Ayahuasca Trunk
by Dr Morley Read/science Photo Library
Title
Ayahuasca Trunk
Artist
Dr Morley Read/science Photo Library
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Ayahuacsa trunk (Banisteriopsis caapi). This vine is native to the tropical forests of South America. Its leaves, and sometimes its bark, are used to prepare a brew of the same name that is used in South American shamanic rituals. It is mixed with plants that contain the compound dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a hallucinogen that is similar in structure to the neurotransmitter serotonin. B. caapi contains harmala, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor that prevents DMT being broken down in the digestive tract. The effects of the ayahuasca brew include altered perception of space and time, hallucinations and euphoria.
Uploaded
September 16th, 2018
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