Physiology & Behavior
January 28, 2015
A.j. Oliveira-Lima, Renato Antunes Dos Santos, A.w. Hollais et al.
91 citations
Ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic brew, prevents the development of ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization in mice and reverses established sensitization. A single dose (30–500 mg/kg) blocked the initiation of behavioral sensitization without affecting spontaneous movement. Higher doses (300 and 500 mg/kg) selectively reduced both acute and sensitized responses to ethanol. Eight consecutive days of ayahuasca (100 or 300 mg/kg) after sensitization was established blocked its expression upon a subsequent ethanol challenge. The results suggest ayahuasca may inhibit early addiction-related behaviors and reverse long-term drug effects when administered in the ethanol-associated environment.
Journal of analytical toxicology
October 12, 2020
Kelly Francisco da Cunha, Karina Diniz Oliveira, Marilyn A Huestis et al.
73 citations
A new LC-MS-MS method can detect 104 drugs of abuse, including synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, fentanyl analogues, and other psychoactive compounds, in oral fluid samples collected with a Quantisal™ device. The method uses a 13.5-minute run and achieves limits of detection as low as 0.05 ng/mL for most analytes, though some require higher concentrations. Matrix effects are generally around 60%, and recoveries range from 47.2% to 127%. Drug stability is best at -20°C, but even frozen, some synthetic cannabinoids degrade more than 20% over 90 days. The method was successfully tested on seven authentic samples, confirming 17 different analytes.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
March 15, 2015
Rafael Lanaro, Débora Bressanim de Aquino Calemi, Loraine Rezende Togni et al.
51 citations
Ayahuasca, a traditional beverage, contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors (harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine) and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which produces visionary effects. Analysis of nine ayahuasca aqueous extracts and three seized powder samples using HPLC-DAD revealed DMT concentrations of 402–2070.3 μg/mL, harmaline 27.5–181.3 μg/mL, harmine 294.5–2893.8 μg/mL, and tetrahydroharmine 849.5–2052.5 μg/mL in the extracts. One powder sample contained only DMT (82% and 2% w/w), another only harmaline (16% w/w) and harmine (12% w/w). Ritual oral ayahuasca use reduces overdose risk via vagal stimulation causing vomiting, whereas recreational smoking or inhalation of DMT increases bioavailability and intoxication potential.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
May 29, 2018
Elisangela Gouveia Cata-Preta, Yasmim A. Serra, Eliseu Da Cruz Moreira-Junior et al.
50 citations
Ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic beverage containing DMT and β-carbolines, can reduce ethanol reward in male mice without itself being rewarding at certain doses. An intermediate dose of ayahuasca induced conditioned place preference (CPP), while higher doses and its plant components Banisteriopsis caapi (Bc) and Psychotria viridis (Pv) did not. Pretreatment with ayahuasca blocked the development of ethanol-induced CPP, whereas Bc and Pv alone had no effect. Post-conditioning treatment with ayahuasca, Bc, or Pv in the ethanol-paired environment blocked expression of ethanol-induced CPP; treatment in the saline-paired compartment also blocked expression for intermediate ayahuasca and Bc doses, and for Pv. The environment influences these therapeutic effects.
Bioanalysis
July 1, 2012
Carolina Dizioli Rodrigues de Oliveira, Guilherme Gonçalves Okai, José Luiz Costa et al.
33 citations
A simple and rapid method was developed to estimate administered doses of ayahuasca, supporting further pharmacological and toxicological investigations of ayahuasca exposure.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
December 22, 2018
Sueli Moreira Mello, Paula Christiane Soubhia, Gabriela de Oliveira Silveira et al.
15 citations
Ayahuasca, a beverage made from Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis, contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors and N,N-dimethyltryptamine, which produces visionary effects. Despite concerns about liver injury from oral consumption, this study measured biochemical markers of liver damage in 22 volunteers who had consumed ayahuasca at least twice monthly for over a year. No significant changes were found in alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, creatinine, urea, lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, or gamma glutamyl transferase. Chronic ayahuasca use in a religious setting apparently does not impair hepatic function.
Journal of analytical toxicology
June 11, 2024
Juliana Ribeiro Ibiapina Leitão Oliveira, Leonardo Costalonga Rodrigues, Júlia Martinelli Magalhães Kahl et al.
13 citations
A new analytical method using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed to detect ketamine, its metabolites norketamine and 6-hydroxy-norketamine, and its analogues deschloroketamine and 2-fluorodeschloroketamine in oral fluid. The method showed linearity from 10 to 1,000 ng/mL, with detection and quantification limits at 10 ng/mL. Imprecision and bias were below 8.2% and 9.5%, respectively, and matrix effects did not exceed 10.6%. Recovery ranged from 24% to 42%. The method was applied to 29 authentic oral fluid samples and evaluated as environmentally friendly by three green chemistry metrics.
Forensic science international
December 1, 2022
Luiz Ferreira Neves Junior, André Luis Fabris, Ingrid Lopes Barbosa et al.
10 citations
LSD prodrugs are emerging as new psychoactive substances in Brazil. Nine blotter paper samples seized by police in São Paulo State were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The compound was identified as ALD-52 (1A-LSD), an LSD prodrug not controlled by Brazilian legislation, with no other active substances detected. These findings indicate a rising strategy in the designer drug market that warrants attention.
Drug testing and analysis
March 1, 2021
Rafael Lanaro, Sueli Moreira Mello, Kelly Francisco da Cunha et al.
10 citations
After consuming ayahuasca, alkaloids such as DMT and β-carbolines reach higher peak concentrations and overall exposure in saliva than in serum, while their mean residence time is 1.5 to 3 times longer in serum. A statistical model suggests that serum concentrations can be predicted from saliva concentrations, though individual variability is large. Saliva offers a fast, noninvasive way to detect these alkaloids and could aid in identifying recreational use of similar compounds that pose intoxication risks.
Behavioural Processes
September 22, 2014
Tathiana A. Alvarenga, Daniel Ninello Polesel, Gabriela Matos et al.
10 citations
Ayahuasca ingestion alone significantly decreased sexual performance in male rats at all tested doses. However, when combined with 96 hours of paradoxical sleep deprivation, a low dose of Ayahuasca increased sexual performance, while an intermediate dose impaired it compared to non-sleep-deprived rats at the same dose. Testosterone concentrations were lower in sleep-deprived rats given saline compared to controls. Progesterone was significantly lower only in sleep-deprived rats receiving the 500 μg/mL dose compared to controls at that dose. Corticosterone levels did not differ across groups. The findings indicate that Ayahuasca's effects on male sexual response are markedly altered by sleep deprivation.
Analytica chimica acta
May 1, 2024
André Luis Fabris, Stig Pedersen-Bjergaard, Elisabeth Leere Øiestad et al.
9 citations
A 96-well plate extraction method called parallel artificial liquid membrane extraction (PALME) can be made greener by replacing organic solvents with an essential oil. Fourteen essential oils were tested; the blend smart & sassy gave the best recovery for multiple drugs of abuse in plasma, including amphetamines, synthetic cathinones, and designer benzodiazepines. After optimization, the method achieved a linear range of 1-100 ng/mL, accuracy within ±16.4%, and limits of detection between 0.1 and 0.75 ng/mL. The technique eliminated hazardous organic solvents, provided effective sample clean-up, and met international validation guidelines, offering a sustainable tool for toxicological analysis.
Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis
November 29, 2018
Fábio Kummrow, Bianca S. Maselli, Rafael Lanaro et al.
9 citations
Ayahuasca, a beverage used in religious rituals and studied for therapeutic potential, is mutagenic in bacterial tests. The drink is made from Banisteriopsis caapi (containing β-carbolines like harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine) and Psychotria viridis (containing N,N-dimethyltryptamine). Using the Salmonella/microsome assay with strains TA98 and TA100, both ayahuasca samples tested were mutagenic with and without metabolic activation. The beverage from P. viridis alone was not mutagenic, while B. caapi alone was mutagenic for TA98. Harmine was nonmutagenic; harmaline was mutagenic only for TA98 without metabolic activation. Harmaline fully explained the mutagenicity seen with TA98 without S9 for ayahuasca and B. caapi samples, but other mutagenic compounds appear present and require further investigation.
Toxicology reports
June 1, 2025
Leonardo Costalonga Rodrigues, Alexandre Barcia de Godoi, Viviane Cristina Fais et al.
4 citations
MDMB-4en-PINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist, caused severe developmental abnormalities and high embryo mortality in zebrafish at 10 µM, including pericardial edema, yolk edema, coagulation, and lack of heartbeat or somite formation. In contrast, the ketamine derivatives deschloroketamine and 2-fluorodeschloroketamine showed low embryo mortality even at higher concentrations. In larval stages, MDMB-4en-PINACA caused 8% mortality at 10 µM by eight days post-fertilization, while the ketamine derivatives led to 100% mortality at 2000 µM. MDMB-4en-PINACA was approximately 26 times more toxic than the ketamine derivatives based on LC50 values. The results support the absence of NMDA receptors in early zebrafish life stages, explaining the lower toxicity of ketamine derivatives early on.
Journal of Analytical Toxicology
August 29, 2023
Marilia Santoro Cardoso, Kelly Francisco da Cunha, Izabelly Geraldes Silva et al.
3 citations
Psilocin, the active compound produced when psilocybin from magic mushrooms is ingested, is unstable and oxidizes quickly, making its detection in biological samples challenging. A new method using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated to measure psilocin in oral fluid. The method requires only 100 microliters of sample, achieves detection limits of 0.05 ng/mL, and performs reliably with low bias and imprecision. Psilocin was stable in oral fluid at −20°C for 24 hours, at 4°C for 72 hours, and at 24°C for 24 hours, but degraded after three freeze-thaw cycles. Analysis of five authentic samples from party attendees found psilocin concentrations between 0.08 and 36.4 ng/mL, marking the first report of such measurements in oral fluid.