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Identification of N , N ‐dimethyltryptamine and β ‐carbolines in psychotropic ayahuasca beverage
Author(s) -
Gambelunghe Cristiana,
Aroni Kyriaki,
Rossi Riccardo,
Moretti Luca,
Bacci Mauro
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
biomedical chromatography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.4
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1099-0801
pISSN - 0269-3879
DOI - 10.1002/bmc.1023
Subject(s) - ayahuasca , harmine , harmaline , chemistry , traditional medicine , hallucinogen , chromatography , pharmacology , medicine , ecology , biology
Abstract Recently many people have shown great interest in traditional indigenous practices and popular medicine, involving the ingestion of natural psychotropic drugs. We received a request to analyze and determine the nature of a dark green liquid with a dark brown plant sediment, which the police had seized at an airport and inside the home of a person belonging to the ‘Santo Daime’ religious movement. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of the extract identified N , N ‐dimethyltryptamine, a potent hallucinogen, and the β ‐carboline alkaloids harmine and harmaline, revealing monoamine oxidase A‐inhibiting properties. These substances are typical components of Ayahuasca, a South American psychotropic beverage obtained by boiling the bark of the liana Banisteriopsis caapi together with the leaves of various admixture plants, principally Psychotria viridis . Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.