Conocimientos locales, prácticas y usos contemporáneos atribuidos a la ayahuasca en el noroeste de la Amazonia peruana
Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica December 23, 2025 E. Hanz Rodríguez-cabrera, M. Alejandra Romero Van-Heurck, Ani T. Cruz-Garcia et al.
Ayahuasca, a beverage traditionally used for physical and spiritual healing, continues to be used in northwestern Peruvian Amazonia due to local knowledge and market adaptation. Most informants and shamans know about ayahuasca, attributing to it uses as a spiritual purgative, digestive aid, and therapeutic agent, while also recognizing side effects. Both groups reported its use in treating witchcraft, psychological and digestive ailments, through ritual practices led by shamans. Twenty-six ethnovarieties were identified, with cielo ayahuasca being the most known and used. Shamans have largely preserved the memory of its preparation and diversity, adjusting rituals to growing demand, making the practice accessible to a broader public beyond local communities.