Preparation of Ayahuasca in Ecuador. Image credit: Terpsichore
One of the key natural ingredients in ayahuasca tea is dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which promotes neurogenesis – the formation of new neurons. This is the result of research by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM).
In addition to neurons, the infusion used for shamanic purposes also induces the formation of other neuronal cells such as astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.
“This ability to modulate the plasticity of the brain suggests that it has great therapeutic potential for a wide range of psychiatric and neurological diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases,” said José Ángel Morales, researcher at UCM and the CIBERNED departments for cell biology.
The study, published in Translational psychiatry, A journal of natural science reports the results of four years of in vitro and in vivo experiments on mice and shows that, according to José Antonio López, a researcher at the Faculty of Psychology, “they have greater cognitive capacity when they are be treated with this substance ”at UCM and co-author of the study.
Changing the receptor eliminates the hallucinogenic effect
Ayahuasca is made by mixing two plants from the Amazon: the ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and the chacruna shrub (Psychotria viridis).
The DMT in ayahuasca tea binds to a serotonergic type 2A brain receptor, which enhances its hallucinogenic effects. In this study, the receptor was converted into a sigma receptor, which does not have this effect, which “makes future administration to patients much easier”.
In neurodegenerative diseases, it is the death of certain types of neurons that causes the symptoms of pathologies such as: Alzheimer and Parkinson’s. Although humans have the ability to create new neuronal cells, it depends on several factors and is not always possible.
“The challenge is to activate our dormant ability to form neurons and thereby replace the neurons that die as a result of the disease. This study shows that DMT is able to activate neural stem cells and form new neurons, ”concluded Morales.
Reference: “N, N-Dimethyltryptamine Compound Found in Hallucinogenic Tea Ayahuasca Regulates Neurogenesis in Adults In Vitro and In Vivo” by Jose A. Morales-Garcia, Javier Calleja-Conde, Jose A. Lopez-Moreno, Sandra Alonso-Gil, Marina Sanz-SanCristobal, Jordi Riba and Ana Perez-Castillo, September 28, 2020, Translational Psychiatry.
DOI: 0.1038 / s41398-020-01011-0
