Erspamer, V., Vitali, T., Roseghini, M., & Cei, J. M.. (1967). 5-Methoxy- and 5-Hydroxyindoles in the skin of Bufo alvarius. Biochemical Pharmacology, 16(7), 1149–1164.
Molla, S.. (2021). The personal experiences of ayahuasca brew users as a therapeutic catalyst for substance dependence: A qualitative exploratory approach.. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering
Show/hide publication abstract
“Ayahuasca is a mixture composed of psychedelic and other ingredients, historically brewed by indigenous people for centuries to heal physical and mental ailments and for spiritual purposes. in recent years, it has become more widespread and gained an appeal outside of the indigenous tribes of the amazon, ecuador and south america regions. this study explored ayahuasca experiences among individuals who were seeking help for substance abuse issues. eleven eligible volunteers (5 male, 6 female) who attended at least one ayahuasca ceremony were recruited through social media platforms such as facebook. individuals from various ayahuasca groups responded to an uploaded flyer and were emailed interview questionnaires upon confirming their eligibility. the questionnaire examined participant demographics, background information, substance use habits, clinical history, ayahuasca experiences, and changes in substance use post ayahuasca ceremonies. results are presented as summaries of specific questions answered as well as overall themes. qualitative analysis produced the following six themes: regard for ayahuasca, love and gratitude, trauma and healing, somatic aspects, cognitive aspects, and transcendental-related experiences. associated risks and undesired effects of ayahuasca were also common topics elicited. it was concluded that, at least for these participants, ayahuasca was experienced as a therapeutic catalyst in the treatment of addiction issues when used safely and in ritual settings. partial reduction to complete elimination of substance use was reported across participants, in as little as a single ceremony. their progress was attributed to ayahuasca itself as well as the rituals and ceremonies involving support from community members. recommendations for future research include conducting randomized controlled trials to better determine ayahuasca’s therapeutic effects. (psycinfo database record (c) 2021 apa, all rights reserved)”
Vega, J. L. R., Ishimine, R. G., & Pinedo, D. A. M.. (2021). Exploring the effect of Trichocereus pachanoi on the depression-like behavior in rats. Revista Habanera de Ciencias Medicas
Show/hide publication abstract
“Introduction: since ancient times, some mescaline containing plants that have hallucinogen effects and cause alterations in the central nervous system have been used to fulfill traditional objectives associated with divination, healing, spirituality and others. objective: to determine the effect of the aqueous extract of trichocereus pachanoi at doses of 10 %, 20 % and 30 % solution on depression-like exploratory behavior in rattus rattus var. albinus. material and methods: the present experimental study, which is exploratory, constructive and prospective in nature, was conducted in 4 groups of 10 rats. the rats were administered increasing doses of aqueous extract of trichocereus pachanoi; then, they underwent forced swimming with a previous 15-minute training. results: the group that did not receive any treatment had the lowest response to the duration of time spent at scaling compared to groups b, c and d that spent 13.5 min., 17.17 min., and 24.37 min., respectively. also, in the evaluation of mobility, group a showed the lowest value compared to groups b, c and d that recorded 13.42 min., 17.62 min., and 23.12 min., respectively. conclusions: the treatment with aqueous extract of trichocereus pachanoi at concentrations of 10 %, 20 % and 30 % applied to rats has been effective in producing a tranquilizer effect on the depression-like exploratory behavior in rats.”
Carod Artal, F. J., & Vázquez Cabrera, C. B.. (2006). Mescalina y ritual del cactus de san Pedro: evidencias arqueológicas y etnográficas en el norte de Perú. Revista de Neurología, 42(08), 489.
Lancelotta, R. L., & Davis, A. K.. (2020). Use of Benefit Enhancement Strategies among 5-Methoxy-N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) Users: Associations with Mystical, Challenging, and Enduring Effects. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 52(3), 273–281.
“5-methoxy-n,n-dimethyltryptamine (5-meo-dmt) is a potent, fast-acting psychedelic. anecdotal reports from 5-meo-dmt users suggest that they employ a variety of benefit enhancement (be) strategies aimed to increase positive effects and decrease any potential challenging effects of the substance, but no empirical study has investigated this claim. we examined the prevalence of be strategy use using secondary data from a survey of 5-meo-dmt users (n = 515; mage = 35.4, sd = 11.7; male = 79%; white/caucasian = 86%). results indicated that be strategy use was common in this sample. as a secondary aim, we assessed whether the use of be strategies was associated with acute subjective (i.e., mystical-type, challenging) and persisting effects of 5-meo-dmt among a subset of respondents who reported using 5-meo-dmt once in their lifetime (n = 116). results showed that the use of several be strategies were associated with significantly more intense mystical-type effects and enduring beliefs about the personal meaning and spiritual significance of their experience, and some be strategies were associated with less intense or challenging experiences. data suggests that be strategies are commonly used, and that the use of be strategies may be associated with increases in positive mystical-type and enduring effects. the causal influence of be strategies on acute/persisting effects of 5-meo-dmt should be examined in longitudinal research.”
Barsuglia, J., Davis, A. K., Palmer, R., Lancelotta, R., Windham-Herman, A.-M., Peterson, K., … Griffiths, R. R.. (2018). Intensity of Mystical Experiences Occasioned by 5-MeO-DMT and Comparison With a Prior Psilocybin Study. Frontiers in Psychology, 9
“5-meo-dmt is a psychoactive substance found in high concentrations in the bufotoxin of the colorado river toad (bufo alvarius). emerging evidence suggests that vaporized 5-meo-dmt may occasion mystical experiences of comparable intensity to those occasioned by more widely studied psychedelics such as psilocybin, but no empirical study has tested this hypothesis. data was obtained from 20 individuals (mage = 38.9, ± 10.7; male = 55%, caucasian = 85%) who were administered 5-meo-dmt as part of a psychospiritual retreat program in mexico. all participants received 50 mg of inhaled vaporized toad bufotoxin which contains 5-meo-dmt and completed the mystical experience questionnaire (meq30) approximately 4-6 h after their session. administration of 5-meo-dmt occasioned strong mystical experiences (meq30 overall mintensity = 4.17, ± 0.64, range 0-5) and the majority (n = 15, 75%) had ‘a complete mystical experience’ (≥60% on all meq30 subscales). compared to a prior laboratory-based psilocybin study, there were no differences in the intensity of mystical effects between 5-meo-dmt and a high dose (30 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin, but the intensity of mystical effects was significantly higher in the 5-meo-dmt sample compared to moderate/high dose (20 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin (meq30 total score: p = 0.02, d = 0.81). administration of vaporized 5-meo-dmt reliably occasioned complete mystical experiences in 75% of individuals and was similar in intensity to high dose psilocybin administered in a laboratory setting. the short duration of action may be advantageous for clinical interventions and for studying mystical-type experiences.”
“Near-death experiences (ndes) are complex subjective experiences, which have been previously associated with the psychedelic experience and more specifically with the experience induced by the potent serotonergic, n, n-dimethyltryptamine (dmt). potential similarities between both subjective states have been noted previously, including the subjective feeling of transcending one’s body and entering an alternative realm, perceiving and communicating with sentient ‘entities’ and themes related to death and dying. in this within-subjects placebo-controled study we aimed to test the similarities between the dmt state and ndes, by administering dmt and placebo to 13 healthy participants, who then completed a validated and widely used measure of ndes. results revealed significant increases in phenomenological features associated with the nde, following dmt administration compared to placebo. also, we found significant relationships between the nde scores and dmt-induced ego-dissolution and mystical-type experiences, as well as a significant association between nde scores and baseline trait ‘absorption’ and delusional ideation measured at baseline. furthermore, we found a significant overlap in nearly all of the nde phenomenological features when comparing dmt-induced ndes with a matched group of ‘actual’ nde experiencers. these results reveal a striking similarity between these states that warrants further investigation. ‘i’d be scared’. ‘scared of what?’ ‘scared of dying, i guess. of falling into the void’. ‘they say you fly when you die’. (feature film: ’enter the void’).”
Timmermann, C., Roseman, L., Schartner, M., Milliere, R., Williams, L. T. J., Erritzoe, D., … Carhart-Harris, R. L.. (2019). Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 16324.
“Studying transitions in and out of the altered state of consciousness caused by intravenous (iv) n,n-dimethyltryptamine (dmt – a fast-acting tryptamine psychedelic) offers a safe and powerful means of advancing knowledge on the neurobiology of conscious states. here we sought to investigate the effects of iv dmt on the power spectrum and signal diversity of human brain activity (6 female, 7 male) recorded via multivariate eeg, and plot relationships between subjective experience, brain activity and drug plasma concentrations across time. compared with placebo, dmt markedly reduced oscillatory power in the alpha and beta bands and robustly increased spontaneous signal diversity. time-referenced and neurophenomenological analyses revealed close relationships between changes in various aspects of subjective experience and changes in brain activity. importantly, the emergence of oscillatory activity within the delta and theta frequency bands was found to correlate with the peak of the experience – particularly its eyes-closed visual component. these findings highlight marked changes in oscillatory activity and signal diversity with dmt that parallel broad and specific components of the subjective experience, thus advancing our understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of immersive states of consciousness.”
Abd Rashed, A., & Rathi, D.-N. G.. (2021). Bioactive Components of Salvia and Their Potential Antidiabetic Properties: A Review. Molecules, 26(10), 3042.
“The utilization of therapeutic plants is expanding around the globe, coupled with the tremendous expansion of alternative medicine and growing demand in health treatment. plants are applied in pharmaceuticals to preserve and expand health—physically, mentally and as well as to treat particular health conditions and afflictions. there are more than 600 families of plants identified so far. among the plants that are often studied for their health benefit include the genus of salvia in the mint family, lamiaceae. this review aims to determine the bioactive components of salvia and their potential as antidiabetic agents. the search was conducted using three databases (pubmed, embase and scopus), and all relevant articles that are freely available in the english language were extracted within 10 years (2011–2021). salvia spp. comprises many biologically active components that can be divided into monoterpenes, diterpenes, triterpenes, and phenolic components, but only a few of these have been studied in-depth for their health benefit claims. the most commonly studied bioactive component was salvianolic acids. interestingly, s. miltiorrhiza is undoubtedly the most widely studied salvia species in terms of its effectiveness as an antidiabetic agent. in conclusion, we hope that this review stimulates more studies on bioactive components from medicinal plants, not only on their potential as antidiabetic agents but also for other possible health benefits.”
Hesselgrave, N., Troppoli, T. A., Wulff, A. B., Cole, A. B., & Thompson, S. M.. (2021). Harnessing psilocybin: Antidepressant-like behavioral and synaptic actions of psilocybin are independent of 5-HT2R activation in mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
“Depression is a widespread and devastating mental illness and the search for rapid-acting antidepressants remains critical. there is now exciting evidence that the psychedelic compound psilocybin produces not only powerful alterations of consciousness, but also rapid and persistent antidepressant effects. how psilocybin exerts its therapeutic actions is not known, but it is widely presumed that these actions require altered consciousness, which is known to be dependent on serotonin 2a receptor (5-ht2ar) activation. this hypothesis has never been tested, however. we therefore asked whether psilocybin would exert antidepressant-like responses in mice and, if so, whether these responses required 5-ht2ar activation. using chronically stressed male mice, we observed that a single injection of psilocybin reversed anhedonic responses assessed with the sucrose preference and female urine preference tests. the antianhedonic response to psilocybin was accompanied by a strengthening of excitatory synapses in the hippocampus—a characteristic of traditional and fast-acting antidepressants. neither behavioral nor electrophysiological responses to psilocybin were prevented by pretreatment with the 5-ht2a/2c antagonist ketanserin, despite positive evidence of ketanserin’s efficacy. we conclude that psilocybin’s mechanism of antidepressant action can be studied in animal models and suggest that altered perception may not be required for its antidepressant effects. we further suggest that a 5-ht2ar–independent restoration of synaptic strength in cortico-mesolimbic reward circuits may contribute to its antidepressant action. the possibility of combining psychedelic compounds and a 5-ht2ar antagonist offers a potential means to increase their acceptance and clinical utility and should be studied in human depression.”
