in animals and humans for future pharmacological and toxicological studies.
Brazilian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
June 7, 2018
Júlia Movilla Pires, Fúlvio Rieli Mendes, Ana Paula Salum Pires et al.
10 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychoactive beverage used in religious rituals, contains dimethyltryptamine and harmala alkaloids that activate serotonergic pathways. In mice, ayahuasca alone reduced pain in writhing and formalin tests and boosted morphine's analgesic effect on the hot plate test. It intensified propofol's depressant effect in the rotarod test but shortened propofol-induced sleeping time. These findings indicate interactions between ayahuasca and both morphine and propofol, likely through pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic mechanisms.
June 8, 2011
Ana Paula Salum Pires
Ayahuasca, a beverage prepared from Amazonian plants, combines the hallucinogenic effects of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a serotonin 5-HT2A/2C receptor agonist, with β-carbolines that inhibit monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A). Its use in Brazilian religious ceremonies such as Santo Daime and União do Vegetal has been regulated and approved. These groups have spread to Europe and the United States, drawing international research interest, yet few studies exist, including pharmacokinetic investigations in humans and analytical methods for determining the main alkaloids in the beverage and biological samples. This work develops and validates a gas chromatography method with nitrogen-phosphorus detection (GC-NPD) for simultaneous quantification of DMT and β-carbolines in ayahuasca, essential for measuring plasma alkaloid concentrations and comparing them with observed effects in volunteers.