Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca is a brewed liquid traditionally from root bark and plants that contain DMT. Ayahuasca has a long history of use by South American religious groups as a sacred ritual where ayahuasca (DMT) drinks are consumed to cause psychedelic and spiritual experiences.

 

The word ayahuasca is the name of a vine from the Amazon that contains DMT. While there are many plants used for ayahuasca a popular source of DMT is from the root bark of the plant Mimosa Hostilis. Mimosa Hostilis root bark is boiled which extracts the DMT from it. Drinking DMT root bark tea by itself will not give psychedelic effects. DMT is not an orally active molecule which is why the powder is often smoked. To make DMT tea orally active there must be a Monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) present. The liver enzyme Monoamine Oxidase breaks the DMT molecule down into a non-psychoactive derivative before it has a chance to cause psychedelic effects. Many metabolites are produced from DMT break down but mainly DMT-N-oxide (DMT-NO), and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) which are not hallucinogenic. To prevent DMT breakdown in the liver the monoamine oxidase (MAO) must be blocked by way of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI). Many ayahuasca brews contain both a bark like Mimosa Hostilis and a plant containing MAOIs such as Banisteriopsis caapi (BC) and Peganum harmala (PH). Both MAOI plants contain an active monoamine oxidase inhibitor such as β-carbolines harmalol, harmine, and harmaline. By brewing a DMT-containing bark like Mimosa Hostilis and MAOI-containing plant such as Peganum harmala together the resulting brew will cause hallucinogenic DMT effects when consumed. 

 

              DMT containing plants such as Mimosa hostilis root bark are usually legal to purchase and possess in the united states. Although pure DMT powder is a schedule 1 illegal drug there is a grey area in the law about the entire plant. Purchasing and possessing the plant or bark is legal while extracting and consuming DMT is illegal.